It was one of this year’s many rather-mild-late-winter-days, and me and the fam were meeting some friends at Bellevue’s riverside American Heroes Park. On one hand, I had heard very good things about the park and its features. On the other hand, it’s a playground – how great could it be? No one told me it was a super-awesome-over-the-top-something-for-everyone playground with the power to bridge the ever-widening socio-economic divides which threaten the very patchwork fabric of modern America. Okay, that last part might have been inferred by my own personal observation, but still. It’s a pretty great park.

What I first noticed as we pulled up to the property was the ample parking. Despite all the people coming and going, there was no need to wait for a for a spot to open up. We got the girls all zipped up in the jackets that they would soon abandon and walked over to where our friends sat waiting. On the way, we oohed and aahed at all the elements we – I mean the girls – wanted to try out. A ninja warrior style climbing wall, multiple stories of platforms and slides, and several ziplines stood out as top contenders.

We rendezvoused with the other family and the wife and I settled down on a bench while the kids dumped their coats and ran off in wild directions. From this vantage, I could see several things.

First off, the people next to us were one of countless groups who had well-behaved dogs. Everywhere I looked, panting pooches were being pet and prodded by curious little visitors. One or two owners could be seen purposefully skirting the crowds, opting for the paths that circled the nearby pond.

The second thing I noticed was, despite all of the people and playground equipment, it was surprisingly easy to keep an eye on both girls. But after a while, they ventured off a little bit further and I got up to stretch my legs. The older one, it turns out, had found her way up that ninja warrior wall and didn’t want to use the fireman’s pole to slide back down. This went on about three times before I convinced her my shoulders couldn’t take her climbing down on top of them again.

As she skipped off to find something else to do, I located little sister on a group-style see-saw. She was one of four piled into these little buggies that an older girl was rocking back and forth. She was just ginger enough to keep the younger kids from screaming for real. It’s there that I snapped the panorama. It’s there too that I stood back and really took in how many different backgrounds and cultures were represented at the park. Folks of every color and creed. Red hats. Head scarves. Heck – even Iowa fans. But we were all doing the same thing – watching over our kids while they ran and screamed and laughed and fell and cried and took turns. And even while forces, be they foreign or domestic, seem to not just benefit from, but actively instigate potential division of the many American identities, this park and all its features offered a quiet and uncomplicated protest. A place where those things were a million miles away. Breaking news, executive orders, and the outrage that follows have no hold on American Heroes Park. The only thing that matters there is play – pure and unadulterated.

So, if you’re looking to unplug and make an easy escape – to a place that harkens back but also offers a play area your younger self could only have dreamed of – go to American Heroes Park and let loose - everyone else is.

Matt Hebert is an engineer and self-published author. His dopamine-fueled creative pursuits have spanned from chicken keeping, sand sculpture, acting, and public speaking, but writing is nearest and dearest to his heart. He lives in Bellevue with his wife and two daughters. You can find him on Instagram at @jerkofalltradeshebert or email him at matt.hebert.books@gmail.com

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