An Arkies Musings

My article from the May 27, 2015 issue of the Polk County Pulse Living in an area where the word “cancer” is heard much too often, it is good to know there are people doing something about it — namely, participating in the Relay for Life. Relay is an overnight event designed to promote cancer awareness while raising funds to fight the disease.  This year’s Relay For Life of Polk County will be held Friday May 29th at Janssen Park in Mena. The opening ceremony is 6 p.m. Friday.  The Relay For Life event opens with an inspirational Survivors Lap that symbolizes the steps we are taking toward saving lives. Cancer survivors will wear purple sashes and take the first lap. The opening ceremony honors survivors and caregivers, but everyone is invited to show their support.  From that time on, the object is to keep someone from each of the Relay teams on the walking track at all times until the conclusion of the event. The community is invited come out and enjo...

Memorial Day is a day for remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. I have been fortunate enough to not have any close family members who died in the service of their country.  But as I think about how wartime affected some family members who served and how sad their lives ended, I have come to realize what they sacrificed to serve their country. On this Memorial Day please don't forget our veterans.  According to the Department of Veterans Affairs 2012 Suicide Data Report, the veteran suicide rate averaged 22 per day.  Many more come home with significant problems as they try to return to non-military society.  As you honor those who died in the service of their country this Memorial Day, please don't forget our veterans and the sacrifices they have made. One of my ancestors who served his country is my great great great great grandfather, James Vowels. According to a document that I found, James Vowels was ...

The 2015 Relay For Life of Polk County celebration will he held May 29th starting at 6:00 P.M. at Janssen Park in Mena.  17 teams of hard working local volunteers have been raising money to be used in the fight against cancer. Nearly every person who participates in Relay For Life has been touched by cancer in some way and has a unique and personal story to tell. It’s these stories that motivate and inspire us to celebrate, remember, and fight back against cancer. Relay For Life unites our community in an effort to find cures for cancer. Each one of these volunteers have a story and a reason that they participate in Relay For Life.  Here are some of the reasons that local Relay For Life volunteers have for being involved. I Relay because of my daughter Melissa.  It was such a helpless feeling for her Dad and I - not knowing what we could do to help her.  Then we learned about Relay For Life and we have been involved ever since.  Raising dollars to h...

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Luke 15.  It is Luke’s account of three parables, each of which describes the finding of a lost item, and each of which describes the joy and celebration which resulted. The audience for these stories was the Pharisees who were complaining about Jesus' life style and his welcoming of tax collectors and sinners. Jesus told these stories as a rebuke to the Pharisees.  The stories are about God's love and mercy for sinful human beings.  Jesus was telling the Pharisees that he wanted them to rejoice with him. It is important to understand who these tax collectors and sinners were that Jesus was eating and associating with.  Tax collectors were Jewish men who purchased from the Roman officials the right to collect various taxes.  They were hated and despised by their fellow countrymen; not only because they were unpatriotic, and dishonest and greedy, but also because their job made them ritually unclean. For the Ph...