Lost in Wonderland

Lost in Wonderland
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
(Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 6)

I felt like Alice lost in the woods trying to figure out “What am I doing here?” For some reason I thought that we would be getting a little information about the history of Overton Park, but I failed to realize that we would be taking a trek through the woods…something I vowed I would never do. I am allergic to every tree, grass and many plants that grow in the forest on top of that I fear just about everything that has more legs than me. So the idea of walking about in the woods with spiders, bugs, trees, more bugs, grass, and did I mention spiders, well it did not quit excite me. With my fears and allergies it was only crazy of me to put myself in the middle of an allergic reaction for the sake of knowledge.
Fortunately, for me I am a daredevil and cared more about missing a class than having an allergic reaction, and I am grateful that I did not miss that opportunity. The forest was majestically beautiful in the sense that I felt that I was the only one there even though the group was one of the largest the guide had experienced. I imagine that I was like Huckleberry Finn searching the woods for a safe place to hide, or Alice lost in a place just as foreign and mystical as wonderland. All of the greenery reminded me of something out of a great book…a place you want to run free in with the innocence and adventurism of a child looking to discover new territory in the wilderness in the middle of Overton Park.
The tour was great, with all the new information about the importance of each tree and the type of fruit that it bears for its visitors to enjoy. For some reason I did not see the connection in the beginning to anything that we were reading about in the Rushing book other than the part about the expansion of Sam Copper through the park, but the more the guide spoke of the struggle to keep the park today I realized that this was a battle that many Memphians still fight today. The park is truly one of the most interesting parts of living in the city, especially since I have a child that loves to be outside in the grass, climbing trees and needs a safe place to swing and play.
After that day I found myself drawn to my new mystical haven wondering if there was something there that had not been seen. May there is really a gnome or troll hiding in the large hole of the oak we explored. I don’t know, but as with all great experiences the second time is never as great as the first. So as I reencountered the forest with my son, the trees looked old and I realized all of the bugs that I failed to see the first time. The forest lost its magical flare or maybe I let wonderland only existed because I did not know what to expect and now only dirt lay before me.