The Spirit Within

This week I attended the dedication of a Legacy Sculpture presented to the City of Olathe honoring the city's sesquicentennial [150 years]. This life-sized monument, which is nearly 60 feet long, depicts a stagecoach, people and horses all in recognition of the heritage of Olathe as one of the final stopping places along the trails heading West.
Kwan Wu, the artist of this sculpture [who is internationally recognized for much of his work and happens to be a resident of Olathe], spent two years creating this bronze mural.
He commented that as he worked on this piece he found himself talking with the people as he fashioned them from metal - their spirits very much alive and vibrant.

I understand this very well. During the 31 years I was employed at the school for the deaf, I often felt the presence of those who had lived and worked on those grounds since 1867. Now that I am beginning to write their story, I find myself carefully listening to them and hoping to give accurate 'voice' to their tales, for these people are very real, very alive and very much a part of my life.