Planetary Stories Project

"To Act Globally, Think Locally – Through Stories"

Black Earth Institute

Place: Sterling Field, West Hartford, Connecticut

Sterling Field
By Samantha Fournier

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Inhale, exhale, step, step, step. Another rock in my shoe, but I can't stop now, I have to keep going. My legs are so tired, but I won't stop now, just one more lap.

To tell you the truth, I'm a little hooked. Not on running, but on Sterling Field. A place, which is not too far from home. It is right in back of Charter Oak Elementary School, which I attended as a child. This field has many memories, it was where the dreaded timed-mile would take place in gym class each fall.

Back when I was still attending Charter Oak, the track had been a new addition to Sterling Field and the school. Fenced in and trees surrounding the park, even today, it looks the same as it did ten years ago.

It is the place I knew back then, where field day took place every year and where girls would play hand games like miss mary mack and boys would play tag. This field is a place where I used to watch baseball games. This field is where our 5th grade picnic took place on the last day of school, where all of the students signed year books and wished each other well for the coming years of middle school.

This field has a piece of my heart, it is an unforgettable place, even on a day like today. As I run I keep a steady pace, focused on the tiny stones below my feet and the view to my right: the sun shining so bright, the silver bleachers are almost too hot to touch and the surrounding green vegetation brings a fresh feeling to mind.

A day like today makes me think of all of the activities that will occur at Sterling Field in the upcoming spring and summer months., a place where many baseball games will be played, a place where runners and walkers alike are free to move, a place for fitness testing, dog-walking,  and the many more activities that take place here.

Sterling Field, a place that I can run away to, but a place that keeps me from forgetting.