PSTW

A.G.

I spent the better part of my undergraduate years at Buffalo State. Hoyt Lake is by far my favorite place in Buffalo; it has been the backdrop for a slew of life’s events. Hoyt Lake was practically in my backyard so it holds a number of memories for me. Some are great, some are…not so great. My very first date in Buffalo was to see Shakespeare in the Park, and a poignant break-up also happened there. An old roommate and I would often meet there to run a few laps and catch up. On warm nights during freshman year, I’d sit on a hill with some of the exchange students, talk about our cultures and forge new friendships. Sometimes I’d go there alone when I needed to cry. I tell you this because my emotional connection to this place is so strong and it is the catalyst for the story below:

It was 2008 and I was on a walk around the lake with a friend. We’d simultaneously spotted the artless graffiti on the cement dike near the smelly part toward Delaware Avenue. The whole thing started with one of us offering a sarcastic “really??” and the other just understood – we both loved this park. Our conversation continued despite the interjection for a minute or two. But then:
“We should do something about that!”
Our pace suddenly slowed.
“Yeah… Yeah! We should!”
And that was enough.
We immediately spun on our heels to return to the wall and inspect our canvas. We spent less than five minutes discussing our plans before we headed out to get supplies. We weeded and painted well past midnight on a project which had come to be called “Project: Save the World” or PSTW. We walked away with an absurdly bright “sunshine yellow” cement wall and a promise to return the next day.

The better part of that Saturday was spent painting vines and flowers and whatever we thought would be nice to look at. I can’t even tell you how many people stopped with their kids or dogs or alone on their jog and asked what we were doing and if they could help. Many offered to give us money when they found out we were recent grads doing the project on a dime and out of pure love. You could attribute it to being in the “city of neighbors” but I like to believe they all held a deep-seated affection for that place as well. In the end, we left it with our best attempt at artwork and a simple message: “Live Buffalo” or “Love Buffalo.” It’s entirely dependent on how you see it.