Relay and Rain

The 2014 Relay For Life of Polk County celebration was held May 30th. Because of rain we had to move Relay from our local park to the Christian Motorcycle Association Iron Mountain facilities. The 40,000 square foot facility provide an excellent place to hold an event of this size indoors. 

The event began with a Survivor Lap - our local cancer survivors circling the track while they were cheered on by the crowd.

During the evening each of the fifteen local Relay For Life teams had a booth with food and activities for everyone.  There was entertainment and a talent show.  Each of the teams had at least one walker on the track at all times.  Our team had a jail and the local sheriff deputies arrested people and placed them in the jail.  Of course someone paid to have my wife and I arrested.

Out team theme was Minions Working for a Cure.  We dressed in Yellow Minion T-shirts and Minion goggles.

As it gets dark, the attention of the Relay turns to remembering loved ones lost to cancer and honoring those battling the disease through the luminaria bags lining the track.  Relay For Life participants and donors dedicate the luminaria bags to those who are special to them. As people quietly circle the track, each of the names is read.  They are our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, friends, coworkers, and so many others. 

After the Luminaria Ceremony, the Relay team participants are ready to stay up all night.  Relay For Life events last all night because cancer never sleeps.  Throughout the night each team had at least one participant on the track at all times.  There were many activities to keep everyone entertained through the night, including karaoke, a dance contest, 3 on 3 basketball, line dancing, Zumba and tug of war.

Relay For Life is a community event.  Every person in Polk County who has been touched by cancer benefits from the research funded through the money raised by these dedicated volunteers of Relay For Life of Polk County.  Seeing the community stand together in our fight against cancer at Relay For Life is something special. Over 6,500 dollars was raised at the event bringing the total raised so far this year to over 54,000.00

Little Missouri Picnic

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. We decided to take a picnic and go to Little Missouri Falls. It is quite a long drive over rough gravel roads to get to the Falls.  Although the road was in very bad condition it was a beautiful drive.  This past week there has been a lot of rain. Along the road we came across this small man made dam that we had never noticed before.



At the parking area for the falls there is a very nice picnic area along the banks of the Little Missouri River.  My parents and my sister and her daughters went with us.  We had a very nice picnic even though the wind was blowing briskly.








The Little Missouri River plunges through a cleavage creating a spectacular waterfall during periods of high water. Then it tumbles over a series of natural rock dams 2 to 4 feet high, intermixed with relatively quiet pools. then it continues as a cascade for several hundred more yards.  From the picnic area there is a foot bridge across the river that takes you to a half mile, out-and-back trail with a few steep grades. The trail climbs a series of steep steps to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the river. From here you have a great view of the area above the falls.









There were no dogwoods in bloom yet, but there were some redbuds and wildflowers.







We had a lovely afternoon, a great picnic, and it was good to get to spend time with family.

A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall

In 1962 Bob Dylan wrote one of his most famous protest songs, A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall.  A few lines of the song are;

I met one man who was wounded in love,
I met another man who was wounded in hatred,
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

The song is full of dense imagery that suggests injustice, suffering, pollution and warfare.  Some have suggested that the refrain of the song refers to nuclear fallout, however Dylan said "No, it's not atomic rain, it's just a hard rain. It isn't the fallout rain. I mean some sort of end that's just gotta happen".



Yesterday this song came to mind as we were experiencing extremely heavy rain here in Mena, Arkansas.  We have lived in this house for almost twenty years now, and in all that time I have never seen as much water as I did yesterday.



The official rainfall totals were 3.5 inches, but most of it came in a short period of time.  Water was running across the yard in front of the house and along the side of the house.  The neighbors front yard and side yard were under water.  Fortunately our house is built up a couple of feet off of the ground.











When the heaviest rains had passed I drove around the neighborhood and took a few photos.









Fortunately the hard rains diminished before there was any lasting damage in our area.


And what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
And what'll you do now my darling young one?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin'
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest dark forest
Where the people are a many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I'll tell it and speak it and think it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'
But I'll know my songs well before I start singin'
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.