An Arkies Musings

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 31, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse. "Wow, that looks great," I thought as I pulled into the driveway. For the last week, Jason had been building a short retaining wall across the front of our property to create a boundary between our front yard and the street, along with flower beds in front of our house. The stone blocks were replacing old landscape timbers. It was nice to see the project completed. All the old landscape timbers were stacked in the backyard, and I thought about what to do with them. Could I get anything out of them? Would anyone be interested in buying them? Maybe someone I knew had a use for them, and I would give them away. I would need to do something with them after the holiday weekend. The weather over the weekend was beautiful, with warm temperatures and sunny skies. It was perfect for driving my 57 Nash Metropolitan convertible. We drove the Metropolitan to Papa's Mexican Café on Sunday, meeting fa...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 24, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse. The rain beating down on my shop's metal roof was so loud that conversation wasn't possible. The downpour was so heavy that I could not see the highway in front of my shop. A flash river was running down my driveway. Water streamed from the ceiling in several places in the shop bay where I was trying to work. "I hope this downpour will be over soon," I thought. But it wasn't over soon. The deluge continued. After hours of hard rain, an inch of water was on my shop floor.  By the time the rain ended, nine inches of rain had fallen. Rainwater flooded the floor throughout the shop. I knew that my old shop building had several leaks, but it had never flooded before. I realized that I was going to have to get my roof repaired. But we did not have another heavy rainfall for a few months, and I put it out of my mind. It was the year 2020, and it seemed that there were always more pressi...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 17, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse. As we drove up Hwy 7 towards Jasper, lush green fields changed to forest as the road became crooked and steep. Occasionally we could glimpse a view of the valleys below as the road climbed to the top of a ridge. I love the "mountains of Arkansas," even if they aren't tall and majestic like the Rocky Mountains.  Vance Randolph, who spent his life collecting, recording, and writing about Ozark life and folklore, once said about this area, "It's not that the mountains are so high but that the valleys are so deep." As we stopped to take in the views of the Arkansas Grand Canyon just a few miles from Jasper, I had to agree with Randolph. It may not be as deep as the one out West, but the canyon here in Arkansas has some truly breathtaking views. We were on our way to Harrison to attend National Park Radio's album release concert for their new album, Canyons. As I looked out ...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 10, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse. Even though I have lived in Mena, Arkansas, for over forty years, I am still amazed by the area's natural beauty. I love to travel and see America's wonderfully varied landscapes, but when I come home to the Ouachitas, I realize that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the U.S.  I recently discovered a bit of history about this area that surprised me. I learned that in the 1920s, Congress introduced legislation that would have created a national park in this area. The proposed Ouachita National Park would have been 35 miles long and 12 miles wide, stretching through the central Ouachita Mountains of Polk and Montgomery counties. The original proposal for a national park in the Ouachitas came in the early 1920s from business leaders in Mena, Arkansas. Their initial proposal for establishing Mena National Park focused on Rich Mountain, including the area now designated as Queen Wilhelm...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 3, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse. I love music and have for as long as I can remember. As a young boy, I would sit in front of the record player and watch the platter spin around as I listened. I still remember my parent's records by Perry Como, Brook Benton, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Billy Vaughn, and Trini Lopez.  When I bought my first radio, a small black portable transistor radio, I turned the dial to 950 KIMN and listened to what I was sure was the best radio station in the world. Ode to Billie Joe, Pleasant Valley Sunday, All You Need is Love, Heroes and Villains, and many other songs streamed through my head as I drifted off to sleep with my very own transistor radio under my pillow. I spent every moment I could listening to my radio. As a teenager, I spent most of my money on music. I bought a stereo for my room. I installed a stereo in every car I drove. I purchased one of the first boom boxes I saw at my local Alco store. Wh...