In the Stone

Every man I meet is walking time,

Free to wander past his conscious mind,

Love will come, and take you home, yeah...

Love is written in the stone.

OK, OK--I don't meant to get all philosophical-like or anything. But this Earth, Wind And Fire song just came to me as I was looking for a title for this post. If you've never heard the song, click here. It's one of my favorites.

Anyway, the song came to me as I was posting the goofy-lookin' picture you see here. The history of the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, the environment, the animals, the people--EVERYTHING that happened in this area was witnessed by these BIG OL' rocks. Just like the one I'm sittin' on.

In the stone, man.

I took that picture last Friday, when I was shooting a story about the old ghost town at Eagle Park. Quanah Parker's star house still sits at the park, surrounded by other old buildings and amusement park rides.

I interviewed a woman who is the main tour guide for the old ghost town. She told me the story of how her family knew Quanah Parker's family, and how the star house got to its present location.

A guy named Herbert Woesner Jr. moved all these old historical buildings to Eagle Park so he could preserve them for future generations. But Woesner died last year, and most of the buildings are falling into disrepair. There's hope though, that some grant money will be made available soon from the Dept. of the Interior.

Life experience a passing day,

Time will witness what the old folks say,

Getting stronger every day,

Strength is written in the stone.

The coolest thing about it, and I shared this in my online story, is that Quanah Parker and Herbert Woesner were two dudes that lived a lifetime apart, but they both knew that preserving the past was vital for the future. I mean, what good is it to tear down an old building (or an old culture) and then read about it in a book? Wouldn't it be much cooler to see it, touch it, and experience it for real?

Well DUH!

The world needs more dudes like Woesner.

In the stone, man.

Here's the story I posted online: http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=10470594