Cowboys - July 4, 2013

As published in the White River Current on Thursday July 4, 2013

I was driving home from a doctor appointment the other day when a familiar voice came over the car radio.  The twanging voice of Waylon (now deceased) was declaring, in a fast tempo,  something about being a “Rambling Man, just doing the best that I can.”  I decided right there that this could be my theme song so I rushed home and fired up the computer to see if I could find the rest of the lyrics.  Turns out that there are at least three versions of a Rambling Man song, one by the Allman Brothers, another by Hank, Sr. and even a Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man by Bob Seger.  I liked Waylon’s version the best and considered downloading it as a ringtone on my cell phone.  By this time I had begun to lose my enthusiasm so put the project on hold.  I do think the idea had merit because I am just doing the best that I can, but aren’t we all?  Anyway, I enjoyed hearing Waylon again.  Do you remember the song he did several years ago with Willie about going to Luckenbach, Texas, Waylon, Willie and the Boys?  Anita and I and friends, Don and Maxine, visited Luckenbach (pop. about 50) a few years ago.  It is an unincorporated hamlet

located in the Texas hill country near Fredericksburg.  Nothing much there except a post office and a dilapidated dance hall where they have dances on Friday and Saturday nights.  I looked up their web site and was jerked to an upright sitting position when I saw that a group who called themselves the Drugstore Cowboys were playing on a Friday night in June.  Well, that certainly got my attention because Don and I just happened to be the organizers of a group of nine pharmacists who adopted the name, Drugstore Cowboys, and entertained thousands of Arkansans back a few years.  I shared the MC duties with Don.  He was our primary vocalist, and I was the banjo picker in the group.  Some of you may remember our performance in the King Park bandstand at one of the festivals.  We also played at pharmacy conventions in Las Vegas, NV and San Antonio, TX.  I retired from the group several years ago but Don and two others are still playing several concerts a year in and around the Little Rock area.  Now calling themselves the Drugstore Cowboys Trio, they recently played in Conway for a group that included a former Calico Rock resident, Mary Jane Kerr.  One of the most requested songs that the group does is the old Waylon tune, “Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.”  Oh, those were fun times.  When I was active with the group, I used to close the store at 6 PM, drive to Little Rock for band rehearsal, drive home arriving in Calico Rock about 2:30 AM, get a little sleep, get up in time to open the store at 8 AM and think nothing of it.  I can’t imagine doing that now and I admire Don for continuing.  He turned 85 recently.  I have to place him at the top of the list of characters I have known.  He and Maxine (married for 62 years) are more than friends.  They’re Family.  By the way, Anita and I celebrated our 60^th a few weeks ago.  I will probably talk more about Don and the other roommates in a later article which will be about college experiences.  I try not to bore you with these personal items, so I apologize.  So I’ll end this issue by going back to the top.  My favorite Willie song is “Ain’t it funny how time slips away?”  The lyrics of this song are about a guy who runs into an old girlfriend, maybe at a dance or something, it doesn’t say where.  “Well, hello there” he says, “It’s been a long, long time.”  I like this song and Willie does a good job of it.  But I really like the title because it is funny, or perhaps I should say sad, for opportunities that I have had but waited too long and now they are gone.  Too bad.  I’m not laughing as I sit here in my corner of the Queen City of the Ozarks.  If you are feeling sentimental, also, you can hear all the Waylon and Willie songs that I have referenced on YouTube.  Happy Independence Day.  See you in two weeks, maybe in a better mood.  Bye for now.

