An Arkies Musings

It is Friday evening after work, and I am pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot. The lot is at capacity, and I search for a parking space. Wal-Mart is often busy on Friday evening, but I can’t remember seeing it like this before. After parking a long way from the front of the store, I walk briskly through the light rain to the entrance. Once inside, I see something that I have never seen before. Every checkout lane is open, and each cashier has a line of customers waiting to check out. Fortunately, I just need a few things for the supper that my wife has planned for us and our granddaughters. As I walk down the aisles, I see that there are many empty shelves. There is not a single roll of toilet paper on the paper goods aisle, and there are only a couple of packages of paper towels. There is no flour on the flour aisle. The canned vegetable aisle is decimated, with a few cans strewn here and there. I pick up a carton of eggs because there are almost none left, and I’m not sure if ...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 12, 2020, issue of The Mena Star. On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces staged a surprise attack on the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In a two-hour attack, Japanese planes sank or damaged 18 warships and destroyed 164 aircraft. Over 2,400 servicemen and civilians lost their lives. The very next day, the United States Congress declared war, and everyday life across the country was completely changed. In early 1942, a rationing program was established that set limits on the amount of gas, food, and clothing that could be purchased. Families were issued ration stamps that were used to buy their allotment of everything from meat, sugar, fat, butter, vegetables and fruit, to gas, tires, clothing, and fuel oil. Sugar became the first food item to be rationed. Wholesalers, retailers, bakeries, and industrial users of sugar were registered for sugar ration books in April 1942. Candy and sweets were in short supply. My G...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 5, 2020, issue of The Mena Star. The front range was glistening with fresh snow as we traveled north out of Denver. Well over a foot of snow had recently blanketed the area. My mind drifted back to the many winters I spent along the front range. During my twenty years in the area, I lived in Dacono, Frederick, Erie, and Loveland. I attended school in Longmont, Brighton, Boulder, and Campion. The house that we lived in just outside of Erie was situated on top of a rolling hill and had a beautiful, unobstructed view of the mountains. That amazing view is permanently etched into my memory. My nephew, my wife, and I were on our way from Denver to Estes Park. The slanted, reddish-brown sandstone formations called the Flatirons that make up a portion of Boulder’s foothills on the west side of town, were covered in white. We stopped to take photos of the iconic Boulder landmarks. For the past several days, This area of Colorado had been rec...