An Arkies Musings

It was a great vacation, even if I didn't get to go. When Gina and I were visiting my sister Jeannie over the fourth of July, the two of them hatched a diabolical plot. They planned to meet in Seattle for a weeks vacation. Gina has a sister that lives in Seattle and one that lives in Portland. They all got together and had a great time. I was very jealous. I told Gina that since I couldn't go she needed to take lots of pictures. She came home with lots of great photos. They really packed a lot of activity into the time they had. In Seattle they went to Pikes Place Market, The Aquarium, And to a Seattle Mariners baseball game. One day they spent near Ocean Shores, which is a six mile long peninsula bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Grays Harbor. On another day they spent about 8 hours driving around the base of Mount Rainer. The Seattle, Washington area sure has lots of beautiful scenery, and so many things to do. While you are there you are required by state law ...

It's time again For ABC Wednesday . If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday , you are missing out on a lot of fun. This week the letter is "F". F is for Flautist. Or is it F is for Flutist? The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of vicious dispute among players of the instrument. "Flutist" is the earlier term in the English language, dating from at least 1603, while "flautist" is not recorded before 1860. The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary lists fluter as dating from circa 1400 and Fowler's Modern English Usage states that "there seems no good reason" why flautist should have prevailed over fluter or flutist. However, according to Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, flautist is the preferred term in British English, and while both terms are used in American English, flutist is "by far the more common choice." James Galway summed up the way he feels about ...

This is my entry in a neat meme called I Heart Faces . This week the theme is nostalgia. I have been around cars all of my life. I love old cars. My Daddy has quite a collection of old cars. One day when he had his 1940 Buick out I shot this photo of my son Gavin behind the wheel. I have always liked this shot. You can really see that Gavin is enjoying the Buick.

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day. It was cool for the last of August. After church my Mom and Dad had invited me to go on a picnic. We decided to go to Little Missouri Falls. It is quite a long drive over rough gravel roads to get to the Falls. We decided to eat the picnic lunch at home and then drive out to the falls. It was such a gorgeous day that there were quite a few people at the falls. If it isn't high water, you can go into the river and play on the rocks. There were some boys there that were having lots of fun playing in the water and seeing who could hold there head under the falls for the longest. The Little Missouri River plunges through a cleavage creating a spectacular waterfall during periods of high water. Then it tumbles over a series of natural rock dams 2 to 4 feet high, intermixed with relatively quiet pools (natural swimming holes) it continues as a cascade for several hundred more yards. When you arrive at the parking area, there is a foot bridge ...

I never really thought it would happen, but Wednesday night I saw Sir Paul McCartney live in concert at the new Cowboys Stadium in Texas. A little over a month ago I got a call in the afternoon. It was my daughter Cynda asking me if I would like to go see Paul with her. I had to ask her to repeat herself because I wasn't sure what she had said. I though about it for a couple of seconds and said sure. We talked to my wife, my son and his fiance and they all wanted to go. The morning that the tickets went on sale Cynda tried to buy the tickets. Cowboys Stadium is a 80,000 seat stadium, surely she would be able to buy tickets. She tried to buy 5 tickets together. No luck. She tried to buy 3 tickets together. once again no luck. She ended up having to buy 2 pairs and a single. She and I had seats on the floor, My wife sat on the first level, and my son and his fiance sat on the second level. Things came together quite nicely. My wife Gina already had a plane ticket from Dal...

It's time again For ABC Wednesday . If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday , you are missing out on a lot of fun. This week the letter is "D". D is for destruction. Tornadoes are one of natures most destructive forces. At 8:01 pm on April 9, a tornado warning was issued for my hometown of Mena, Arkansas. Nine minutes later, an EF3 tornado struck the city and killed three people. Thirty people were injured and 600 homes were either damaged or destroyed. I took these pictures during the first two weeks after the tornado. The Polk County Jail was severely damaged to the point that minor offense prisoners were released, with serious offenders taken to jails around the area. The Mena Regional Health System also sustained damage, but continued to treat patients and ran off auxiliary power. The high winds from the tornado threw a Rich Mountain Community College bus into a tree. The college buildings sustained significant damage and the campus has been closed s...