Parks and Recreation

Coming in April to NBC: Amy Poehler’s new sitcom entitled  “Parks and Recreation".  Call me behind the times, but I just saw a commercial for the show this weekend!  I guess a promo for the sitcom was shown during NBC’s coverage of the Super Bowl, but I don't know where I was during that commercial break! It will star Ms. Poehler as a do-gooder of local government, and will be produced in the same style as “The Office.”

The title of the sitcom has been uncertain for many months. The name “Public Service” was considered, but was dropped in favor of “Parks and Recreation”. Why? In an e-mail message, Ben Silverman, the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, wrote: “Can’t make fun of public service! Worried because we don’t want to seem mean about it.”

Of course, it is a-okay to poke fun at parks and rec!  Although it is an important, instrumental, and beneficial aspect of a  healthy daily life, professionals in the field poke fun at it all the time!  I have found that P&R professionals have some of the best sense of humors around, and although they do see the scientific aspects of their job and the importance behind that, they spend the majority of their days really loving what they do, which in general makes for a very happy person, and someone who can laugh at themselves.

I am very excited that the show takes place in Indiana.  I have noticed around the media lately that Indiana, especially Indianapolis, has been getting loads of mentions.  That makes me happy as I want good things to come for the city, and for the state. Hopefully an increase in media will lead to an increase of citizens, which will lead to an increase of tax dollars generated, and in turn, an increase in the amount of parks we have (among other benefits of course)!  After all, Indianapolis is the largest city in the country not on a navigable waterway! Let's keep it like that!

Many more Americans than you may realize have no clue where Indiana is or what it's really like to live here. Some people sort-of know, meaning they know it's in the mid-west, and they know there's corn here, and maybe some race-cars.  But the fact of the matter is, especially as you get to the coastal areas of the country, the states like Alaska and Hawai'i, or especially into Europe, you will find that people really do think of 'Indiana Jones' when they hear 'Indiana'. Sort of right, I mean, we do have sand dunes!

It makes me happy that people across the country will have Indiana on their minds, and Indiana Parks especially!  Indiana has some of the best parks around, by far!  Brown County State Park, for example, is the only State Park on the list of top-ten most popular parks in the country.  Granted, it is number 10, but all the other parks on that list are National Parks! Hopefully this show will keep Brown County on that list!  Wouldn't it be neat if Valparaiso, Indiana became the next Scranton, Pennsylvania? ...Wishful thinking...