An Arkies Musings

When I ran across this cartoon, it made me think about why I blog. It is certainly not for the money. I'm not sure why I blog. I haven't been doing it long, less than 3 months. In a way it is kind of like a diary or journal. I guess that it feels good to leave some kind of mark. Some way for people to actually know you exist and have done something. Maybe it because my memory is so poor, I feel that blogging can help my memory. I know that I am not blogging for the money, but the benefits have been many. I have met, if you can call typing on the computer meeting, many wonderful people. With all of the ugliness we see and hear about in the world, it is nice to get to know wonderful people from all parts of the world. I'm still trying to figure out why I blog, and if it is worth the investment of time. In less than three months it has become an important part of my life, so I imagine blogging is here to stay. Probably the most important reason that I blog is to let ...

Thanksgiving Day was as beautiful and perfect a day as you can have in Arkansas in November. The temperature was almost 70 degrees with clear skies. I started the day by listening to Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie. Listening to Alice's Restaurant is a Thanksgiving tradition for me. If you have ever heard the song, you know that Arlo's troubles began on Thanksgiving. You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant. After everyone got up and had breakfast, Autumn wanted to go outside and play. I took her and her dog Sally down to the creek behind the house. Autumn had a great time throwing rocks into the creek, and Sally spent her time splashing through the creek until she found a swimming hole. She spent a half hour or more just swimming, then getting out and shaking on Autumn and I, and then swimming again. AUTUMN AT THE CREEK SALLY SWIMMING The day was spent cooking and cleaning up the kitchen. Our kitchen is small, so we have to keep things washed so ...

Last week in church, Pastor Dan gave each person in the audience five kernels of corn. The story behind the five kernels of corn goes back to the Pilgrims. EDWARD WINSLOW While they were waiting for the harvest of 1623, they lived four or five days at a time on a few grains of corn. From their experience came the legend of the five kernels of corn. Their hopes rested on a good fall harvest, but the harvest of 1623 was almost wiped out. A six week drought began in June and the crops turned brown and were slowly withering away. They turned to the only hope they had – intervention by God, and appointed a solemn day of humiliation and prayer. The Pilgrims assembled one July morning under a hot, clear sky and for nine hours prayed. Their prayers were answered the next morning, wrote Edward Winslow, and for the next two weeks distilled such soft, sweet and moderate showers that it was hard to say whether our withered corn or drooping affections were most quickened and revived. ...

It's time again For ABC Wednesday . If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday , you are missing out on a lot of fun. S is for Signs. Whenever I have my camera with me I like to take pictures of unusual signs. This one taken in San Pedro Belize has to be one of my all time favorites. No we didn't eat there. It seems like the maintenance men at King's Casino in Louisiana would have noticed that some maintenance was needed. It's a sin. Just because there is a restaurant and a motel on the same premises doesn't mean that they should share the sign. We were hungry, but not that hungry. Lake Leatherwood, near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is formed by one of the largest hand-cut native limestone dams in the country. The dam and several structures at the park were built in the early 1940s by the WPA. This sign on the lake appears to have been built in the 40's but I'm not quite sure why it was needed. I had too many sign pictures to post, so I made a mu...

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and I am getting excited. Yesterday Gina and I went shopping for Thanksgiving dinner and spend an amazing amount of money. We tried to do our part to jump start the economy. Gavin will be here Tuesday night, and Cynda, Dave, and the girls will be here Wednesday night. I can hardly wait for us to all be together. It is always blissful bedlam. Thanksgiving is such an amazing holiday. To me, even more than Christmas, Thanksgiving is the holiday that focuses on family. I know that family is something I am very thankful for. I learned in school that the first Thanksgiving was held by the Pilgrims in 1621. I have later found out that it wasn’t quite true. The Pilgrims did set apart a day to celebrate at Plymouth immediately after their first harvest, in 1621. At the time, this was not regarded as a Thanksgiving observance, but a harvest festival. Harvest Festivals were existing parts of English and Indian tradition alike. The Pilgrims did not hold...

It's time again for Sunday's Meme Sunrise Sunset To join in the fun go here This is a hurricane damaged pier on Ambergris Caye, Belize photographed a few minutes after sunrise. The Caribbean is always beautiful, but it is just extra beautiful in the early morning light.

Last year Gina and I drove to Baton Rouge for the birth of our second granddaughter Rebekah. Gina had taken a week off of work so that she could stay with Cynda and help her with Autumn and the new baby. That meant that I had to drive back home alone. On my way out of Baton Rouge, I took Highway 190 to Interstate 49. I have traveled Highway 190 quite a bit, and I know that you just don't speed on it. It is heavily patrolled. The speed limit was 65 mph, so I set the cruise control on the MINI at 67 mph. I traveled along with the flow of traffic listening to a book on CD about Benjamin Franklin. As I came into the town of Point Barre, the speed limit dropped from 65 mph to 45 mph. I tapped the cruise control and traveled along with several other cars as we slowed down. The next thing I knew, there were blue lights in my rear view mirror. The patrolman must have been shooting his radar right at the 45 mph sign, and he had to pick me out of 4 or 5 cars to stop, as we were all...

One of my favorite hikes in the Mena area is the hike back to an old stone dam that is not far from town. I first found the dam in August 2006 through Geocaching . There was a cache listed that was called The CCC DAM BOMBER TRAIL cache . I had a hard time figuring out how to get to this cache, and even though I made it I did everything wrong. I found an old cowpath through the brush that took me to the bottom of the dam on Ward Lake. I climbed the dam and bushwacked through the bottom of Ward Lake as it was dry. I found my way up the creek bed and eventually came to the bottom of the CCC Dam. I had to climb the dam to get to the cache. Once I made it to the dam, I realized that there was a trail, and I took it out to the road. GINA ON THE DAM I like to take people on this hike back to the dam. Last Sunday, Gina and I hiked back to the dam with our friend Deanna. It was a beautiful day. We took Deanna's dog Cowboy with us. He was great to hike with. GINA AND COWBOY ON THE TR...

I was recently tagged by Paul Merrill in a meme called 5 things. Paul gave me the assignment of telling you about my Top 5 grandparent times. How can I narrow it down to five? Here goes, not in any particular order. AUTUMN KISSING HER NEW BABY SISTER The birth of a grandbaby is always a high point. When Rebekah was born, one of the things that made it so special was how much Autumn loved her. Autumn was just barely two years old. The day Rebekah was born, every time Autumn was in the hospital room with her sister, she wanted to hold her. She would walk in saying "I holdy, I holdy". This picture of her kissing Rebekah is probably my favorite picture. PAPA'S GIRL Rebekah has been a Papa's girl from the day she was born. Her and I just have a connection that I can't explain. Because we live 400 miles apart we don't get to see each other very often, but each time is very special. AUTUMN'S FIRST STEPS I remember when Autumn took her first steps. Gina ...

It's time again For ABC Wednesday . If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday , you are missing out on a lot of fun. R is for Relay For Life . If you have followed my blog at all, this selection probably doesn't surprise you. I have been involved with Relay for two years now, and we are starting to prepare for Relay 2009. Relay For Life is a life-changing event that brings together more than 3.5 million people to: • Celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer. The strength of survivors inspires others to continue to fight. • Remember loved ones lost to the disease. At Relay, people who have walked alongside people battling cancer can grieve and find healing. • Fight Back. We Relay because we have been touched by cancer and desperately want to put an end to the disease. One person can make a difference. Nowhere is that more evident than with the story of the American Cancer Society Relay For Life, which began in Tacoma, Washington. In the mid-1980s, Dr. Gordy ...