New Year - January 3, 2013

From:  The White River Current - Thursday January 3, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  Well, here it is only three days into January and I’ll bet most of you have already discarded those  resolutions you made.  Things like dropping a few pounds, exercising more, etc.  Did any of you resolve to do a random act of kindness every day?  Folks, we have to start treating each other with a little more respect.  We closed out the old year with a terrible tragedy at an elementary school in Connecticut.  Some twenty or so very young school children and several adults lost their lives at the hand of a twenty year old young man.  Oh, I know.  If he hadn’t had access to the guns, etc., etc. But, what if someone (a friend, or a neighbor

or relative) had  seen the warning signs and given this young man some attention, just maybe, but, of course, we probably will never know.  Let’s all continue to pray for the grieving.  Anyway, I hope everyone of you readers had a great Christmas with family and friends.  It’s seems to get more difficult every year to get all the family together at the same time and place.

I heard of one family that celebrated Thanksgiving Day on the traditional Thursday then had their family Christmas, opening gifts, etc., the following day (Friday) before everyone went their separate ways.  We spent family Christmas with the entire clan at the home of Ross and Leah in Tulsa on Saturday.  We had a great time eating, visiting, eating, playing games, eating, singing Christmas songs, opening gifts and enjoying the great grands, Molly and Nathan.  The next day (Sunday) we all attended a very inspiring worship service and, after lunch, said our goodbyes and departed to return to our individual homes.  This seems to be the norm these days when families are so scattered.  I’ve been trying to remember how Christmas was when I was growing up.  We always had a tree, a cedar, that we decorated with tinsel and silver icicles.  My mother would make popcorn balls.  We had Sunday School parties, usually at the American Legion hut.

The kids would each get a gift of an orange, an apple, some unshelled nuts and several pieces of hard candy.  On Christmas eve, Santa would arrive in Calico Rock.  Dressed in the traditional red suit, Santa (Dr. Copp) would climb aboard the train that had stopped for him at Creswell and ride into  town where a huge crowd had eagerly gathered to welcome him.  This was a wonderful tradition for many years and I only wish it could continue today. Santa riding into town on the fire truck is OK but it just isn’t the same.  Anyway, Anita and I enjoyed the time with our family and got back to town in time to attend the candlelight Christmas Eve service at our church.  It was wonderful.  Tom* shook the rafters with an outstanding rendition of “O Holy Night!”  and we all held high our lighted candles as we sang “Silent Night.”  On Christmas Day, Anita and I made a large pot of vegetable beef soup and a pan of corn bread.  How’s that for a delicious Christmas meal?  Gene joined us for lunch, after which we kicked back and watched a movie on TV entitled “The Christmas Story.”  Have you seen this?  It was filmed back in 1983 and didn’t do much until in 1997 cable channel TBS started running it non-stop for 24 hours on Christmas day.  Now it has bypassed “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34^th Street” as the favorite holiday movie.  A really good family movie about a twelve year boy wanting a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.  The scene that cracks me up occurs close to the end of the movie.  When the family loses their turkey and trimmings to a bunch of rowdy dogs, the father takes everyone out to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner.  The waiters attempt to lift the spirits of the family by singing carols such as “Deck the “Harrs” with boughs of ‘Horry’ Tis the Season to be ‘Jorry”

Tra Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra, Ra Ra.”  Well, I thought it was funny as were several scenes.  If you didn’t get to see this movie, it will be on again this year on December 25, 2013.  Mark it on your calendar.  By the way, it has been made into a Broadway play so next time you are in NYC you might just want to take it in.  Anyway, I’m at the old computer keyboard,  looking back into the recesses of my mind for some memories to pass on to anyone who might be interested.  May this New Year be good for you and yours.  With love and blessings, this is Reed.  Bye for now.

