This week I enjoyed two great examples of the power of words and the pleasure truly well-crafted writing can provide. One came in the form of a fairly traditional format for the written word, and the other came from a medium which has often been blamed for severely damaging the literacy of those raised under its influence. This past Sunday PBS began airing Ken Burns‘ latest multi-hour documentary. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea provides a history of the development of America’s national park system, along with stunning pictures from some of the most beautiful natural landscapes on earth. As Burns has done with his other documentary subjects, he quotes extensively from the writings of historical figures who played major roles in the establishment of individual parks and the National Park Service. While I drank in the images from Yosemite, Denali, Yellowstone, Glacier, Rainier, Everglades, Acadia, Crater Lake, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon and more, I also reveled in the words written by the lovers and supporters of these wild places when the country was just beginning to consider setting them aside for future generations. I was especially taken again with the poetry inherent in the writings of John Muir. Here was a man with an engineer’s mind whose writings are full of such grace, imagery and sense of place that one wants to get out immediately and be immersed in what he so beautifully and lovingly describes. As I listened to the voices reading Muir’s words, and even those of ordinary citizens writing in that bygone era, I reflected that we have lost a great deal in our ability (or desire) to communicate so eloquently and beautifully with the written word in an age when the speed and ease with which we can exchange our thoughts has grown so exponentially. Texting and tweeting don’t seem such grand advancements when placed alongside the thoughtful writings of an educated and seeking mind. Ah, but I am not here to rant about our cultural wasteland, for wonderful writing is still to be found and relished and shared. One such piece came before me this week in the form of a wonderful article written by Gary Smith in the Sept. 28th issue of Sports Illustrated.  “The Power of One” tells of a young woman from a tiny town in Texas who, two years in a row, won the state 1A track team championship title — all by herself. Now, Bonnie Richardson’s feat alone makes the article worth reading, but Smith’s ability to draw a clear picture of the small town, a life developed in its confines and the girl’s struggle to live her life and seek her goals on her terms keeps drawing my mind back to it. This piece is a gem, and it reminds me of others I have found in SI and other “mainstream” media. When I was teaching, I would often find articles in newstand publications and share them with my students to show them examples of “good” writing that existed in their world and covered subjects they understood and could enjoy. The idea was to expose them to the power and beauty of words, whether in a Shakespeare play or a Rolling Stone interview. I guess it figures that someone who makes her living working with words would get so excited about a piece of writing that really burrows into the brain and makes one ponder a life or a place outside of his or her own known world. But it seems to me we all need to remember and respect what words can do and how they can transport us — for good or ill. I hope you find a bit of the written word that you can treasure and mull over and share this week. — Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader