N Is For NASCAR

It's time again for ABC Wednesday. If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday, you are missing out on a lot of fun.

This week the letter is N. N is for NASCAR. Recently my cousin Clyde invited me to attend the Samsung Mobile 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It was my first time to attend a NASCAR race. The day of the race was hot and windy, and I do mean windy.



It is hard to explain the experience of NASCAR racing to someone who hasn't attended. I was surprised by the number of people in attendance, 185,000, and especially the noise level. When the 42 engines start the decibel level is tremendous, as much as 115dB. Ear plugs or headphones are needed.







I was able to use headphones provided by Clyde. They were tuned in to the channel used by Dale Earnhardt Jr. It was interesting listening in to the conversation between Jr. and his crew.



The race was fairly clean with five cautions and 31 lead changes among 13 drivers. There was one accident that was on the other side of the track so I couldn't see it clearly. It was a three car accident involving Mark Martin, Regan Smith and Martin Truex, Jr.





In the end Matt Kenseth won his first race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The win was his first since the beginning of the 2009 season. I was able to snap some photos as he spun out in victory lane.





My first NASCAR race was an incredible experience that I will never forget.

Oh No! Not Again

It was a dark and stormy night. No I'm not starting to write a novel, it was actually a dark and stormy night. Strong thunderstorms swept across Oklahoma and Arkansas. Late last night the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for the Mena area. With the devastating April 2009 tornado still fresh in so many peoples mind it was a scary night. Around 11:00 p.m. the tornado sirens started blowing. I was able to listen to the scanner to try to get any information about the storm. Apparently there was only minor damage at a few locations caused by falling trees.

Around midnight the storms seems to be weakening and according to the radar the danger was about over so we left our safe area, the downstairs hallway, and went upstairs to get ready for bed. This morning I heard that the Frito Lay warehouse had been badly damaged. The warehouse is less than half a mile from my parents home. On my way to work I drove by the location and sure enough the warehouse had extensive damage. I didn't see any damage to any other buildings in the area, and my parents house was OK. I attend church at the Mena Seventh-day Adventist Church which is located just a short distance from the damaged building. The church was OK, but there was debris in the churchyard.

I am puzzled that this one building had so much damage while others around it had none. I'm sorry for those who had storm damage last night, but so thankful that it wasn't worse. So many people had a scary night with the memories of April 2009 still so much on our minds.

M Is For Mena

It's time again for ABC Wednesday. If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday, you are missing out on a lot of fun.

This week the letter is M. M is for Mena, Arkansas. I have liven in Mena for 30 years now. My wife and I moved to Mena from Colorado in April of 1981 and have made our home here ever since. We drove from Colorado to Mena in this 1967 Toyota Stout Pickup that I had custom painted to show my patriotism.



The history of Mena begins in the last decade of the 19th century. In 1895, Arthur Stilwell sent railroad scouts to the Ouachita Mountains. The men were to scout the area and lay out the best path for the soon to be built railroad, which was to run from Kansas City to the Gulf coast.

When the surveyors came there was very little cleared land. The area purchased for the future townsite of Mena was a farm owned jointly by Dr. G.G. Baker and R.S. Owens of Old Dallas. The two men sold it to the Townsite company for $5,000.

It was Stilwell who decided Mena would be the name of this new town along the route to Port Arthur, Texas. He named the town in honor of his friend Jan DeGeoijen's wife, Mena.

It was Mena's father for whom Janssen Park was named. Janssen Park is still a focal point of Mena, and many community events including Relay For Life are held there.





Mena became an official town on August 19, 1896. The town fathers chose the official coming of the first railroad passenger car as the town's birthday.

The most historical building in Mena is the old log cabin in Janssen Park. Built eight years before the Civil War, this hand-hewn cabin was constructed by William Shelton, a crippled veteran of the Mexican War, for his home.



Throughout the years, with little physical change, it has served as a home, hospital, inn, a club house, civic center, a museum , and for a time, as the City Hall of Mena. It was thirty-one years old before a title grant was obtained for the land. During those years before 1882, it was just another "squatter's cabin".