Nathan - December 12, 2012

As published in the White River Current on Thursday December 12, 2012

I had a very interesting dream last night.  I was in this very large room.  I knew I had been there before several years ago but at that time the room was empty.  Now, the room was filled to capacity, every seat taken, even up in the balcony.  At the front of the room, on an elevated platform of sorts, two men were seated in large leather chairs that faced the audience.  Seated on the front row of the balcony were several dignitaries including a middle aged couple who looked vaguely familiar.  The tall gentleman was very quiet and reserved but the lady was very animated.  Suddenly, the large doors at the rear of the room opened, a man entered, walked several steps into the room, stopped and announced in a booming voice, “Mr. Speaker.  The President of the United States.”  A handsome young man and his entourage entered the room and the crowd erupted into loud applause with many yelling “Nathan, Nathan,  Nathan.”  That was when I woke up.  Strangely, I have had similar dreams lately.  Once it was the popular concert pianist, Nathan.  Another time, it was the winner of the Daytona 500.  Still another, it was the record breaking homerun slugger in the World Series.  By the way, have I mentioned that we have a new great grandson, born November 6^th (election day; is that an omen?  He wouldn’t be the first piano playing president).  I am expecting great things of this young man, you just wait and see.  Well, enough of that.  Since this is my last column of the year, I want to again thank all you readers for all the nice comments.  I look forward to several more of these meetings in the new year.  I will be in the first issue of 2013.  I plan to look back on the past issues to find the things I have promised to talk about.  I’ll do my best to address those and some others as they pop into my head.  Have you got a copy of the new book that the museum board has produced?  The name is “Calico Rock, A History from 1831-1966.”  You will definitely want a copy and they will make great Christmas gifts.  And part of your purchase will benefit the Calico Rock Museum.  On a sad note, Gloria, the mayor of Pineville died November 26^th.  She was a great supporter of the area and was an outstanding character.  I was the mayor of Calico Rock in the late 80”s when she and her son first visited our city.  They presented the City Council a proposal to install new signs for all the streets within the boundaries of the city limits.  The Council accepted their proposal and they proceeded to do a superb job for our residents.  While she was here, Gloria fell in love with the people and the area.  She returned home to Sherwood, Arkansas, and persuaded her husband, David, to retire from his job on the police department and move to the Calico Rock community.  She has been a tireless worker in her church and community since arriving here.  We were living in Missouri when I received an e-mail from her in which she asked for my comments on her possible race for the Pineville mayor position.  I told her to “go for it” and she did.  We will all suffer because she is gone but we will all be better because she was here.  I was up before daylight this morning and happened to look out the East window.  A lone star was shining brightly in the pre-dawn sky.  I said to myself, “Shine on, dear sister, shine on.”  Yes, Gloria will be missed, but we can continue the legacy she left for us.  My prayer today is that each of you will have a very happy and blessed Christmas season and a joyous and prosperous New Year.  Let us all try to help each other and treat one another with kindness and respect.  We are commanded to “Love One Another.”  This is Reed, very sadly reporting from a corner of the Queen City of the Ozarks, beautiful Calico Rock, Arkansas.  See you next year. 

