STICKY DOORKNOBS

Dream Big: Wink hopes generous investor will help refurbish historic theater where Roy Orbison got his start

Wink, Texas, can use a little encouragement.

The same way a young married couple benefits from a banker willing to take a chance so the two can get started on a new life, or how a man who has paid his debt to society is given a new suit and some folding money as he starts life again, Wink could use a little help.

The little out-of-the-way oilfield town in Winkler County experienced the height of its glory days long ago and all that's left standing today are memories, some 50 years old, some older.

It was in the late 1950s when humble, quiet high school student Roy Orbison picked up a guitar, formed a band and played weekends at the Rig Theater, a structure still standing in what now passes for a downtown.

There's not much that still goes on here. Even the vendors that descend on this place for the annual Roy Orbison Days every June take up less than a city block, and more often than not there are plenty of seats at the exhibition building during dances that feature Orbison tribute artist Walt Quigley, a man -- maybe the only man -- who has devoted his life to perpetuating the memory of Orbison.

Quigley, who splits residences between Wink and Lake Havasu City, Ariz., just this week planted a marker awarded by the Texas Historical Commission at Roy's boyhood home on the former Waverley Ave., and has already turned his attention to his next project: refurbishing the Rig.

There are not a lot of people or businesses out here willing to drop six figures to put a new roof on the old place, despite the history that once graced the stage. It does seem like a good opportunity, though, to be a good steward to a place that long ago served an oil company in a good manner. Maybe now all these years later, giving back would be a way to say thank you, although that's maybe an idyllic way to view the world today.

Quigley says a mere $160,000 would take care of replacing the roof on the old place, which would then allow workers and volunteers to go in and complete a total refurbishment, which could run a shade over $2 million.

"Being a small town like this is the main problem," Quigley said of any potential efforts to raise funds for such a project. "We'd like to find somebody who could use a tax write off. I promise them we could offer a lifetime prime title sponsorship of the theater. It would read, for instance, 'The Exxon Mobil Rig Theater' on the sign out front and in all our advertising. It would be very nice to have someone be able to commit to that kind of money."

Quigley said a revitalized Rig could be used for a number of occasions: dances, school functions, a hamburger stand, even a new home to the Orbison memorabilia currently housed down the block in a museum that offers the artifacts little protection from the sunlight and other environmental factors that may be damaging the items, including this rare and aging photo at right of a pre-teen Orbison and one of his beloved model airplanes.

In promotional materials designed to appeal to someone who might invest in such a venture, the people of Wink stress the historical significance of the theater, the fact that Orbison's band The Wink Westerners once opened for Slim Whitman here, and how the interior of the structure has "pen knife graffiti" still preserved on the staircase walls leading to the balcony.

"Simply put, the memory and talents of Roy Orbison and his timeless and beautiful music will be given permanence in his hometown of Wink, and Wink (would) again have a beautiful central location for all forms of entertainment, arts enterprise and gathering. ... It's most important historic value lies in its place in West Texas entertainment and the fact that the world famous and greatest rock and roll operatic ballad singer, Roy Orbison, delivered some of his earliest performances here. ... This is a very timely undertaking. We appeal to the world to get involved."

Appealing to the entire world may be a bit of a stretch at first thought, but the guest book in the Roy Orbison museum reflects even today that 20-25 visitors a month still venture out this far to get a glimpse of Orbison's boyhood home. If that many people come as far and as out of the way as Wink, that alone should suggest that such an investment to refurbish the Rig would give this little place the kick start that maybe it needs and one that would help more people sit up and take note of the cultural impact Roy had.

Hey Cedric, just don't talk, OK?

I'm really excited for former Midland Lee running back standout Cedric Benson finally having that breakout season on the field this year with the Cincinnati Bengals. It's good to see. Now maybe with all his newfound success he could afford to hire a publicity consultant. Someone who can tell him what to say. And what not to say.

In this week's Sports Illustrated, in the magazine's weekly "Pop Culture Grid" feature, a table that features four athletes giving one sentence opinions to items in the news or popular culture, one of the topics this week's slate of athletes is asked is any advice they have for David Letterman, in response to the talk show host's now noted alleged sexual exploits with his staff.

