An Arkies Musings

 Article published in the September 27, 2012 issue of The Mena Star The American Cancer Society held the Mid-South Division Relay For Life Leadership Summit September 21 st and 22 nd at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Arkansas.  Four members of the Relay For Life of Polk County committee attended the Summit; Richie and Regina Lawry, Crystal Mos, and Debbie Welch.  The purpose of the Summit was to inspire hope, courage, and determination in the fight to eliminate cancer. If there is one word that defines Relay For Life it is "hope". The Relay For Life Leadership Summit welcomed over 1,200 volunteers from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.  The theme of the Summit was Dream Big - Hope Big - Relay Big.  Cancer is a BIG foe.  To defeat it we are going to have to Dream BIG, Hope BIG and Relay BIG.  In 2011, Arkansas held 71 Relay For Life events with 1,534 teams and 2,990 cancer survivors participating. Arkansas...

  Recently my wife and I attended the 2012 Relay For Life Leadership Summit held at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee .  The purpose of the Summit is to inspire hope, courage and determination in the fight to eliminate cancer. If there is one word that defines Relay For Life it is "hope".  It is inspiring to spend time with hundreds of volunteers whose main objective is to provide hope for the all too many people who are affected by cancer. In a world that sometimes seems consumed with distrust and hatred of people who are different in race, religion or political beliefs, it filled me with hope to see a group of people who are so willing to give of their money and time to benefit others and to give them hope.    Relay For Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day cancer will be eliminated.  Relay For Life is more than just a fundraiser. It’s ...

Yesterday evening my wife and I drove to Little Rock to attend the 3rd Annual Lights of Hope held on the Capitol steps to urge Arkansas' Legislature to make cancer a priority.  It was a beautiful day with perfect temperatures for the event.  The event was hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network ACS CAN is the nation’s leading cancer advocacy organization that is working every day to make cancer issues a national priority.  Many of the most important decisions about cancer are made outside of your doctor’s office. Instead, they are made by your state legislature, in Congress and in the White House. ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, is holding lawmakers accountable for their words and their actions. They ask that our leaders not only talk about fighting cancer but take real steps toward decreasing the number of people suffering and dying from cancer. My wife was the keynote speake...

There are two things that I have promised myself I would not do on this blog.  One is posting things of a political nature, and the second is reposting other peoples work, but today I am making an exception.  I don't know the original source but I think that the message is important to think about in this election season. Dear Friends, Family, and Anyone Else I Know; As we all know, there is a rather major election happening this year. I know, no matter how loud or quiet you are, you probably (definitely) have opinions. You probably lean more toward one political party than the other, more toward one candidate than the other, more toward one side than the other, just as I do. You have strongly held beliefs about certain issues, just as I do. One of the great things about living in this country is our ability–and right–to hold and VOTE our political conscience, for the things and people we believe in. That being said. As the election gets nearer, and the te...

When people think of big numbers it is interesting the things that are used as symbols of big numbers.   Matthew 10:30 in the Bible says, “but the very hairs of your head are all numbered”.   So how big a number is the very hairs of your head.   According to the Harvard university website Bionumbers, the number of hairs on a human head range from 90,000 to 150,000.   Interestingly the number of hairs is different for different hair colors.   Blondes have 150,000 hairs, people with brown hair have 110,000 hairs, those with black hair have 100,000 hairs and redheads have just 90,000 hairs.  Other symbols of a big number in the Bible are found in Genesis 22:17, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore”.   First let’s look at sand which is on the seashore.   Science writer David Blatner, in his new book Spectrums, says a group of researchers at the University of Hawaii, being well...