Blog - November 29, 2012

From:  The White River Current - Thursday November 29, 2012

I informed you in the last episode that the number of readers of this biweekly column had increased tremendously because it can now be viewed as a blog on the internet.  So, let me take a deep breath here and welcome the thousands of new fans that have just joined us in this effort.  I should take a paragraph or two and explain a few things.  This column appears every other week in the White River Current, a weekly newspaper published here in my home town, Calico Rock, Arkansas.  I am a native, born and raised here as was Calico Joe, the fictional baseball player whose fame is documented in the exciting book by fellow author, John Grisham.  If, by a stretch of the imagination, you haven’t read “Calico Joe,” please take my advice and do so.  Also take in the movie which should be appearing on the big screen in a few months.  If you are reading this off the internet blog, you may be missing a lot of the other interesting columns that are regularly appearing in the Current.  Susan’s column “Not So Long Ago” and Freda’s writings about the Native American and early settlers are worth the price of a subscription to the paper.  You can receive the print edition, the on-line edition or both for a very low price.  And, I almost forgot, appearing on alternate weeks with the Rambling column is “Tom’s Tamperings” which is written by my mentor, Tom*.  I first met Tom* in, of all places, Trier, Germany.  We were travelling and he had recently arrived in Trier to work in the opera business.  He and his wife, a Calico Rock girl, moved back to Arkansas last spring when they retired after residing in Europe for thirty-five years.  While Tom* was living overseas, he attempted to improve his writing skills by sending e-mails to selected individuals almost on a daily basis.  This has carried over into his column which I know you will enjoy, even though it has a slightly “northern” flavor.  Both the Canada influence and the opera business have taken its toll.  He might refer to his dancing in tights in some opera as his terpsichorean performance.  Even in our church choir, I have caught him singing the word “people” as “pee-oh-play.”  I know this is only a temporary thing and everything will soon work out.  We love this couple and are all very fortunate to have them back in our community.  They both qualify as “characters I have known.”  Anyway, thank you for adding the Ramblings column to your reading list.  And, come, visit us.  It would make us happy to welcome you to one of the most interesting places in Arkansas to visit (according to World Book Encyclopedia).  Just Google “Calico Rock, Arkansas” and click on any of the websites.  You might also check out “Exploring Izard County,” a blog that contains a lot of photos and videos about the area.  And a personal note to my local readers:  Thank you for all your support and comments.  I started with a tongue-in-cheek article about the people from “off.”  Much to my surprise, this has blossomed into eighteen issues ranging all the way from “Dogs I Have Known” to my efforts to write a novel and compose a Christmas song.  I have no idea how long this will last.  I have a few more things to say before I turn off the old word processor.  I think I have alluded to some of these in earlier columns.  I haven’t forgotten and these will start appearing very soon.  Time is slipping away.  By the time you read this, the elections will be over, daylight saving time has disappeared until next Spring and the Giants have won the World Series (or was it the Tigers?).  We had our first frost this morning which reminded me it was about hog-killing time and I have a story about that.  I help churn butter at the “Reliving Calico Rock History:  Pioneer Life” festival at the Calico Rock Museum.  This reminded me of my mother and another story about my childhood in Calico Rock.  So much to tell and so little time.    I need to get busy.  Anyway, this is Reed, working hard here in my corner of the Queen City of the Ozarks, beautiful Calico Rock, Arkansas.  Bye for now!!

Rainbow - November 15, 2012

From:  The White River Current - Thursday November 15, 2012

I saw an old friend the other day.  Even at a distance, he looked great primarily because he had it all together.  Sometimes this is not the case but he is really a colorful character.  I referring to someone you all know.  His name is Roy G. Biv but you probably know him better by his nickname.  By now, I’m sure you know this is a “leg puller.”  Of course I’m referring to the rainbow.  Each letter of the name represents the colors of the spectrum (rainbow) which are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.  I mentioned this to a friend as we were admiring the colorful arc in the sky and he had never heard this acronym.  I am mentioning it now in the unlikely event some of you might have forgotten what you learned in eighth grade science.  Also to let you know I will be introducing you to some other “characters I have known.”  I have already mentioned two or three and probably will be adding others as the weeks go by.  There is no criteria to become one of my characters.  Some have departed this life.  Others are still on this side.  In this episode, I am adding two characters to the list, a husband and wife team.  I haven’t known Ed and Kay for very long but I recognized very early that they were my kind of people.  I saw them recently at the 20/20 meeting.  Let me digress here to point out something I find interesting but disturbing.  Of the fifteen people at the meeting, ten were from “off.”  This included Ed and Kay who were also at the Chamber of Commerce meeting a few days later where the “off/on” ratio of attendees was about two to one also.  Anyway, after the Chamber meeting, I stopped by Ed & Kay’s place where they gave me a large bag of raw peanuts that they had received by mistake.  You may be surprised to learn that every year they purchase over $500 worth of roasted peanuts.  If you didn’t congratulate them on their golden wedding anniversary earlier this year, it’s not too late.  They aren’t hard to find.  They have turned the old Harris grocery on lower Main Street into their residence.  Look for the neon sign in the front window announcing “Ed & Kay’s Place.”  While you are there, pick up a bag of roasted peanuts from the large pail outside the front door.  They’re free, compliments of two very interesting characters that have come my way.  I’ll have more to say about peanuts in a few weeks.  Anyway, back to the rainbow discussion.  I saw a cute photo of a rainbow a few days ago. It was a complete arc, very bright and one side seemed to end over an outhouse.  The caption was “The pot at the end of the rainbow.”  Everyone seems to be looking for that “pot of gold.”  I never wanted to be rich and famous.  I will not purchase a lottery ticket because I might win the big one and that would completely change my life style.  I’ve never won anything in my life.  Maybe that increases the odds of my winning the next time.  However, I have become sort of famous because of these articles that appear every two weeks.  It has been called to my attention that the Ramblings have been appearing on a blog on the internet.  That means that there could possibly be several hundred (or even thousand) out there in cyberspace that are scanning my writings on a regular basis.  That’s scary.  I may have to start proof-reading this stuff.  I already have a friend over in Ash Flat that is checking for spelling errors.  I do this for fun.  If it starts to be work I may have to consider spending all my free time on my novel and Christmas song.  I’ll discuss this again next time.  Until then, this is Reed, just sitting here in my corner of the Queen City, waiting patiently for that Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes check and worried about what to do next.  Bye for now.