In 1906, the cabin, together with four city blocks surrounding it, was donated to the City of Mena by Arthur Stilwell and his associates. They were so charmed with its natural setting, and so vocal in their admiration, that it inspired the local people to develop the park.



I have really enjoyed the last 30 years that I have spent in this beautiful area. The Ouachita mountain views are spectacular, and there is a quiet beauty here in every season of the year.









Moving to Mena is a decision that I have never regretted. I love this area!

Mena Tornado Two Years Ago

MASONIC LODGE AFTER THE APRIL 9, 2009 TORNADO

Two years ago today the face of Mena changed drastically. An F3 tornado damaged a large section of town. 100 houses were destroyed and 600 damaged. Over 10,000 trees were destroyed. Although the community has done an awesome job of rebuilding, it will never look the same.

I wrote the following paragraphs a few hours after the tornado hit.

Tonight at around 7:30 the tornado sirens sounded here in Mena. Gina and I went to the safe place in our house, the downstairs hallway. About that time our electricity went out. The storm passed without damage here at the house. We were thankful that we were spared.

After the storm passed and the stars came out, I decided to drive into town to see if anyone had electricity. When I got to downtown, I started to see storm damage and saw that the authorities were not letting people proceed to the north side of Mena.

I drove to my parents house to see if they were OK, and they were fine with no damage to their house or property. I drove on to the church but saw no damage there. I thought that the storm may not have been to bad, but by the time I returned home, the phone was ringing off the hook with reports of severe damage.

The first news reports stated that the Polk County Sheriff's Department reports one person was killed after a tornado swept through the town Thursday night.

We received a call from a friend telling us that our good friend Deanna had a lot of damage to her house, and her car was totaled. Just before the storm hit, Deanna was on the phone with Gina telling her that she was in the closet and she was scared. We have not been able to talk to her since. We don't know what we will find when we are able to get into the the area. Just a couple of blocks from her house, there were 20 or more people in the Masonic Lodge when it collapsed. There is one known fatality on the street where Deanna lives.

We have had friends staying with us this evening, because they were not able to get home. The National Guard is in town and not letting anyone into the severely damaged area. There was damage at Rich Mountain Community College, and at Wal-Mart. There is extensive damage at U.S. Motors where Gina operates the Credit Union.

I need to go to sleep, but probably sleep won't come. I don't know what tomorrow will bring.
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Here are photos that I was able to take 2 days after the tornado. Pictures can't really give you the feel of the actual scene.





















I want to dedicate this post to the memory of those who died in the tornado; Anna Cress, Judy Lobner, and Albert Shaw.

L Is For Lawry's Used Cars

It's time again for ABC Wednesday. If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday, you are missing out on a lot of fun.

This week the letter is L. L is for Lawry's Used Cars. My Daddy started Lawry's Used Cars in Mena, Arkansas in 1979. I have been in business with him since I moved to Arkansas in 1981. My Daddy has been in the car business since he was in college. For most of my life I have worked with him. I got started very early as these photos show. Here I am helping him sand a car in Collegedale, Tennessee.



From Tennessee he moved to Colorado where he opened Tri Town Service in the Dacono, Frederick, Firestone area. In the early 70's, the business was moved to Erie, Colorado. When Daddy moved from Colorado to Arkansas I operated Tri Town Service.



Several years ago I made a trip back to Erie, Colorado and took this photo of the old Tri Town Service building.



When we moved to Mena, Arkansas in 1981 I joined Daddy at the Lawry's Used Cars location. This is what the business looked like in the 1980's.



Here is an aerial view of what Lawry's Used Cars looks like now. Several buildings have been added over the years.



Even though Daddy is at the age when a lot of guys are taking it easy, he still works full time operating Lawry's Used Cars.



Over the years the business has had some close calls. We have been right on the edge of two tornadoes. In the 1993 Mena tornado the 4 bay carport was picked up off of its foundation and moved a couple of feet, and a tree fell across one of the buildings and we had to repair and replace the roof. In the 2009 Mena tornado We had signs blown down but very little other damage even though less than a mile away homes were completely destroyed.

