An Arkies Musings

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 K. K is for Kaiser. One of the most burning questions being asked today is whatever happened to Kaiser automobiles. Since I am privy to just such information, I thought I would do my civic duty and give you this privileged information. The Kaiser automobile was the product of the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation. The company was the result of a partnership between automobile executive Joseph W. Frazer and Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser of Kaiser Industries. The company rose from the ashes of the Graham-Paige Motor Company. DADDY'S 1938 SHARK NOSED GRAHAM In August 1944, Joseph Frazer, former president of Willys-Overland, assumed control of Graham-Paige, and announced that the company would resume automobile manufacture after the war with a completely new car. The new car was to be called "Frazer" rather than "Graham"....

I was recently asked to serve on the American Cancer Society Mid-South Division Relay For Life E-Communication Workgroup. The workgroup is made up of one ACS staff person and one Relay For Life volunteer from each state in the Mid-South; Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. This is the fifth year that my wife and I have been involved in our local Relay For Life. As the On-Line chair one of my responsibilities is placing content on the 2011 Polk County Relay For Life Website . The Relay For Life E-Communication Workgroup is a new group that has just been formed this year to help the ACS and Relay For Life to make better use of social media and the internet. Friday, March 25th we met together for the first time in Nashville, Tennessee. I left for Nashville on Thursday at 11:00 and met Nikki Ezell, our local ACS community rep, in Little Rock. We traveled together to Nashville. My accommodations were at the Embassy Suites Hotel . The hotel was beautiful...

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 J. J is for jellyfish. Jellyfish are found in every ocean, from the surface to the deep sea. Here a a few photos I have taken of Jellyfish. In countries like Japan, Korea and China, it is considered a delicacy to eat Jellyfish. I don't think that I would eat them. In the Artic Sea, the North Atlantic Sea and Northern Pacific Ocean lives a Jellyfish that can grow to over 120 feet long. It is the Lion's Mane Jellyfish, the largest known Jellyfish in the world. Here is a short video I have shot of Jellyfish I hope you have enjoyed this weeks installment of ABC Wednesday. See you next week!

Yesterday was the last full day of winter. We celebrated by taking a trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas to go to Garvin Woodland Gardens. Our granddaughters have been spending the week with us and we wanted to take them to the Gardens. We spent the afternoon there and the girls were able to explore as we took our time walking through the gardens. The tulips were at their peek, and they were amazing. Besides the flowers, the girls loved seeing the ducks and the fish. The girls were very busy as it takes a lot of time to stop and smell that many flowers. At the Gardens, there are so many photo opps, and I had the most beautiful models posing for me. We spent over three hours walking and exploring. Finally the girls got tired and needed to ride on our shoulders. What an awesome day we had on the last day of winter. It was as good a day as a grandparent can have.

On our way home from Baton Rouge last weekend we stopped in Lafayette, Louisiana. We had made plans to visit the Acadian Village which is a collection of buildings, gathered around a pond, that simulates an Acadian village of the 1800s. Most of the buildings were relocated to the Village from nearby towns. When we arrived the grounds were closed due to a funeral. We decided to visit the Vermilionville Living History Museum and Folklife Park instead. It was a beautiful day and our visit was lovely. The Vermilionville park is one of the worlds largest physical representation of an early Acadian settlement using original structures (dating from 1790 to 1890), and new ones built in the style of the 19th century. The many Artisans on site demonstrate the folklife of the region representing a time period from 1765 to 1890. Here is my grandaughter Autumn learning about woodworking. My Dad enjoyed telling the girls about how the old farm machinery worked. The grounds were beautiful, and ...

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 I. I is for Itsy Bitsy Spider. The nursery rhyme Itsy Bitsy Spider was first published in 1910. The origin of this nursery rhyme isn't documented. The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout Down came the rain, and washed the spider out Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain So the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again. Jim Carrey appeared in an animated short titled Itsy Bitsy Spider that was released in 1992. The Itsy Bitsy Spider was eventually made into an animated series, which aired on the USA Network. The best rendition of Itsy Bitsy Spider I have seen is this wacky 15 second version. My second favorite version is the Carly Simon version from her Coming Around Again album. It is not common knowledge that Itsy Bitsy Spider is actually an allegory of the struggle of the lower classes. To help you understan...