With those two areas the park was a good size but that wasn’t even half of it. A large section was a boy scout camp. Old and worn down cabins circled a large area of green grass with a larger building at the tip which was used for a variety of things. One of my close friends actually reserved it for his graduation party. It was a very cool place. However the cabins almost gave an eerie feel, due to their age, as you looked around. The field in the center was also kind of glum. For the most part the grass was a vibrant green, other spots were brown and dying. My friends and I rarely utilized the field. When we did it was just for small football games. Usually this area was ignored.
In the past couple years my friends and I spent much of our time at the basketball courts. The “courts” as we usually called them wasn’t anything special. Just your typical two full courts. But to us it was a home away from home. Some of the baskets were run down and torn while others looked as if they were brand new. The orange rims were one of the first things to strike your eye. The vibrant color was the first thing you saw as you walked up the short hill. Personally I didn’t play much so overtime I distanced myself from this area but I adapted to a new area of the park.
One of the most attractive areas at Brodie was the beach. Just walking onto the sand you could smell crisp, fresh lake water. Which really called to you and made you wanna just jump in. The sun would hit the water just right to produce some of the most beautiful views in our area. Combinations of orange, yellow and blue just drew you in, leaving you wanting more. I rarely swam, but what I did do was take my fishing pole to one of the two short dock areas. There was some really great fishing at Brodie as long as you found the right area. I once watched one of my friend catch his personal best trout here, it was spectacular. Often the best place to go was down the road a couple miles to the boat launch which was just around the lake. The view across the lake wasn’t as good here but it was still such a relaxing experience walking down the shaky floating dock to the concrete platform to cast your line. You could also take any sort of paddle board, kayak, canoe and some even a low powered pontoon boat. All of these could take you to this small island which some could have called paradise. A large fireplace with symbols up the chimney. These symbols were almost as if they had come from ancient times, artistic and eye catching. It was the first thing that caught your eye when you stepped foot onto it. Isolation from everyone else was what you looked forward to while paddling out to here. The lake was paradise.
Everyone has a different definition of a home. Some may define it as a house, some may define it as a dorm room at their college, while others may think of it as a place. We all have at least one place we call home. To me Brodie Park was a home away from home, an area you could visit to just get away for awhile, or relax. Everyone has a home in their mind, even people labeled as “homeless” have somewhere they call home, if not somewhere it’s something. So ask yourself, where or what do you call home?