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 T. My post for the letter "T" is Transportation. There are many different kinds of Transportation, so we are going to look at a number of them. STEAMBOATS There were two main types of transportation that allowed this country to expand at such a fast pace in the 1800's. The first was steamboats. The first commercial steamboat transportation was Between Albany, New York, and New York City in 1807. Before long there were steamboats on just about every navigable river in the U.S. BIG AND LITTLE The need to transport goods to and from places that were not on a waterway brought about the steam locomotive. The first railroad to transport goods in the U.S. was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The first steam powered vehicle in the U.S. was the Tom Thumb locomotive that operated on the Baltimore and Ohio tracks...

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 S. S is for staying up all night. Cancer Doesn’t Sleep and Neither Did We Many people who attend the Relay For Life event are not aware that it lasts all night. After all of the entertainment and the Luminaria ceremony, Relay continues throughout the night until the sun comes up. Why do we Relay all night long and stay overnight? Because the Relay For Life event is designed to symbolize the journey of a cancer survivor. Relay For Life starts at dusk and ends the next morning. The light and darkness of the day and night parallel the physical effects, emotion, and mental state of a cancer patient while undergoing treatment. Relay begins when the sun is setting, symbolizing the time a person has been diagnosed with cancer. Immediately there is a lot of support. People rally to lend a helping hand, much like the Opening ...

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 R. R is for Relay For Life . The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. Relay starts with a Survivor Lap, an inspirational time when survivors are invited to circle the track together and help everyone celebrate the victories we’ve achieved over cancer. The Survivors Lap is an emotional example of how Relay participants are creating a world with more birthdays like those of each individual on the track. After dark, we honor people who have been touched by cancer and remember loved ones lost to the disease during the Luminaria Ceremony. Candles are lit inside bags filled with sand, each one bearing the name of a person touched by cancer, and participants of...

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 Q. Q is for question. One of my favorite albums from my youth is the Moody Blues album, A Question of Balance, released in 1970. Though it was their fifth album, it was the first time that The Moody Blues used political strife as a basis for songwriting. The song "Question", dealt with the controversy resulting from the ongoing Vietnam War. The album reached #1 in the UK and #3 in the U.S. Last week I attended the Moody Blues concert at the Brady Theater in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I had purchased the tickets last November the day that they went on sale. I was fortunate to be able to get seats in the third row. Being that close to the stage made for great photo opportunities. The Moodies put on a great show. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. The band payed songs from every phase of their career, from the 60...

This week at church the 11 o'clock service was presented by Don and Donna Mohl. The beautiful calming music was just what I needed to refresh my spirit. My wife has been very sick this week and her doctor is trying to determine exactly what is causing her to be ill. Music is a very important part of my life, and I'm sure that the music that Don and Donna presented did much more for me than any sermon could have. Their music is a blend of “mountain” style and folk style gospel. They play traditional and Biblical instruments such as the Bowed Psaltery, Hammered Dulcimer, Mountain Dulcimer, Mandolin, Zither, Guitar, and Harmonica. They sing the good old hymns of faith, more recent gospel songs and some songs that they have written related to family values, the grace of Jesus, and the love of God. Here is a sample of their music. This song is, "The Touch Of The Master's Hand". In it they replace the word violin with mandolin in keeping with their mountain...

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 P. P is for Polk County Fair. In a small community like Mena, the County Fair is one of the highlights of the year. Everybody attends the fair. The kids are all excited for the carnival to come to town. There are animals, exhibits, booths rides and lots of fun. We enjoy looking at the exhibits from the local schools. We used to know lots of kids here in town and would look for their exhibits. Now we are getting so old that we don't know many kids, but we enjoy looking at everything; the flowers, the vegetables, the quilts, the photography. One of our favorite things to do is go to the animal barn. The kids work so hard at displaying their animals. The pig named "Bacon" made me smile. I guess everyone is clear on "Bacon"s future. It seems like everyone ...