An Arkies Musings

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 26, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse. Ring, ring, ring. I crawled out of the vehicle I was working on and headed for the phone. “Richie’s,” I said, answering the phone. The voice on the other end of the line was furious. “I want you to stop calling me,” she shouted. I assured her that I had not called her. “Well, someone there is calling me,” she retorted. “I work alone, so I can assure you that no one called you from here,” I replied, adding, “my company never makes unsolicited phone calls.” “I know that the calls have been coming from you because your number is on my Caller ID,” she shrieked.  I tried to calm her down by telling her, “I think that I know what is going on.” I explained that I had received telemarketer calls that showed on my caller ID as local phone numbers. A telemarketer knows that you are more likely to answer the phone if you think the call is from a local number. I’m not sure that she believed me, but at least she w...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 19, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse. I love trees. I always have. When I travel in areas that do not have trees, I wonder how people can live there. One of the reasons I love the place where I live in Western Arkansas is that we have so many trees. When spring comes each year and the trees leaf out; it lifts my spirits. The various shades of green that cover the hillsides are beautiful. And I find autumn to be a magical time of year when the leaves on the trees change from green to many shades of orange, red, yellow, and brown. Last week I had several trees taken out of my backyard. It was painful for me. Remember, I love trees. When I first saw the building lot where my house now stands, the thing that impressed me the most was the trees. Almost immediately, my wife and I knew that this was where we wanted to build our house. When we started building, it pained me to take out trees to have room for our house, but I knew it was necessa...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 12, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse. It was 4:30 In the morning when Major General Schofield and Brigadier General Cox rode into the outskirts of Franklin, Tennessee, and commandeered the house belonging to Fountain Branch Carter. Cox’s division was the vanguard of the Federal army under General Schofield’s command. The Federal army had been marching all night after quietly slipping away from the Confederate army in Spring Hill.  The day before, Confederates seemed to have the upper hand. By 4:30 P.M., they had almost ten thousand troops in Spring Hill with another ten thousand two miles away. The Federal army of around seven thousand men was pinned down, with the nearest reinforcements two hours away. At sundown, the situation seemed grim to the Federal defenders behind their barricades. There was confusion in the Confederate ranks as battle plans changed. Confusion gave way to frustration as night fell. The Confederates started fires, ...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 5, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse. Warm hues spread over the landscape as the rosy golden light of sunrise makes its appearance. The sun is just coming up as I pull up to the storage building where my supplier dropped off my glass order during the night. A sense of apprehension comes over me as I roll up the garage door. It has been difficult for my glass supplier to fill my orders for the past couple of months. I am never sure how much of my order will be waiting for me in the storage building.  My fears were confirmed as I loaded my glass onto my shop truck. Five pieces of glass were missing from my order. Five customers would have to be called and told that I would not be able to do their job until a later date. I would have to reschedule five jobs. I let out a long sigh. “What a way to start my day,” I thought.  My supplier is in Little Rock, but I can also order glass from warehouses in Memphis, Nashville, Birmingham, and Atla...