Spring - June 20, 2013

As published in the White River Current - Thursday June 20, 2013 Goodbye to spring, 2013. I hate to see you go. You have been great, the best in a long time. We will remember you. The award winning songwriter of contemporary Christian music, Kurt Kaiser, is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. One of his most popular songs is “It Only Takes a Spark”, also known by the more well-known title “Pass It On.” This song is found in many different hymnals and is particularly a favorite with church youth groups. Written in 1969, the second verse begins “What a wondrous time is spring when all the trees are budding, The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming…” It certainly was a wondrous time this year. This was the year of the rose. I do not remember when there were so many and the reds were so vivid. The wildflowers were also in abundance, especially the yellow beauty, the wild Cosmos (I hope I spelled that correctly). And there were many others that made the countryside spectacular. The trees have budded and are now all leafed out providing shade for those that are fortunate to have them in their yard (we don’t). But we have had the birds. It has really been a joy watching the many different species that have visited the feeder that is located just outside our sliding glass door. Some of these have gone north for the summer but several are still around. My favorite is the State bird, the Mockingbird. We have one that seems to have a favorite spot on top of the power pole in front of our house. He will sit up there and serenade us for several minutes at a time, never repeating the same song. The other evening while I was sitting on the front porch, he flew up to his spot to begin an aria and was soon joined by four of his friends. They all began to do their thing and it was a real cacophony of discordant sounds that ended after a minute or so when the friends abruptly left. Maybe it was a territorial thing. I like the variety of the mockingbird’s song. Not like the whippoorwill that will sing “Chip butter in the white oak” over and over. My neighbor, Tom*, and I were relaxing on the deck at the bluff house the other evening when we heard the familiar “chip butter…” song in the distance. Now you may not have known this but Tom* is a self-proclaimed ornithologist. He quickly informed me that the sound was not coming from a whippoorwill but was a ??? (I forgot, so maybe he will inform us in his column next week. Anyway, summer slipped in the back door last week and will officially appear tomorrow so thank you again spring of 2013. The word, spring, of course, has other meanings as do many English words. Spring can also mean to leap forward suddenly. It can also be an elastic strip of coiled wire. But I like the definition that means water rising to the surface of the earth. The largest spring in the world (I think) is located about fifty miles north of here and is the source of a river. Blanchard spring is another popular tourist location that only a few miles south. Two springs in particular have a great meaning to me. One is the Trimble Campground spring. My grandparents, James and Rosa, used to load their children in the wagon and meet other families at the clearing by the spring for revival type meetings in the summer. Later James was instrumental in the building of a church building at the site. The building has been changed over the years but still stands. James and Rosa and several of their brothers, sisters and other relatives are buried in the cemetery located nearby. The other spring that I was referring to is located somewhere by the side of the road between Pineville and Wild Cherry. I have stopped there for a cool drink on many occasions when I was going out to the “old home place” with my dad. People used to build stone structures over the springs and kept their milk, butter and other perishables there. Some of these structures still exist, at least two in the city limits of Calico Rock (at Jackson spring and McNeill spring). Many in rural locations use springs as their primary water source. Mixing a little history along with a good dose of sentimentality here in my corner of the Queen city of the Ozarks. I’ll be back in two weeks. Bye for now.