A Washington Capitals' hockey player's advice to Letterman is, "Know that this, too, shall pass."

NYGiants wide receiver Steve Smith said, "Trust in the Lord."

And Cedric? Cedric's advice to Dave is, "Keep up the good work."

Nice. So much for polishing up the off-the-field image to go with that newfound on-field success.

Teen FLOW Ministries founding as easy as a walk in the park

   It was nearly 10 years ago when a teenage girl raised her hand during a Bible study that Jay Marquez was teaching and asked the young youth minister point blank, “Why don’t we ever do any outreach programs? You always talk about it, but we never do it.”
   Rarely can life-changing events be pinpointed to one single isolated incident or moment. That one can be.
   Marquez knew right then and there that the young woman was right. His response? Let’s do it.
   Not as in, 'Great idea let’s do it sometime down the road,' but as in, 'Great idea, let’s do it right now.'
   Later that same afternoon, Marquez packed up his group of five young people at Bethesda Non-denominational Church and headed to Martin Luther King Jr. Park on he city’s east side to play volleyball. It wasn’t long before a group of gang members, at least two of whom were carrying guns, walked by the group. Marquez invited them to join in their game if they could round up a few more players -- and leave their weapons at home.
   The gangbangers, doubtful Marquez and his bunch would even be there when they returned, came back unarmed and with more people who wanted to play.
   Together, those assembled at the park prayed, shared some hot dogs and downed some soft drinks. They continued to come back -- both Marquez and his group, the gang members and others -- every Monday night for volleyball. Some of those now former gang members who returned then still come back today -- to play and pray and hear Marquez and others preach at the Teen FLOW Ministries building, 711 S. Main.

From a mustard seed
   Quite simply, that one day in the park is how Teen FLOW (Faithful Leader of the Word) was formed in 2000. In the nine years that have passed, an impacting ministry empowering young people, involving them, entertaining them and reaching them through an ever-present outreach effort and ministry, this powerful program continues to grow, thrive and change young lives in Midland.
   “Those gang members thought I would leave, and I said no we’ll be here,” said Marquz, at right in photo above.  “And we stayed and played with them, and prayed with them and that’s when I fell in love with outreach: taking what we have in church … out. I knew my calling in ministry was very evident.
When Jesus and later his disciples established his church they did not build walls, they built relationships by taking what they had … out.
   Marquez, a 1987 Midland High graduate , a native of the south side, and himself a former drug and alcohol addict who had a high-paying job as a teenager in his early 20s, cashed it all in when he realized he was going nowhere. He met the woman who would become his wife, Marie, and together they turned their lives over to God. Together they scratched and clawed to put the ministry together in those early days. Today, with the help of a handful of visionary Midlanders that have served as the program’s support system both financially and spiritually, Teen FLOW has moved into a new building where they encourage young people to come for programs and events, including Sunday Youth Service, 11 a.m.; Tuesday Night Teen, 6 p.m., or Thursday Night Thunder, 6 p.m. (Learn more at www.teenflow.com).
  The youth center is also open Tuesdays and Thursdays after school to benefit the young people. Along with Bible studies, it is equipped with computers, and tutoring programs to help the students with their school studies. The center also has volleyball and basketball courts, along with a fully equipped game room to encourage and build relationships between the Youth and volunteers through extra-curricular activities.

'Taking what we have in church ... out'
   The groundwork is continually being laid for the future success of the ministry through its outreach programs Tuesday with Midland Lee students, Thursday with Midland High young people and Fridays at Midland Freshman. Marquez and his Teen Flow ministry team provide pizza, coke and conversation at 12:20 p.m. Tuesday at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on Neely, and on Thursdays at 11:20 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church across from Midland High. On Fridays, the same outreach team sets up across from Midland Freshman and provides soft drinks for the students as they leave class for the day.
   Marquez said it takes 1-2 years for a student who grabs a quick Coke or comes in for a pizza to find his or her way to Teen FLOW's building. Those early conversations and relationships established over pizza and soft drink outreaches are not taken lightly and prayers don’t end that the students who wander in one day for a lunch will someday walk into Teen FLOW with a purpose.
   “The relationships always begin outside of Teen FLOW,” Marquez said. “We just talk to them, ask them what they did on their weekend or what they’re going to be doing that upcoming weekend. We’ll sit down and pray and eat and talk about the weather and they see Christ’s love and servanthood. Sometimes they’ll even invite us out to lunch.”
   It’s easy to see through the relaxed expressions on the students that they are enjoying the experience and feel no pressure about becoming a part of Teen FLOW. That will come if the student – or more likely God – decides it will.

