The Good and the Hopeful

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Created on Thursday, 28 April 2011 00:45

Published on Thursday, 28 April 2011 00:45

Written by Abe Connally

This was a week of both happy and sad moments in Big Bend. Former President George W. Bush rode with Lance Armstrong and several wounded warriors around trails of the park, all for charity. It's great that we get the publicity, as several papers and news programs did pieces on the ride. You can read one of those reports here.

Imagine, riding the trails of Big Bend would be challenging enough, but doing so with serious wounds, some of which included mission arms and legs, is amazing. Many of the wounded soldiers had been in Iraq. They rode, not to flaunt their injuries, though, but to show their persevering spirit, and to show how determination can prove greater than adversity and give any of us hope.

Hope Beyond the Fires

There is hope on the horizon. Just as the wounded riders showed us victory over adversity, so we must be strong as this year's fires in Texas continue to burn acre after acre. This year may end up being the greatest year for fires in Texas. It's currently second only to 2006, in which over 1.8 million acres were burned and several fatalities.

While the acre-count is reaching that total, the deaths are not. So far only two people have died this year, and both of them were volunteer firefighters. We can definitely say that local fire-departments and residents are working hard to stay safe despite the continuing dry climate.

But we can have hope that we'll come out of this in the end. We want to thank all you visitors of Big Bend that are following the precautionary restrictions and staying safe. With the park authorities helping us, we can expect to have a good time and stay safe. Most of Texas is under burn bans, and will probably stay that way until we have a good couple of weeks full of drizzling showers. Until then, stay sharp and safe, and keep your chin up.