Politics - June 13, 2013

As published in the Whiter River Current - Thursday June 13, 2013 Thanks to all of you concerned readers for the e-mails, twitters, telegrams, phone calls and personal visits inquiring about my health since I missed my regular bi-weekly visit with you last week. No, I haven’t been sick. Actually it was a swap with Tom* who you may remember fills this space on alternate weeks. Tom* politely asked, well he actually begged (groveled), to swap for this time only and of course I graciously agreed without the least bit of hesitation. So, next week I will be here again on the regular schedule and maybe this will lessen the disappointment for having to go an extra week without the ramblings. Again, my thanks and sincere apologies for the inconvenience. Now, to the business at hand. Try to visualize a scene where there is a large group of college students, each one holding up both hands with the middle and index fingers of each hand pointing straight up and each student yelling (We’re Number Two!!!). I think you can add this to Reed’s list of things you probably will never see. Everyone likes to win, be number one. A very famous football coach is credited with saying “Winning is everything.” That’s not all the quotation and I’m not sure I agree with his philosophy, but it seems to be the prevailing idea of many people. Have you ever noticed the three finalists after an event in the Olympic Games? Standing on the podium, the gold medalist is all smiles as the flag of his/her country is raised and the national anthem played. The silver medalist looks so sad and dejected, whereas the bronze medalist seems really happy. Last week, I had the distinct honor of serving as the Grand Marshall in the Lions Rodeo parade. Not to diminish the honor of my selection, but I was not the first choice for this event. The comedian, Seinfeld, once remarked, “being number two means you are at the top of all the losers.” Story of my life. I’m a loser. I was Vice-President of my senior high school class and was Salutatorian at graduation. I also finished number two among pharmacists at my college graduation. Loser!! To continue the saga, how about my political career. I was elected with no opposition to one term as alderman representing my ward on the city council. I was appointed to serve out the unexpired term of the mayor (who resigned) and was elected with no opposition for one term. I ran for school board director four times, losing two times when I had an opponent and winning twice when I didn’t. After these episodes, I was firmly assured that politics was no longer in my future. But, speaking of politics, which I try to refrain from and which I rarely do, I want to take the opportunity of thanking Tommy and Missy for providing us with a legislative update and review each week in this publication. I am a faithful reader of these reports, since I believe it is my civic duty but also because I find them quite interesting and informative. For example, in a recent issue Tommy reported that the recent legislative session that adjourned a few weeks ago was one of the longest sessions on record. He also stated that the work this General Assembly tackled in 100 days was “truly remarkable.” I agree. You are aware that we sometimes rate the effectiveness of our elected Assembly members on the number of bills that they are able to get approved. I would suggest that they all should receive high marks because they passed 1,520 of the 2,492 bills that were introduced. Let me repeat that. That’s fifteen hundred and twenty new laws that will affect us all in some way or another. I thought that when almost 800 new laws were enacted in the previous session was “remarkable” I will have to, again, agree that this is “truly remarkable.” Hopefully we all will be healthier, wealthier and maybe even a little better looking. Thanks, again, Tommy and Missy for your hard work. I think I will just crawl back to my corner here in the Queen City and try to sort everything out. Remember, I’ll see you again next week when we will again take a look at “words.” Bye for now.

Band - May 23, 2013

From: The White River Current - Thursday May 23, 2013 Anita and I spent an enjoyable evening a few days ago. We attended the school band concert at the auditorium. Ever since both of our grandsons played alto saxophone when they were in their middle school and high school, we have been interested in supporting the local bands. You should know by now that I enjoy just about any type of music, from Bach to Bluegrass. We didn’t have a band when I was in school and I have always regretted it. But I took piano lessons from first grade through high school, so I can recognize excellence when I hear it. It is amazing what these band instructors can do with these kids. We had attended the concert in the early spring and could not help but be astounded at the improvement the elementary beginners band made in just a couple of months. You could hardly believe that the very difficult arrangements being played by the high school band were being performed by students from a small school in North Arkansas. Thank you, Miss Laura, and thank you, school board members. The opportunity for a college scholarship is much greater through the band than through the sports team. Just a fact. Congratulations to all the high school graduates and a tip of the old mortar board to those receiving awards. Keep the music coming. Anyway, I think I should brag a little more about my grandsons. I believe Ross was in the beginners band the first year that the local school had a band program. He was a band member through the eleventh grade when the family moved to Mountain Home where he graduated from high school. Now a college graduate residing in Tulsa with wife, Leah, Ross is still highly involved in music. Although he has become very talented playing keyboards, he keeps his horn available with he might need it. The other grandson, Sam, who attended a much larger school in Missouri, joined the elementary band in fifth grade and continued through middle school where he played in both the concert band and the jazz band. He decided to join the high school vocal ensemble and became one of the soloists. This group was selected the “most outstanding” in the state of Missouri Sam’s senior year. If I appear to be bragging too much, well, excuse me. Anyway, I apologize for so much personal stuff. I got kind of carried away with the band information. I did, actually, get my chance just by accident when I was a senior in college. When I was going through senior registration, the college band director asked if I would be interested in playing the bass drum in the college marching band. Jumping at the chance, I quickly became a drum virtuoso. I never had so much fun in my life. We played a lot of John Phillip Sousa marches and other good stuff at football games and in several parades. A dance orchestra developed with some of the band members and I played piano with this group. My roommate, Don, was our vocalist. More about him in the next issue. Another roommate, Fred, played trumpet. One of our gigs was the fireman’s ball on a New Year’s Eve at Harrison. My goodness, I can almost hear “Dreamer’s Holiday” in the background while I am reminiscing about all the old times. I don’t want to get too carried away here. I want to save some for next time so I’ll just say Bye for now and see you in two weeks.