'That day in the park turned my life around'
   Saul Natividad began going to Teen FLOW to serve Community Service hours. He went from begrudgingly having to pay off a societal debt to becoming a student leader with the program to still being active today.
   “I can honestly say it did change my life,” Natividad said, “through everything I learned there. And I actually have seen a lot of people’s lives change; a lot of friends and just random people who come up and just keep going.”
   One person whose life was most certainly changed through Teen FLOW is Juan Adame. Now a teacher at Pease Elementary, Adame was one of the young people who walked up and began playing volleyball with Marquez and his group that day in Martin Luther King, Jr. Park nine years ago. Though never a gang member, Adame said Teen FLOW helped him escape a rougher path that he could have but chose not to pursue.
   “It still took awhile for me to come to my senses, but that day in the park and getting involved in Teen FLOW served as the basis for turning my life around,” Adame said. "I see a lot of kids that just remind me of me (in higher grades) and hearing their stories are so similar. I didn’t have anybody to talk to at that age. I wasn’t much into the thug life, but I had the thug mentality, which is just as bad as being a thug because that’s also about just wanting to be bad.”
   Marquez and his ministers have found a way to reach those who might not otherwise be reached, first as friends then as pavers of a higher path. It worked that day at MLK Jr. Park, it worked after that when rival gang members from east side and south side gangs laid down their violent tendencies to worship a common God in the same southside building, and it works today by giving young people of all races a place to hang out a few times to week, regardless the place. In the process, if a little Christian wisdom seeps through and make a kid a better person and a potential warrior for Christ, then that makes for an even more rewarding outcome for everyone involved.

The story on Midland's most famous pink landmark is that there really isn't much of a story at all

When Martin Meissner signed a contract to purchase his residence on Louisiana St almost 50 years ago, he made a promise to the couple selling it to him that he would keep it painted pink for as long as he owned it, in memory of the sellers’ daughter who made a dying request that it always be painted her favorite color.  It’s a great story, except for a couple of small details: It’s not true. And it never happened.

But we like good stories about our landmark's and Mr. Meissner's pink (and green) house at the corner of Louisiana and A St. has undoubtedly become one of the most distinctive landmarks in Midland. According to Meissner’s son, Ivan, there are a number of stories that have circulated in the 49 years his father has owned the house -- but none of them are true.

“We’ve heard a variation on the story about the girl who had died of leukemia,” Ivan Meissner said. “Another one we’ve heard is that it was written into the sales contract that it must be forever painted pink and dad couldn’t buy the house unless he agreed to keep it pink forever … I’ve also heard that a Hispanic family had lived here and their house in the old country was that color so they painted it pink here. Another little boy was said to have died of cancer and made his parents promise they would always keep it pink for him.”

Great stories all, but only one story about the origin of the color is true, the Meissners say: “The best I have ever been able to tell is that it was painted pink by the people who built it,” Ivan Meissner said, “and that’s the only story.”

Dad Martin Meissner said when he was putting a fresh coat on in the 1960s, then 4-year-old Ivan said that the color pink was “absolutely delightful.” That, too, is a good story, and a true story. But it’s not the reason the family has kept the house pink all these years. The story is quite simply that there is not a story.

“Vickers Petroleum bought the house and their president lived in it, and they sold it to Walter M. Wilkinson and I bought it from Walter M. Wilkinson,” Martin Meissner said.

The house’s color has caught the attention of international visitors who have taken photos of it, another woman who photographed it and said she was going to paint a picture of it, and scores of people who repeatedly use it as a point of reference.”

“People always say, “Turn right at the Pepto Bismol House,” Ivan said.

