I braved the Texas heat yesterday afternoon — it felt more like summer than fall — to track down some historical markers. I was driving in a residential neighborhood to get to the next one and passed a house with a teenager sitting on the front porch. He watched me, and I know he continued to do so as I parked a few houses down. I got out of my car, read the historical marker, and took a few photos — definitely feeling his eyes on me at this point.

As I was leaving, I watched in my rearview mirror as the teenager crossed the street and walked over to the historical marker, undoubtedly curious as to what the heck I had stopped to look at. (The historical marker is in an empty lot, as the building had been torn down about 8 years ago.) I’m guessing he didn’t know it was there or had ever read it before.

Perhaps it was his first time to ever see a historical marker. Maybe, just maybe, it piqued his interest, and he whipped out his cell phone to learn more. Now, did he look like the type that would become interested in local history? No, probably not. But you never know. I’m sure I didn’t look like the type either. I got interested in local history a couple of years ago by reading a historical marker. It can happen.

Somebody is always watching — and you never know what they will see.

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Blog post by Jason S. Sullivan, 10-24-21