An Arkies Musings

My An Arkie's Faith column from the June 29, 2022, issue of The Polk County Pulse.  The weather outside was hot and muggy as I packed for my summer vacation. Bright and early the next morning, Daddy and I were driving to Dallas to catch a flight to Berlin, Germany. Earlier this year, Daddy had asked me if I would go on an overseas tour with him. He showed me a tour company brochure and told me to pick any tour I wanted. I chose a history tour of Germany. After months of waiting, it was finally time to go. When my suitcase was packed and I was sure that I had everything I needed, I was able to relax.  Before I left, the plants and flowers needed to be watered. When I went outside to water, the dogs went with me; my two dogs, Maggie and Tucker along with my granddaughters’ dog, Jake. Jake is a large, hairy, white dog with a black head and lots of black spots. His size and bark are intimidating, but he is a lovable, goofy, gentle dog who considers himself a house pet and spends a...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the June 22, 2022, issue of The Polk County Pulse. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a lonely boy. In that same land, there lived a girl with beautiful golden hair. One day as the lonely boy walked into history class, he looked across the room and saw the girl with beautiful golden hair. His heart jumped, and he knew this was love at first sight. He knew he had to get up the courage to talk to this vision of loveliness with the beautiful golden curls. The lonely boy was too shy to talk to girls, so it was almost a year before the girl with the beautiful golden hair had any idea that the lonely boy was interested. The good Lord knew that the lonely boy needed all the help he could get, so the Lord made it so that the lonely boy and the girl with the beautiful golden hair crossed paths in several ways that year. The history teacher selected five students to work together each week, producing learning packets for history class. The ...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the June 15, 2022, issue of The Polk County Pulse. This week marks our forty-seventh wedding anniversary. Because our anniversary falls in the middle of a hectic week, we celebrated our anniversary a few days early by going to Hot Springs. We have visited in the past, and I am intrigued by the history of Hot Springs. After a wonderful lunch at our favorite restaurant, La Hacienda, we toured the historic bathhouse row in Hot Springs National Park. The first permanent settlers came to the Hot Springs area in 1807. They were quick to realize the area's potential as a health resort. By the 1830s, there were log cabins and a store to meet visitors' needs. By the 1880s, bathhouses were lining the streets of Hot Springs. The health resort industry led to Hot Springs becoming known as the "American Spa." From the Roaring 20's until the end of World War II ten major casinos and numerous smaller houses operated in Hot Springs. Hot Springs...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the June 8, 2022, issue of The Polk County Pulse. Last month my wife and I went to Colorado to visit family. While there, I wandered the streets of Longmont, Colorado looking for the small two-room grade school I had attended for six years. When I turned off Hwy 287, I had missed the area by several blocks, but I eventually found it. The front of the building looked the same as it did fifty-plus years ago when I attended school there. But a large gymnasium had been added to the back of the building. It was no longer a school but now housed a church. As I got out of the car to snap some photos, I remembered those years so long ago. Grades one through four were on the left side of the school, and grades five through eight were on the right. When I started the fifth grade and moved to the big room, I thought I had arrived. The back of each classroom was windows looking out over the playground and baseball diamond. I would sit in class and look out the w...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the June 1, 2022, issue of The Polk County Pulse. The well-dressed man walked into the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. He made his way to a reception held in the ballroom and quickly began mingling with the guests. He looked like a movie star and possessed a hypnotic charm. He spoke five languages and made easy conversation with many wealthy and influential Parisian businessmen.  The year was 1925, and Victor had recently arrived in Paris from the U.S. He was born in Austria-Hungary on January 4, 1890. Victor described his father and mother as the "poorest peasant people" who raised him in a grim house made from stone. As a teenager, he was a panhandler, pickpocket, burglar, and street hustler.  When transatlantic travel resumed after the first world war, Victor frequently crossed the Atlantic on luxury liners, looking for marks among the first-class passengers. Dressed like a wealthy gentleman, he displayed impeccable manners and was smooth as ...