Comments - May 9, 2013

From: The White River Current - Thursday May 9, 2013 I’ve mentioned it before. It’s difficult for me to imagine that someone would get some kind of enjoyment reading this stuff. What started out as an opinion/editorial type of column has remained such with a few exceptions. I never dreamed that it would last this long. People come up to me quite often commenting on my writing. As a matter of fact, I have had an extra-ordinary number in the last few days, mostly with comments such as “I absolutely enjoyed, you know, your last column.” The world is full pseudo-comedians these days. I guess I’m getting what I deserve. However, some of the persons that stop me on the street I may not know or remember even though I should (and I apologize). I continue to get e-mails and an occasional long distance phone call like the one from Sam a few days ago. Sam was a 1954 graduate of CRHS. I recalled his parent’s names but couldn’t get a mental picture of his face. I’m going over to the high school soon and look him up in his senior class picture. Sam had some questions about a recent article. Maybe he will attend the all-school reunion in June and we can get re-acquainted. Now I will say it again. I’m not an authority on anything but I do have opinions on various issues and I suspect many of you have opinions that differ from mine. No problem. I will say that the vast majority of comments that I have received have been favorable and I thank you very much but there are times that I hit the sensitive button and get a different response. I really was not too surprised to get a little negative reaction to the last issue which was, you remember, about “words.” Please allow me to briefly respond to one of these responses. In an e-mail from a friend that I’ve known a long time, the writer stated that “what people do is far more important than what they say.” Well, duh! He goes on “If OMG is the worst thing you hear in public, you must live a very sheltered life.” I know he is reading this issue so I will point out that the article was about the most overused/misused words and phrases (on Reed’s list). The only reference to “worst” was the illustration about my mother and dad. But thanks for the comments because it got me to thinking about my “sheltered life.” Except for church activities and various board and committee meetings that I attend, I spend most of my time at home. My pet answer to someone who asks what I do now is “Nothing; but I keep busy at it.” So, I read a lot. And I watch some TV which is where I hear some of the things I referred to in the article. Thanks to the guy that invented the remote. I can hit the mute button or change the channel in the blink of an eye. I try to keep an open mind on political and religious issues and will continue to refrain from commenting on them, at least for the present. But it was that “sheltered life” comment that caught my attention. My parents moved from the family farm in Wild Cherry to Calico Rock soon after my grandmother passed away. Mom was pregnant at the time and Dr. Smith wanted her close by in case she had problems. She had lost a child born prematurely about three years earlier. The baby, a boy that they named Dale Brooke, is buried at the Trimble Campground cemetery. I often daydream about how life would have been with an older brother. Anyway, I entered the world without any complications. Dad always said that my mother “raised” me. Now I’m not exactly sure what “sheltered” means, but I believe my growing up was not a lot different than most. Mother worked hard and tried her best to allow me to be a normal child. But I know, now, that she worried a lot, and also prayed a lot. And, I survived. Thank you, Mom, for sheltering me. I’ll be wearing a white rose on my lapel in your honor at church Sunday. Happy Mother’s Day. I love you.

