Thinking Big

Things in Texas are so much bigger, so I've heard. This roadrunner sculpture is supposedly the largest roadrunner in the world. It measures 22 feet long, 11 feet tall, and 800 pounds. That's big.

When I read about this big roadrunner, I just had to go see it. Well because it's the biggest. Apparently the world is full of big sculptures, even in small towns. I also had get a photo thinking my friend Cindy Shake would appreciate this big sculpture. Cindy makes the most extraordinary and sometimes very big metal sculptures, and being from Alaska, the state that is the biggest, even bigger than Texas, I was sure Cindy would appreciate this big roadrunner.


Paisano Pete, as this roadrunner is affectionately called by the community of Fort Stockton, Texas, is made of fiberglass, is painted, and coated with a glossy coating to help preserve the bird. Roadrunners can fly, but are most often seen running. Unlike most birds, roadrunners have two toes pointing forward and two backward. This foot configuration is said to aid the bird in running faster. Roadrunners can reach speeds up to 20 miles per hour.

As I was doing research for this post, I came across an article saying that Las Cruces has the largest roadrunner. I was just in Las Cruces and somehow I missed seeing their roadrunner made of recycled parts. I was thinking to myself last night, darn I might have missed seeing the biggest roadrunner. How about your town or area, are there any big pieces of public art. Of course big doesn't necessarily have to big in size.

The more I see the more I realize just how big the world is, people are thinking big, doing big, making big; big in size, big on ideas, big in art, big in life. Even if something isn't the biggest, it's the thinking big and the doing that makes it big even if it isn't the biggest. Heck it could even be the smallest, it's still the biggest in my book. Here's to thinking big.