An Arkies Musings

My An Arkie's Faith column from the June 27, 2018, issue of The Mena Star. The two men sat across from each other listening intently. They had a lot of catching up to do. The last time that they had talked to each other had been seventy years ago. They reminisced about their grade school days when they attended the Morehead School. They had fond memories of those years. One of the men was my Daddy. While he was visiting a cousin who still lives in southeast Kansas where Daddy grew up, he mentioned that he wondered about his classmates from so long ago. His cousin asked, “what are some of their names?” As Daddy mentioned some names, his cousin said, “I know Marvin, he lives not far away. Would you like to go see him?” Daddy said that he would like to try and see Marvin. I can’t imagine what it was like for Marvin to answer the door and find a classmate from seventy years ago standing there. Daddy and Marvin had been good friends during those grade school years, but once the...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the June 20, 2018, issue of The Mena Star. The little group gathered on the banks of the Yampa River. You could see the concern on their faces as they prepared for another day on this wild river. The Yampa River is the only major tributary in the Colorado River system that still runs wild and free; without a single dam along its course. It flows free with run-off originating from the melting snows and glaciers of the Colorado Rockies. The river is only runnable for a few weeks each year and permits are very limited, which gives the canyon a feeling of secrecy and surprise. Today was the day that they would run the most challenging rapids on the Yampa, Warm Springs. Before 1965, the Yampa River was as a family-friendly river with only a couple of big rapids that were pretty straightforward. But on June 10, 1965, a flash flood created a huge rockslide that filled the river near Warm Springs with boulders and transformed a minor wave train i...

Today is Daddy's 63nd Father's Day. I know because I have been around for every one of them. Some people may have a Father, but I have always had a Daddy. I have spent most of my life working alongside my Daddy.  Here is proof.  I learned the auto body trade very young. Through the years some of the things that I have learned from my Daddy are the importance of having God in your life, and how to work.  Here are some photos of Daddy working through the years. Happy Daddy's day.  Some people have fathers, but I have always had a Daddy.