The Meissner family has never been offended by the reference to the upset stomach medication, a statement that has served to only deepen the lore of the home. Many years ago, a mischievous adolescent painted in bright pink the words “Pepto Bismol House” on the property’s equally bright green fence. Police never caught the perp, but years after the incident, Mr. Meissner said, a man came to him and admitted he was the one who had painted the fence when he was a boy.

Ivan Meissner said his first recollection of it being referred to as the Pepto Bismol House was when he was in first grade at Bowie Elementary School in the early 1960s.

The Meissner’s also don’t care whether people think it’s ugly or not, especially not as much as other people, who complained recently when the house was briefly mentioned in a story on eyesores in Midland. The suggestion was never made that the house surely must be the ugliest things in Midland, although a couple of emailers said perhaps it should be. The Meissner’s laugh at the attention.

“Why should we care whether people like it or not?” Mr. Meissner said. “If they think it’s pretty, that’s their privilege. If they think it’s ugly, that’s their privilege, too.”

After all, the Meissners all agreed, if you’re gonna live in a pink house, you’re bound to get some comments over the years.

Meissner is a former insurance agent and real estate adjustor, also served as a satellite commander of the military reserve in Midland and holds the rank of retired lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve. His only other child, Edward, is an independent physics consultant in Dallas. Meissner recently married his second wife, Jackie, who, when asked whether she likes the bright pink paint on the exterior, says calmly, “It’s all right.”

Ivan said the family has always purchased its paint from Sherwin Williams, a store that has even made a special shade and set it aside when it comes time to touch up the place. “They call it Meissner pink,” Ivan said.

There is also a rumor circulating through the family that no one has been able to verify: the house was supposedly once featured in the magazine House Beautiful.

All the members of the family chuckle at the stories that have been handed down and agree that perhaps there is only one thing for certain: “People either love it or they hate it,” Mr. Meissner said. “It’s considered a landmark and there’d probably be quite an uproar if we ever decided to paint it another color.”

Midland RockHounds: What a championship looks like

Congratulations to the Midland RockHounds, 2009 Texas League Champions, and the impressive piece of hardware you can see at the team's front office ...

Handing down the National Parks experience to our children vital to survival of the system

Aside from the indescribable cinematic beauty of "National Parks: America's Best Idea," beyond the fascinating history revealed at almost every turn of the 12-hour miniseries, despite the characters you learned to love or jeer, there was an underlying theme of the PBS miniseries by documentarian Ken Burns that weaved its way through all the messages, images and education: the sheer joy that our country's National Parks offer when they are handed down from generation to generation.

The importance of family and shared experiences were touched on a little in several instances during the first five installments, and fully broached as the series reached its conclusion last Friday night. That Burns and writer Dayton Duncan saved such a powerful message for the end showed just how meaningful this handing down of family tradition through our parks is.

It is important to the fabric of our country that we have the parks and it was noble of those who worked together to make it happen, but it is up to us as Americans to keep the system going, and the best way to do that is to not just visit them, but to teach our children what they mean and how fortunate we are to be able to see them, or in some cases, as one writer said during the show, "to just know that they are there."

I would not have the appreciation for our park system that I do were it not for my father. The Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Mesa Verde, the Rockies, the Smokeys, Hawaii Volcanos, Mammoth Cave, Hot Springs, the former Platt NP in Oklahoma and of course Big Bend ... I now look at visits to those national parks as gifts given to me by my father and it felt as if he was watching Burns' documentary alongside me last week, a series that was as much about us as it was about anyone else who sets foot in the parks out of a sheer love of America. It will likely never fall off my list of the best things I will ever see on television.

I remember distinctly in 1970 when I was 10 finding a hollowed out rock, sitting in it and pulling out the latest copy of The Sporting News with a cover story about Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Manny Sanguillen and his infectious smile. I want to find that rock again and someday I will. I remember standing on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and, still today, recall just how magnificent the feeling was even though 40 years have passed. I remember Gatlinburg and how my mom loved it, and I remember sleeping in the Volcano House hotel on the rim of Mauna Kea and wondering if I would live through the night out of fear the darn thing would erupt, or poison me because of the constant choking smell of sulfur. I remember  summer after summer at Platt, a national park which exists no more under the park system but at the time meant more to me than any park in the country simply because I was a boy growing up there every June and July.

