Whistles in the Night

Nighttime in a small southern town in early May. The cold gray clouds of the Northwest have been left far behind and the thick water laden air of Louisiana is with us now. The locals admit that this spring for them has been unusually cool, 80 degrees as a high much of the time. They also tell of the summer months when the air stops moving and the temperature rises to above 100 degrees -- summer time in the South.

Unlike the Northwest, or West in general, the South and the East are 'old' by comparison -- at least by our societal time line. The buildings are older, the history of the nation goes back farther, and the memories (and realities) of a divided country can be found with relative ease. While the western railroads were building and bridging the country in the latter and early parts of the 19th and 20th centuries, the eastern lines were well established and entrenched. Even today they have a different "feel" as they blast through the small southern towns between the long established large southeastern and eastern cities. The wide open plains and dramatic mountain scenery of their western counterparts is notably absent but still, there's something special about them.

Ruston finds itself along a vital transportation link that is not I-20 (which also passes through the town). Instead, passing directly through its center is a steel artery known as the Meridian Speedway connecting Shreveport and traffic from the west to Meridian and the large cities of the east. As night falls on small Ruston, the railroad stakes its claim and the howls that come from the passing freight trains can be heard across the city. Perhaps its that extra humidity that makes them so clear and haunting but there's no denying their lonesome, lonesome sound.

There's a story here and it is deep and it is complicated. It's a story that spans generations and entices us to pursue it. The lonesome whistles of the Kansas City Southern on its Meridian Speedway are just a taste of what's here, and only the beginning. I hope you enjoy our thoughts and adventures as we try to uncover what else lies waiting in the warm nights and thick air of this very different place.