Lions - November 1, 2012

From:   The White River Current - Thursday November 1, 2012

It was a Thursday morning in early June, the latter part of the 1950’s.  I had just unlocked the front door of the store when I heard the amplified voice of Oran (Ding-Dong) Bell coming from the twin speakers that he had mounted on the roof of his pickup truck.  “They’re already gathering in” he shouted; “cowboys and cowgirls from all walks of life.”  Oran was busy driving up and down the city streets, announcing that the first performance of  The Calico Rock Lions Club Rodeo would be held at the local arena that evening.  The arena was packed for all three nights and has become an annual event in Calico Rock, held each year on the second weekend of June.  After over fifty years, the enthusiasm for the event has diminished some and even though performances have been reduced from three to two nights, the show draws large crowds of “cowboys and cowgirls from all walks of life.”  It was Oran, or as I should say, Lion Bell, that invited me to join the local club in the summer of 1951.  As a member for over sixty years now, I am the senior member of the club; Rayvon is close behind.  The local club was organized in 1947 and they are no surviving charter members.  Lion Bell was the sponsor for over seventy five members before  moving back to Yellville (his home town) after retiring from his position with Arkansas Power and Light Company (now Entergy).  Lions International was organized in about 1917 by a Chicago businessman, Melvin Jones.  Now worldwide, there are over 45,000 clubs with some 1.3 million members.  Most famous for the ongoing campaign to save the eyesight of people throughout the world, their motto is “We Serve.”  The local club pays for the exams and eyeglasses for several needy persons each year.  They also assist in many other civic projects.  Meanwhile, back to the Rodeo.  Rayvon and I were on the car-parking detail for that first night.  Big mistake!  As close as I have ever come to being run over, plus having to endure several “cussings,” I decided I was better suited for the concession stand or the ticket booth.  I have enjoyed working in the Lions projects which have included selling light bulbs and brooms from door-to-door to selling hamburgers and cold drinks at various events.  When I was more active, I attended the mid-winter conferences and state conventions.  It was at one of these that the speaker was Chet Lauck who played Lum on the old-time radio program “Lum and Abner.”  I used to listen to this program when I was a boy.  Chet told the story about “the preacher that they had in Pine Ridge who had absconded with the church funds. They caught up with him in Fort Smith but they found out that he had spent half of the money on some woman and the rest he had ‘just wasted.’  But they got their money back,” Chet said.  “They brought the scoundrel back and made him preach it out.”   You can google “Lum and Abner” and listen to some of the episodes of this great program.  I will have more on other old-time radio shows in a few weeks.