My father never stopped educating me about the National Parks. It wasn't until six years ago when I finally visited Big Bend with him for the first time. To see a grown man marvel at such beauty is a site almost as spellbinding itself and one everyone should see.

These visits to the parks are a lifelong gift that I never appreciated fully until it was verbalized during last week's PBS series. I now consider these visits among the most precious memories my dad left for me: a love for nature and for God's great natural beauty, and for a country that had the vision and the foresight to set aside land for the enjoyment of us all.

Just as I will always remember that vacation in the Rockies or those summers in Platt, I hope and pray that my son will remember hiking the South Rim of the Chisos or into Boquillas Canyon and running to the park store to buy Mexican villagers dinner for a few days. I hope our children will always remember our time spent at Guadalupe Mountains and Mesa Verde.

And I hope that one day, they will hand down to a fourth generation and teach their children how important these shared experiences are to a family.

'Have No Fear': Midland College working through logistical planning for papal exhibit's December opening

Midland College's hosting of an exhibit of Pope John Paul II's personal effects -- the first such exhibit to ever tour the United States -- is a major coup. That Midland is the first stop in a tour that will take the exhibit to cities like New York, Chicago, Albuquerque and Milwaukee says a lot about the campus and its people.

Certainly the exhibit's stophere was made possible in part because of a friendship between a Midland College employee and Fr. Malcolm Neyland, director of the Lubbock-based National Exhibits Association, but the people who sign off on such a historic tour must have thought this was a pretty good place to launch the event and that we are more than capable of housing major pieces of world history.

When you think about the magnitude of it, it makes you feel good about Midland and West Texas. The "Have No Fear" exhibit is not, as Midland College president Dr. Stephen Thomas said, "a Catholic exhibit," but instead a historical event that tells the story of a 20th century giant, roundly praised as a man of peace and a humanitarian without equal.

The exhibit has grown from 140 to 180 artifacts in just the month since the announcement was first made. Items that will be included paint a picture of the former Karol Wojtyla of Poland, including an exact replica of his office when he was cardinal (pictured above); personal artifacts such as skis, shoes and diaries, which tell stories that will perhaps enhance this great man's character and place in history all the more.

The exhibit will be at MC from Dec. 7-Feb. 14, 2010 and although schedules are still being planned, ticket prices have been set at $15.

"I saw this as a cultural historical exhibit," Dr. Thomas said last week. "There's no doubt the Catholic community will be keenly interested, but there are an awful lot of historians and a lot of others who thought a lot of John Paul II."

Thomas said much discussion has gone into being able to pull off the event with minimal interference of their primary mission of serving students, and the first-year president feels strongly that will happen.

Temporary walls will be constructed in the Allison Fine Arts Building's McCormick Gallery, and much of the event viewing will occur when students are between fall and spring semesters. At some point later in the run, Thomas said, a week will be set aside to accommodate visits by school students from Midland-Odessa and the region.

Thomas said he has no way to get an accurate estimate of just how many will pay to see exhibit, but has heard guesses from 50,000-150,000.

With donations to the college in a slight downturn because of the economy, Thomas also said tickets sales and proceeds from sanctioned souvenirs will benefit the college greatly by being directed solely at student scholarships and instructional enterprise.

The price is frankly a steal when the historical magnitude of the items are factored in.

 "John Paul II was a powerful leader of the 20^th century even if he had never been pope," Thomas said. "He was a great humanitarian and a special human being because of his world view and all he tried to accomplish.

"His influence after he became pope and how he made a difference in people's lives, I think also helped make him an exceptional human being and you don’t have to be a Catholic to get that. As the Catholic members on our committee say, he was a rock star. I think its going to be neat."

1,500 help select ugliest eyesore in Midland, and the 'winner' is ...

Above: The Midlander, a write-in eyesore candidate.

