Bemused, frustrated but mostly optimistic

Last night we had a meeting with our neighborhood council about putting a play structure on a piece of unused land close to my house. My friend Sandi and I have been working with a man on the council, who took our initial request to use this space for a play area two years ago and ran with it. He was instrumental in getting the power company to agree to share the land with use while they were sitting on it. It use to be a substation and they want to keep the land in case they need it for a substation again. Unfortunately we didn't get them to agree to let us in the fenced area but there is a nice sized grass area outside of the fenced area.
Any way, who would guess that a few neighbors would be vehemently opposed to it! Such anger and negativity over a kid's park! Unbelievable. There was one woman in particular who was just nasty and angry. So weird. Maybe there's some history in that area that I don't know about?
It totally sucked to be standing there in front of a room full of strangers and have all this negativity and anger directed at you. I didn't handle it very well. Especially when she started reading letters from people who weren't even there. Why did they even allow that? Any way, I lost it and laughed a little when she was reading a letter from an elderly woman, who wasn't there and doesn't have young children; the letter said something like, the children have backyards with play structures, they don't need this. Like someone without children of their own can tell me what my children need or don't need. And no, we don't have a play structure, nor do we have room for one in our backyard. Locked in your backyard your kids aren't going to get a chance to socialize and play with neighbor children. I guess some people just want us all to be locked in our houses and never talk to each other?
It's still so bizarre to me that someone can spin such a positive community building thing into something negative. Are they just simply afraid of change? Do they detest children? Are they mad that no on knocked on their door and ask for their permission?
Who knows. Hopefully I'll be able to control my laughter and eye-rolling better next time. Maybe I'll get some xanax or something....
Any way, the park is going to happen. I got many pats on the back after the meetings, and don't give up hope (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) so I'm pretty sure we have the votes when it comes down to it. I just wish these people weren't being so nasty and mean.
Mean people suck :)