However, in this issue, I want to give a big tip-of-the-hat to the Lions Club and the other volunteer organizations and the members who generously give their time, and often, their resources, to make our town a more enjoyable place to live.  Well, I hesitate to do this, but I can’t leave the memories of the Lions Club of the past without recalling the minstrel show that some of the guys presented to packed audiences in Melbourne, Oxford, Norfork and Calico Rock.  The show consisted of the interlocutor (Lion A.B.), and six other Lions club members.  Picture this:  Seven chairs on the stage, A.B. in the middle chair with three Lions in chairs on each side.  I know this is unheard of in today’s culture, but that was then and this is now.  Anyway, there were some snappy lines like this:  Interlocutor:  “Rastus, how come you can grow such big watermelons?”  Rastus:  “I plants ‘em by the moon signs.”  Interlocutor:  “Ha!  Sounds like you are full of moon-shine.”  We all had a solo to sing.  Mine was “Mandy, let yo’ Andy in” but the show stopper was “Bones, you done me wrong” delivered in the proper tear-jerker fashion by Lion Harold Ray.  Hilarious!!  Just remembering the late Oran Bell, one of the characters I have known.  So long from the Queen City of the Ozarks.  This is Reed saying Bye for now.

Arkansas - October 18, 2012

From:  The White River Current - October 18, 2012

I was waffling back and forth between working on my Christmas song and my new novel, “Calico Mo,” when a familiar melody came into my head.  It has been the Official State Song of the state of Arkansas for over twenty-five years.  It was the background music for the sign-off  for public station AETN for a long time and may still be, although I think they are on the air for twenty four hours  a day now.  I used to stay up late to hear this great song and watch the beautiful Arkansas views that were displayed on the screen.  The CW group that I played with for several years, The Drug Store Cowboys, had this song in their repertoire.  We  used this  number as the closing on most of our gigs and it always brought a standing ovation.  I don’t think I have ever told you about this group of musical pharmacists.  Well, maybe later.  Anyway, the name of the song is “Arkansas, You Run Deep in Me.”  It was composed by fellow Arkansas songwriter, Wayland Holyfield.  The first verse goes “October morning in the Ozark Mountains, Hills ablazing like that sun in the sky.  I fell in love there and the fire’s still burning A flame that will never die.”  The chorus goes “Oh, I may wander, but when I do I will never be far from you.  You’re in my blood and I know you’ll always be.  Arkansas, you run deep in me.”  It just occurred to me that I seem to be slipping into a pattern of using song lyrics in these  bi-weekly visits.  This isn’t planned, just happens.  I sit down at the computer, start typing and send you whatever comes out.  Explaining, not apologizing.  Anyway, I was struck by the composer talking about wandering.  You already know I was born and raised here.  Went off to college, came back home to raise a family and build a business.  A little over ten years we sold our home and moved to Ozark, Missouri.  We have always joked that we were there on a “mission trip” but  that is close to an accurate description.  Ozark is a great community.  We enjoyed our stay there and miss the good friendships that were made, especially with our Sunday school classmates.  Three couples have visited us in Calico Rock.  Bill and Jan were special.  They liked gospel and bluegrass music and we attended several concerts together.  They also liked to eat (another perfect fit with us) and we were always ready to go.  Bill dabbled in real estate, buying and selling farms, until one day he called with the news that he had found “Shangri-La.”   This was a small farm several miles from Ozark.  We never got to see it, but from their description I guess it was beautiful.  A few years ago, Bill saw this ad about a gospel group that they really liked was appearing in a Texas town.  A long drive from Ozark, but they decided to go.  Bill became ill a short time after they arrived in Texas and they decided to drive back home to see his regular doctor.  He was immediately placed in the intensive care at the hospital and died three days later.  The cause of death was some type of tick fever.  Apparently, he had picked up to tick at the farm before they started to Texas.  Bill was a big man.  He was tall and I’m sure he weighed well over three hundred pounds but I never thought of him as being “fat.”  Great sense of humor and I put him in the group of “characters I have known.”  I still miss Bill a great deal.  Anyway, about three years ago, Anita and I decided that our “mission”  to Missouri was over and we began making plans to move back home.  Amazingly, we were able to get our old post office box and  telephone number after an absence of almost eight years, just like they had been saved for us.  The last verse of the State Song goes “And there’s a river rambling through the fields and valleys.  Smooth and steady as she makes her way south.  A lot like the people whose name she carries.  She goes strong and she goes proud.”  Of course, Wayland is referring to the Arkansas River, but, for me, it is the White River, a lot like the people - rambling, smooth, steady.  Oh, I may wander, but when I do I will never be far from you.  You’re in my blood and I know you’ll always be.  Calico Rock, you run deep in me.  You can Google the title  and hear Wayland sing the entire song on YouTube, even the AETN version.  Under the influence of nostalgia here in my corner of the Queen City of the Ozarks, this is Reed saying Bye for now.