   MyWestTexas readers cast over 1,500 votes for their choice of Ugliest Eyesore in Midland this week and the top vote getters were no big surprise: Our city's vast collection of fields littered with empty plastic grocery bags clinging to mesquite branches and other botanical life received 412 of the 1,544 votes cast. Those unsightly fields are a pain to more than 1 in 4 who voted in the poll. Imagine the votes we would have received had business development not occurred in the former field that once stood at Wadley and Midland and in the sticker-filled meadow behind the northside Wal-Mart.

   The dilapidated Kmart Shopping Center on Midland Drive, just north of Illinois St. (299 votes), the abandoned pub Benigans in the Midland Park Mall parking lot (244) and the decrepit Water Wonderland (201) also received significantly more votes than did the other six on the list.

   Although I'm not real sure where to start, it would appear as though we have some work to do to make our hometown a bit more pleasing to our discerning eye.

   Displaying perhaps a bit of nostalgia, voters refused to consider that The Pagoda, a gift to Midland from our sister city Dongying, China, even belonged in the Top 10. Only 28 named it as something hard to look at. And let's be clear again, the Pagoda itself is not and has never been an eyesore, but the vandalism that has spoiled it has certainly rendered it something that has seen far better days.

   There were plenty of write-in candidates during our poll, and we retained one guiding rule: if it is lived in or used as a workplace, we won't list it among our biggest eyesores, although it appears more than one Midlander feels strongly about what most everyone refers to as "The Pepto Bismol House." Since it is a residence, though, and plenty of people find it appealing as well, it won't be mentioned here today :)

Other write-in votes went to:

-- The overgrown weeds and mesquite bushes that are crawling up support beams under the West Loop 250 overpass at west Business 20. One area business owner noted how distressing it was that one of our city's portals is so shaggy and un-comely looking.

-- One emailer pointed out the ugliness of the tank farm that is just to the south of the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial and CAF Museum at the Midland International Airport. The tank farm, just to the north of Big 2, appears abandoned, with a faded Texaco logo on one container, but it also sits on land occupied by a current business. Full or long since dried up, it's another unfortunate example of one of the first things a visitor can see upon arrival.

-- The long-closed Midlander sports and fitness club, which sits just to the north and east of Big Spring and Corporate Drive (mercifully out of view to much of the general populace), across the street from The Springboard Center, is not a pretty site. That it is either falling apart or has been vandalized doesn't help much.

-- The former Permian Basin Alcohol and Drug Agency building on Wall St., due south of the Central Fire Department, remains one of the unsightliest behemoths in our midst. Sitting so close to a government building and even more in the middle of the beautiful stretch of Wall St. than the abandoned apartments a few blocks to the east, I am puzzled why this has set neglected for so long. Again, if someone is coming in to Midland from Odessa, the airport or points west for a meeting downtown, they may very likely pass this building. Not something to be proud of.

Uglest eyesore ReaderPOLL results:

   1. Empty fields with plastic bags and other trash 412
    2. Kmart Shopping Center (Midland Dr.) 299
    3. Benigans (Midland Park Mall) 244
    4. Water Wonderland (Bus. 80, west of airport) 201
    5. Wall Street Apartments (W. Wall, near downtown) 78
    6. Castle Stone Apartments (Garden City Hwy.) 61
    7. Rusty, abandoned oil containers 50
    8. Midland Academy Charter School (Big Spring St.) 46
    9. The Building of the Southwest (Big Spring and Texas St.) 44
    10 Other (not listed) 41
    11. The Pagoda (Beal Park) 28
    12. Furrs sign (Town & Country Shpg. Center, Midkiff) 27
Total votes: 1544
 



  

"National Parks: America's Best Idea" as perfect as TV gets

If there is such a thing as brilliant, flawless TV, then we must certainly be in the midst of it this week with the 6-night, 12-hour documentary, "Ken Burns -- The National Parks: America's Best Idea."

Beautifully filmed and expertly told, the documentary series is as alluring as anything TV has done. It flows like a novel with heroic protagonists (John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt) and a comependium of black-hatted villains (James Mason Hutchings; Gifford Pinchot; poachers; and the marauding, murderous white man brutally forcing Native Americans from their homes). The heroes are people you cheer for in this documentary; the bad guys those you  feel like roundly booing.

