When I first moved back to Muskogee, there were many things I found charming.

I liked the pink-haired girl working in the downtown coffee shop. I loved downtown Broadway Street in the dark, streetlights glowing. I liked the walking path in Spaulding Park, a patch of which bears a resemblance to European parks. I liked the waitress at the burger shop who knows her customers’ drink orders from memory. I loved the sound of Friday night Rougher football games, where you can hear the band and crowd many blocks away.

The charm has faded some.

The downtown coffee shop closed. I guess people prefer a drive-through window to the ambiance of a walk-in shop.

Some well-intentioned group keeps tying tacky blue ribbons to the light posts downtown. No one I’ve asked knows what they represent. I think the money spent on blue ribbons should instead be donated to the cause they’re trying to promote.

Just past the beautiful part of the walking path, the pond is littered with trash. All across the city, people park cars in their yards. I shouldn’t be surprised they don’t respect city property. Apparently, they don’t respect their own.

Worst, and saddest, are the disgusting “donations” people dump at a charity donation box on York Street. The large, red bin with doors asks for used clothing and shoes, but repeatedly people donate what appears to be their trash instead — not inside the bin, but outside it, so the whole community can experience their thoughtlessness.

I’ve seen used Christmas trees, tires, filthy and damaged furniture, piles of stuff left in the rain for stray dogs to pilfer through. This donation bin is provided for a non-profit agency. How could anyone think the agency has the means to haul off junk? I’m convinced people who so carelessly dump their stuff in this manner do so as a convenience to themselves, not as a true act of charity.

I try to focus on the charm, not the blight, but it’s hard sometimes.

Marsha Wiseman

Muskogee