Water - October 4, 2012

This Ramblin is from the October 4, 2012 edition of the White River Current:

"All day I’ve faced the barren waste without a taste of water, cool, clear water, water  (echo).”  So goes the first verse of the western song, “Cool Water,” that was written in the 30’s by Bob Nolan.  The song tells the story of a man and his mule (Dan) who are lost in the desert and who begin to see mirages.  Bob, along with Leonard Sly (Roy Rogers) and a couple of others, were the founders of the singing group, the Sons Of The Pioneers.  My cousin, Lloyd Perryman, became a member of the group in 1936 and remained until his death in 1977.  He was born and raised in Zion, Arkansas, an Izard County community.  The only time I met Lloyd was at the state fair and livestock show sometime in the 60’s.  Anita and I took Brenda and Steve and drove to Little Rock one day to see the SOTP who were appearing at the rodeo with Fess Parker who played Davy Crockett on TV.  It was a fun day and we got all their autographs and pictures.  The Pioneers appeared in over eighty movies, mostly with  Roy Rogers and his sidekick, Smiley Burnett.  “Cool Water” and  “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” were their most requested songs.  The first verse continues “Old Dan and I, our throats are dry and souls that cry for water, cool, clear water.”  In 1931, Ted and Dorothy purchased a drug store in the small town of Wall, South Dakota (pop. 350).  Ted was a pharmacist.  Business was very slow, but they stuck it out, agreeing that they would move on in five years if things didn’t improve.  By 1936, they were about to give up until that hot, July day when things suddenly changed.  Things were slow in the store and Dorothy had decided to go upstairs to their living quarters and take a nap.  She didn’t stay long and explained she couldn’t rest because of the noise out on the dusty highway, noise made by the travelers on their way to the new attraction just up the road called Mt. Rushmore.

Ted and Dorothy came up with an idea that they thought might cause some of the tourists to stop by the drugstore.  They put up signs on the highway advertising “free ice water.”  It worked and I know you have all seen the signs, “xxx Miles to Wall Drug” that are now all over the world.  Google “Wall Drug” and read the full, inspiring story about one of the top, tourist destinations in the state of South Dakota.  In the chorus of  “Cool Water,” the man encourages Dan to keep amovin’ and he says “Dan, don’t you see that big green tree where the water’s runnin’ free and it’s waitin’ there for you and me.  Cool, Clear Water.”  We have it so good here in America.  All we have to do to get a drink of cold water is turn the tap.  But did you know (or even care) that there are over one billion (yes that’s billion) people in the world that do not have access to clean drinking water.  Fortunately, there are people that care and are trying to do something about it.  The other evening as I was leaving the meeting of the chamber of commerce board, I saw Mark and Linda walking their dogs.  They was a tall gentleman with them that I presumed was a friend.  He had on a tee shirt on which was printed “Living Waters for the World.”  It turns out that Will was one of the founders of this organization.  I was somewhat familiar with this group because of a power point presentation that Mark had made to the local Lions Club a few months ago.  If I could, I would nominate this organization for the Nobel Peace Prize because I believe they really deserve it.  Mark has made numerous visits to Haiti and the things he has done there are mind boggling.  The Bible states “…if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

(Matthew 10:42, NIV)  Check out http://livingwatersfor the world.org and see for yourself.  When I was a boy, we kept a pail of water on the wash stand that was located on the back porch.  There was a long-handled dipper in the pail that everyone drank  from and used to dip water into the wash pan that was beside it.  Some people didn’t have a store bought dipper but used gourds instead.  How primitive!!  Are we just fortunate or are we blessed?  I better leave the preaching up to the professionals.  Anyway, you can hear “Cool Water” on YouTube along with other SOTP favorites.  Getting thirsty here in the Queen City, so I’ll just say Bye for now.