burnett park

i, s.b. burnett, do hereby give onto the city of fort worth this land for the purpose of creating a place of recreation in the very heart of the city, as a public park and particularly for relief against the heat of our summer, and as resting spot for tired mothers and their children. said park shall be known as the burnett bemorial park, not for my own vain glory, but to perpetuate the memory of my two children, ann & burk, now long gone from me.

~ s.b. burnett, 1919

so sayeth the inscription on the wall behind the "briefcase man" statue in burnett park at the intersection of cherry and west 7th streets, which i visited today after taking care of some biz downtown. didn't see many mothers or children there, just a sleeping homeless dude and some smoking office workers, but as my sweetie points out, all of them are somebody's children, too. i'm not sure whether the "long gone from me" means deceased, estranged, or just grown. whatevah, the words made an impression.