In April of 2007 a controlled burn in our area became out of control. The fire jumped the tracks behind our business and burned a number of cars. Thankfully the fire was brought under control before it reached our buildings.





For 30 years now Lawry's Used Cars has been a big part of my life. It is still enjoyable to go to work each day; I get to meet so many nice people. We have had people from all over the world stop in at our little business here in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Here is a partial list of collector cars for sale at Lawry's Used Cars.

Let Me Count The Ways

When I was in high school my least favorite class was English. I just couldn’t get into the poetry we were studying. Even though I didn’t enjoy the class, I still remember a few of the poems we studied.

I was recently reading an article that brought a poem from that class back to mind. In a Valentine’s Day survey, a poem written in 1850 was voted the most romantic. I remembered the poem from my high school class.

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach”. The poem was written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She was born in Durham, England in 1806, the oldest of 12 children. She began writing poetry when she was 8 years old. When she was 15, Elizabeth injured her spine as a result of a fall. Because of the accident she became an invalid. She spent the majority of her time in her room writing poetry. In 1844, Robert Browning wrote to Elizabeth admiring her poems. He continued to write to her and they were engaged in 1845.

Elizabeth's father disapproved of the courtship and engagement. In 1846, Elizabeth and Robert were secretly wed and moved to Italy where Elizabeth's health improved. She continued to live in Italy with her husband Robert for the rest of her life.

In 1850, Elizabeth's best known book of poems was published, titled Sonnets from the Portugese. They are a sequence of 44 sonnets recording the growth of her love for Robert. He often called her "my little Portuguese" because of her dark complexion. Of all the sonnets, the most famous is #43, which begins "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." Even if you do not appreciate 19th century poetry you can tell that these poems were written from the heart.

As great a poem as Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, I don’t think it is the greatest love poem of all time. The greatest love poem is found in the Bible in John 3:16,17. “ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved”.

What beautiful words. We need to keep in mind that it is the world that God loves, not a single nation, not a single race. Not just the “good” people, not just the people who love God back. “God so loved the world.” This includes the lovable and the unlovable; those who are popular, and those who have no one else to love them; the ones who love God, and the ones who never think of God.

Some people find it hard to accept the fact that God’s love and grace are so freely given. They want to place limits on God’s love. They prefer to think that God only loves the same people they themselves love, and that God despises the same people that they despise; That God doesn’t love people who don’t think the same way they do.

To put it quite bluntly, these people are wrong. God loves the world, and that includes both those who are just like us and those who are totally different from us. If Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn people, why are we so quick to? Jesus came to lift up, not to put down. Jesus didn’t come to condemn us; Jesus came to offer us eternal life. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we should follow His example.

God has not only shown his love for us by giving us His son, God has written us a love letter. I was never much of a letter writer, but when my wife and I were dating, 500 miles separated us. I became a letter writer. Every day when I got home from work I wrote her a letter. Imagine how I would have felt if she didn’t read my letters. Imagine how God feels when we neglect to read the love letter he has written to us.

In that love letter God wrote to you it says, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through the one who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Romans 8:37-39

How would you feel if you if you wrote these beautiful words to the love of your life and they were ignored. God says to us, “How do I love thee, Let me count the ways”. How has God shown His love to you? Can you count the ways? He will have to do the counting, because we will never know all the ways he shows his love to us. We so often completely miss the wonderful revelations of his love for us as we go about our daily lives.

There is a sad but poignant story from the life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Her father disapproved of her courtship with Robert Browning. When they became engaged her father forbid Elizabeth to marry. When she secretly married Robert her father disowned her, but that didn’t stop her from keeping in touch. Almost weekly she wrote him a letter. Not once did he reply. After ten years she received a large box in the mail. Inside she found all of her letters. Not one had been opened! Today those letters are among the most beautiful in classical English literature, yet her father never read the first one.

God's Word is His love letter to us. The love of Jesus waits in each page! Don’t leave your love letters unopened and unread. God loves you and he wants to tell you just how much. Open his love letter to you and listen to what he has to say to you.