“You may be standing, sitting, strolling or rolling by the alcove on Wylie Street, between Selman and Kenyon Streets, in the space known as Reynoldstown Alcove Memory Park, or RAMP for short, updated in 2020. It features an 1896 railroad map of the region. From the Atlantic to just past the Mississippi River, and from the top of the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Panhandle, to the bottom of Tennessee and small portions of North Carolina. The border honors design of the Creek people. Included on the collage plates are a few great lesser known, but notable souls.

The Compassionate & the Courageous.

The Determined & the Diplomatic.

The Ingenious & the Industrious.

See yourself on the map in the mirrors. Imagine yourself making lasting contributions. Standing, sitting, strolling or rolling on the correct side of history.”

Plaque displayed at Reynoldstown Alcove Memory Park

Art can ask and inform. Art can guide and remind. Art can reflect and inspire. Art can frame and locate. Art can open and shake. Art situate and illuminate. Art can build and create. Art can celebrate and remember. Art can move and disrupt. Art can break and mend. Art can breathe and soothe.

This map does all that.

It reminds me of my family’s history with the Louisville to Nashville Railroad. It reminds me of camping trips from Louisville to Florida every summer when I was young. It reminds me that we must tell our story in personal and public spaces. It reminds me that we must listen to the stories of others. It reminds me we must look for — and become — helpers, trailblazers, leaders, lovers of life. It reminds me that we must leave a world better than the one we inherited.