Meet Alvin. Alvin Middleton has lived in the neighborhood near Milwaukee’s Melvina Park for some 10 years. A native Milwaukeean, he returned to the city to buy a nearby home from his brother when he passed away.

In his 70s, Alvin is a proud great-grandfather and now retired from driving truck across the country. He returned to Milwaukee after living with family friends in Kentucky. Though he says he is “not a co-mingler” Alvin appreciates friendly relations with neighbors including Yvonne McCaskill, “like my auntie,” whom he has known for 50 years. McCaskill organizes the Century City Triangle Neighborhood Association and is a driving force behind art, events, and enhancements for Melvina Park.

Though he himself drinks water from the tap—the first thing he does every morning is drink a glass of water—Alvin buys bottled water to serve his grandchildren out of concern for lead poisoning risk.

He values water as a life-giving substance and says we should protect it for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. One way to take care of the water is by keeping plastics out of the water.

More generally Alvin believes in a return to virtues like respect—including respect for Mother Nature.

“Respect each individual… Everybody has a right to do certain things. You don’t take that away from them because you don’t like them. Forgiveness is the best thing you can ever have for anybody,” Alvin reflects. “With age comes wisdom, as they say. And I seriously believe that. ‘Cauz I have wised up a whole lot. I don’t do nothing to hurt nobody. I treat everybody with respect. If you don’t respect me, I have no problem with that. I just don’t have nothing to do with you no more. I’ll try, but if you keep with the same attitude, that’s it. We got to get back to that. Respect. And keep these parks going. Like I said—Mother Nature. Without Mother Nature, we in trouble. Deep trouble.”

Alvin expresses guarded optimism for the neighborhood’s future. He believes it will depend on attracting the investment—literal and figurative—of young people. “I think we moving in the right direction,” Alvin says of the neighborhood. “We just got to get some younger folks in here because the majority of people that’s in this now are aging.”

He sees Melvina Park and its improvements as a blessing for neighborhood’s young people. Growing up Alvin remembers playing in Washington Park when it was still the zoo. Improving Melvina Park, he believes, will give kids more fun things to do. He expects this will build up a sense of community and connect the next generation with nature.

Alvin encourages young people to spend time with their children before they grow up. “Be more attentive. Watch your children. And come out to the park with them. Play with them,” he encourages. “Because, you know, children, they grow so fast. Today they be a child. Next time you look around they 15, 16 years of age and almost ready to get on their own.”