The series' first two episodes Sunday and Monday focused heavily on Yosemite and Yellowstone, the cornerstones of the National Park system. Repeated exposure to either will compel even casual viewers to want to drop everything and head west.

Burns' storytelling is so masterful that he effortlessly weaves intriguing side anecdotes into the bigger timeline. Together, the companion narratives mix with the greater historical pieces to form an intriguing tapestry of America's greatest natural wonderlands. Sidebars on Yellowstone and Mesa Verde are engrossing, but most of all, it is the time spent on and with John Muir, the self-described "unknown nobody" from Scotland by way of Wisconsin, that is most engaging. The naturalist we are told was made to memorize the Bible by the time he was 11 by a demanding Presbyterian minister father, but it was not until Muir laid eyes on Yosemite that he truly experienced God. Clearly and thoroughly moved by God's creations, he fought tirelessly against the development of a dam in Yosemite, and shortly after he lost the political fight to keep the reservoir away from his beloved Hetch Hetche Mountain, he died. His efforts were heroic, his story moving and heartwrenching.

Like the best of Burns' PBS films, "The National Parks" is most watchable when it brings in experts to supplement Peter Coyote's narration. The prose of park rangers Shelton Johnson and Gerard Baker is elegant and enthralling. Historians William Cronon and Dayton Duncan are simply a pleasure to listen to and Muir devotee Lee Stetson with his beard and Scottish brogue could easily be the reincarnation of the walking man who loved Yosemite. Coyote's work cannot be left out: he could chronicle the history of dirt and I could easily find myself hanging on his every word.

It would be easy to say the scenery is what carries this documentary, but the words that accompany those images are equally gripping. As with his film on baseball several years ago, Burns has the ability to tell the story of America through the microcosm of his individual topic and skillfully, Burns tells us America's story through the development of the National Park System.

It is interesting to note, too, that in this time of upheaval, when all we can do is argue about government intervention in our lives, it is precisely that same intervention that has kept us from destroying these natural treasures and being able to enjoy them for almost 150 years. That the National Parks system's biggest champion was the Republican Teddy Roosevelt is also worth footnoting.

Like probably many others who appreciate the parks, my love for these extraordinary works of nature was handed down to me by my father, who in turn received his love for them from his father. Anyone fortunate enough to have been handed down that same love should devote time to watching "Ken Burns -- The National Parks: America's Best Idea," one of the most exquisitely beautiful and historically fascinating programs the medium of television has ever given us.

("Ken Burns -- The National Parks: America's Best Idea" continues nightly through Friday on KPBT-PBS Ch. 13, with original airings from 7-9 p.m., and encore presentations from 9-11 p.m.)

Midland needs to find itself a new Ugliest Eyesore we can complain about

    We Midlanders haven't had much to kick around since The Demolishers took our Midland Savings Building last November. Let's be honest, that old thing, rest its soul, was an eyesore without equal. Turquoise may have been the it shade of the mid-20th century, but in those final months and years when it was infested with asbestos, locked up, boarded down and lined with chain link, it was hard to find anything uglier in our humble little midst.
   With it gone, I have been searching high and low for a fitting replacement; for something that is truly due the title of Ugliest Eyesore in Midland. But instead of just arrogantly thrusting such a lofty title on the first falling down structure I could find, I'd prefer your help in the decision-making process.
   Assembled on this page today is a collection of 11 worthy finalists; structures (and one non-structure) that would seem to be able to successfully uphold the title, were it to be so lucky to hoist that particular crown atop itself.
   There was only one stipulation for nominees that I could think of when doing my extensive research: the would-be winner of "The Midland Savings Building Memorial Ugliest Eyesore" award couldn't be a place in which someone either currently lives or works, which of course automatically disqualifies the drive-thru beer barn on Big Spring St. as well as about a half-dozen motels on Wall and Front. (In all fairness a great many of those hotels in the industrial district seemed to have fresh coats of paint on them as I did a quick drive-thru earlier this week; they're not the Trump Taj Mahal but, baby steps ...).
   So, if you were mayor for a day, or whatever position would be necessary to make such destructive decisions, and you had several thousand dollars at your disposal, which of the following would you personally demolish, destroy, set on fire (not recommended) or otherwise personally haul to the city dump?
   Sort through the photos, read why said nominees deserve to be given a proper burial and then visit MyWestTexas next week and in our ReaderPOLL, select the eyesore you'd most like to see go away forever. One in which you would take great pleasure in swinging the wrecking ball yourself.

