On July 31st, I had the pleasure to meet 23 year old Ethen Braughton while welcoming the passengers of the Queen of the Mississippi and the American Queen riverboats to Cape Girardeau.

Ethen, who now lives in Cape Girardeau, was rock balancing. Rock balancing is an art, discipline, or hobby (depending upon the intent of the practitioner) in which rocks are balanced on top of one another in various positions. There are no tricks involved to aid in the balancing, such as adhesives, wires, supports, or rings.

I would dare say that as many people were taking pictures of Ethen’s creations as of the riverboats themselves.

With the simple message, “God is Love” written with chalk in front of his work, Ethen has that wonderful ability to see beauty in the simplest of things. Ethen noted that people inspire him. He enjoys “seeing people come together. Strangers talking to strangers. Smiles. Interacting, even if but for a few moments.”

Ethen prefers the limelight to be on his message rather than him. “Love is everything good and God is everything good,” he shared.
I simply watched and marveled throughout the day as Ethen touched lives. People came together throughout the day. They watched and strangers indeed talked to strangers. People smiled and interacted as a young man shared a simple message while balancing rocks.

Come. Enjoy the majesty of the Mississippi River. Take a stroll and look around. You never know who you might meet at Cape Girardeau’s Riverfront Park; there’s something special, magical about the Mississippi River. As you stroll along Cape Girardeau’s Riverfront Trail, pause for a moment…. you can feel the passion that led Mark Twain to write so eloquently, the inspiration that General Ulysses S. Grant used to command with firm conviction, and the warmth and hospitality that Lewis and Clark discovered while on the journey of a lifetime.