An Arkies Musings

My An Arkie's Faith column from the September 28, 2022, issue of The Polk County Pulse. Along with many other Americans, my wife and I watched with viewers worldwide as Great Britain paid a final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II with a state funeral and military procession. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female sovereign in history. Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was taken in a solemn procession to Westminster Abbey on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, drawn by 142 sailors. King Charles III walked alongside his siblings, Princess Anne, Princes Andrew, and Edward. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex followed behind. As the funeral procession entered the abbey, world leaders, politicians, and foreign royalty stood as her coffin was carried up the aisle.  During the funeral service, The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said: "People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Le...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the September 21, 2022, issue of The Polk County Pulse. As I travel, the landscape seems almost otherworldly. The trees along the road are veiled in wisps of fog, and overhead a crescent moon tries to break through the cirrus clouds. The faint moonlight enhances the ghostly, ethereal scenery of the early morning hours.  As I drive through what seems like a sublime fairyland, I listen to a book on the stereo in my little S-10 pickup. The story appears predictable as a boy in the Ozarks of northeast Oklahoma reminisces about the summer he turned fourteen. But the story heads into bizarre territory when the boy, Jay Berry, and his hound dog, Rowdy, are out looking for the family’s crazy old milk cow, and Rowdy trees an animal in a large oak tree.  Jay Berry tells the story, “At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was a monkey—an honest to goodness monkey.” Although it was hard to believe...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the September 14, 2022, issue of The Polk County Pulse. I was busy installing a windshield when the phone rang. It seems that if I am applying the urethane to a vehicle or setting a windshield in place, there is a good chance that the phone will ring. I laid down my urethane caulk gun and picked up the phone. "Last night, I broke the window in my Lincoln Navigator, and it has shattered into a thousand pieces," said the voice on the other end. "I need to get it replaced before it rains. How much will it cost?" "Let me get into the office where I can look it up," I answered. After getting all the information and pricing the glass, I told him, "That is an expensive piece of glass. It will cost $550.00 for the glass and installation. My supplier has the glass in stock, and I can have the glass here on Tuesday." "Well, I have to have it," he answered. "Go ahead and order it, and I will bring the Linco...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the September 7, 2022, issue of The Polk County Pulse. I opened the weather app on my phone and checked the weather for Gulfport, Mississippi. There was an 80 to 100 percent chance of rain every day. We would be traveling to Gulfport for a long weekend in a couple of days. We had been planning our trip for two months. It looked like our weekend at the beach was going to be rainy. In the forty-plus years that we have lived in Mena, we have never been to the Gulf coast. We decided that we would go to the beach this summer. The Gulfport and Biloxi area was the closest to us, just eight hours away. Two months earlier, I had rented a cute little beach cottage just a few blocks from the beach. We planned a long weekend and looked forward to our beach vacation. As we left early Friday morning, the forecast hadn't improved. There was a ninety percent chance of rain both Saturday and Sunday, and Gulfport was under a flood watch. It didn't look good fo...