And the nominees are:

1. Benigans, Midland Park Mall parking lot, Loop 250 and Midkiff. First nominated by a MyWestTexas.com reader, it's hard to understand why it hasn't been reoccupied by another loud "upscale" chain restaurant. So let's put in an Applebees or a Chipotle or bring it down so we'll have more parking for Christmas shopping.

2. Castle Stone Apartments, Garden City Highway. It actually appears there is some sort of reconstruction effort occurring at this decades-closed complex. It's one of the first thing travelers from San Angelo see as they come in on Hwy. 158, so it really needs to be fixed up or maybe just blown away. Just one word of advice though: if the complex is reopened, the sign really needs to go ... it's just so '60s.

3. Empty fields with plastic bags and other trash clinging to weeds. With a number of new business and residential developments popping up, the fields that once trapped and seemingly forever held on to old plastic grocery bags seem to be diminishing, but there are still a few of them around town. And they are still as ugly as ever.  

4. The Furrs sign, Town and Country Shopping Center on Midkiff. It appears someone whitewashed the screen to some degree within the last couple of months, but the Furrs logo appears as unlikely to die off as a cockroach in a nuclear Armageddon. The store has been closed for probably 20 years, but the sign is a reminder of a time way gone by ... and a time when a lot of Midlanders weren't even born yet.

   5. Kmart Shopping Center, Midland Dr., north of Illinois. Another suggestion sent in by a MyWestTexas reader, the original eyesore nominee was merely the old Big K store itself, probably closed for nearly 10 years now. But really, most of this shopping center needs to be wiped off the map (save for a couple of existing businesses still toughing it out). Not only does it contain an old Kmart, but a closed self-service post office and a large sign that hasn't been readable in years. From a size perspective, this is likely Midland's single largest eyesore and good only for what the picture shows: a place where truckers can flop for the night.

6. Midland Academy Charter School, N. Big Spring St. Cosmetically, the former MACS is a far cry from the Kmart Shopping Center across town, but the school grounds are often overgrown and abandoned looking. Still not sure why the county didn't purchase this and use it as a jail expansion. With all due respect, this place would require minimal renovations to look like a jail. Actually, bars on the windows would be all that it needs.

 

7. The Pagoda, Beal Park. The sister-city pagoda from China is so dilapidated, tagged and vandalized by vandal-loving graffiti "artists" it may be on its way out. The pagoda itself is great and a fine gift to our city, but the disrespect it has received makes it a good candidate for something we should just remember fondly.

  8. Rusty, abandoned oil containers. They might have smelled like money in the 1980s, but these days, they just smell like rusty, abandoned oil containers. Thankfully, when traveling I-20 from the east to the west city limits, I didn't see ANY old abandoned oil containers or rusty tank batteries. They're out there, but, fortunately, like plastic bags in fields, they're numbers appear to be dwindling.

9. The Building of the Southwest, northeast corner of Texas and Big Spring. It's just too bad when they were whacking away at the Midland Savings and old First National Bank buildings last year, the ball didn't swing wide and take out a piece of this thing with it. We've been told it's being converted into luxury condos, but as of today, it's still just an ugly empty building with a for sale sign on it. Something it's been for several months, maybe years.
  

10. Wall Street Apartments, 1100 block of W. Wall. Smack in the middle of arguably one of the most beautiful stretches in Midland sits the Wall Street Apartments, occupied a few short years ago, it's now just creepy looking. Just from an immediate need standpoint, this would be my first choice to go. Are there no city dollars to do something about this?

11. Water Wonderland, Business 20 west of the airport. The old waterpark would probably win top honors for most things that would make you shiver if you walked through it. In some ways, sort of like when it was open.

(If you're favorite new ugliest eyesore isn't on the list but deserving of the Midland Savings Building Memorial Ugliest Eysore Award, feel free to cast a write-in vote below ...)