By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas — Maybe it’s just me, but I am curious about something every time I drive into this lovely Central Texas community.

It is this: Who are individuals honored by the signs that designate sections of U.S. Highway 290 in their memory?

We see these signs honoring what I presume to be law enforcement officers. They sections of the highway are called “memorial highway,” which tells me that the individuals honored are deceased.

My curiosity, which I have in abundance — given that I spent my career as a newspaper journalist — forces me to ask: Who are these people? What did they do to merit this memorial designation?

One section is named in memory of John Allen McCarty. What did he do to merit this memorial? Did he die while performing a heroic act? I want to know these things … you know?

In North Texas, where we now live, we see a section of U.S. Highway 75 that runs through Collin County named after the late U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson. Hey, I know a little about Rep. Johnson: former congressman and a former Vietnam War prisoner held captive for more than six years in Hanoi; the man was a serious hero who earned the honor.

I am left to ponder whether it is possible to erect a marker near the sign to enable nosey-Ned motorists such as me to stop to read a bit about these individuals?

I once wrote a series of features for an Amarillo TV station about historical markers. One of the sources for that series was a gentleman who worked at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. He admitted to me that he stops to read all the historical markers he sees as he travels through Texas, which is saying something because the state contains hundreds of these markers.

I might be inclined to read about the fallen law enforcement officers who are honored in this fashion.