“Tennessee Williams once wrote, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” The context in which those words were penned is different, but the sentiment holds true. Few communities in the United States are more aware of or more grateful for the kindness that was shown to us in the months following Katrina and, more recently, the BP oil spill. We may all like to think of ourselves as independent and self-reliant but when the going gets really tough, support from the outside world is imperative.
At present there is a 68,000-acre wildfire burning through rural Palo Pinto County in north-central Texas. The town of Mineral Wells has a population of fewer than 17,000 people, and their volunteer fire department, aided by fire fighters from 38 other states, are trying to save the community. Mineral Wells was once famous for the natural springs that occur there. The Baker Hotel was a well-known spot to take the water cure in the 1920s. Today it is hamlet of farmers and ranchers out in the dusty, dry Texas plain.”
Read the full op-ed over at DIG Magazine and please do what you can to spread the word and support a good cause. Thank you.