List - April 25, 2013

From the White River Current - Thursday April 25, 2013

Well, here we are, almost to the end of another month into the second year of these bi-weekly visits.  I was thinking that it might be a good time to take a look at one of my favorite subjects:  words.  I am announcing, today, the addition of a new word to Reed’s list of misused/overused words and phrases.  The word is “absolutely.”  This word has gained great popularity among the guests on talk shows and in television interviews.  It has all but extinctified its cousin words, “definitely” and “exactly.”  I fully expect to be present in a meeting in the near future and hear the chairman exclaim “All in favor of the motion, let it be known by saying “absolutely.”  (Those opposing the motion would probably be asked to say “negatory” or something like that but we’ll think about that at a later time.)  The chairman will then announce “…and the absolutelys have it.”  Remember, you heard it here first.  Even though the new word on the list is widely used (or misused), it has a long way to go to catch up with the two words/phrases that are firmly entrenched at the top.  One of these is actually a welding together of the words “you” and “know” and is pronounced “YANO.”  I sometimes catch myself mentally counting the number of times a particular individual might use this language abuse in a normal conversation.  This expression has become such a part of our everyday informal speech that even I have been accused of uttering these words.  I suspect that “no, you don’t know and, in addition, you don’t want to know,” so why do I keep saying that?  Anyway, the other word/phrase at the top of my list makes me wince every time I hear it, which is often.  So popular, especially among younger adults (but not entirely), that it has its own acronym, “OMG”.  Apparently this makes it more convenient to use in e-mails and twitters.  This combination of three words is used as an expression of surprise or awe or a variety of other reasons or for no reason at all.  It can be uttered quickly, like “ohmy…” or to greatly enhance the astonishment level, stretch it out to “Ohhhhhhh Myyyyyyy ……..D.  Call me a pious prude if you want,  but I am offended by the use (misuse) of the name of the Almighty in this frivolous manner.  When I way a boy, it was very rare that you heard anyone use the “name” in vain.  Just something that was not done, especially in public.  The worst thing my mother would utter, when surprised, was “goodness gracious” whereas my dad might say “Great Scott” or “thunder and lightning.”  I believe any of these exclamations of my parents would convey as much of an element of surprise (or whatever) as would OMG and would certainly be more acceptable.  It might even be Biblical (look it up).  Unfortunately, we live in a society where we are told that the First Amendment allows us to say whatever we so desire.  Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean that we have to say something, especially if it is offensive to the other person.  Our children, starting in kindergarten, are taught to be “tolerant” referring mainly to racism and alternate lifestyles.  I like the word, “tolerance” but I believe it is a two-way street.  Doesn’t seem to be happening in our society today, mainly because of political correctness.  I see evidence that the pendulum is beginning to swing the other way.  It won’t be too soon for me.  Years ago, the great singer Nat King Cole recorded a very moving song by the title “Nature Boy.”  The song tells a fantasy of a “strange enchanted boy…who wandered very far” only to learn that “the greatest thing…was just to love and be loved in return”.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could do that?  You can listen to Nat’s version of this haunting melody on Youtube.  Just meditating and humming along in my corner of the Queen City of the Ozarks, Beautiful Calico Rock.  See you in two weeks.  Bye, Bye!  

Radio - April 11, 2013

As published in the White River Current - Thursday April 11, 2013

It was a beautiful day in New York.  A sell-out crowd had squeezed into the Polo Grounds to watch the game between the Giants and the Cardinals, the two teams who, along with the Dodgers, were battling for the 1951 National League pennant.  Back in St. Louis, hunched over a microphone in a sound-proof studio of radio station KMOX, announcer Harry Caray was excitedly giving the play-by-play to his radio audience.  A cryptic message that read “Musial HR on 3-2” came over the teletype.  Harry leaned over and spoke into the mike “A full count on Stan the man.  Gomez takes his wind; here’s the pitch, swung on and THERE IT GOES, A LONG FLY BALL, WAY BACK; IT MIGHT BE, IT COULD BE, IT IS –A HOME RUN.  Holy Cow!!  Did he ever give that ball a ride.”  The Cardinals won the game but came in third in the pennant race.  The Giants won the deciding game by defeating the Dodgers in dramatic fashion by a walk-off home run by Bobby Thomson that has been described as “the shot heard ‘round the world.”  Before the advent of travelling by jet airplanes, most baseball announcers did the play-by-play reporting from their home town studios, as did Harry Caray.  That did not make the game any less exciting for the listeners.  Harry was so good at it you could picture in your mind the baseball sailing high into the right field stands and Musial trotting around the bases.  A “word picture” of something can be almost as vivid as seeing the event live.  When I was a boy, we had a Philco table model radio.  It took several seconds for the tubes to warm up but we were able to get several stations, all AM of course (this was before FM or television).  Some soap operas were broadcast in the afternoon (the only one I can remember is “Ma Perkins”) and a favorite of many households was “One Man’s Family” which was a weekly production.  My routine was to hurry home from school (I walked), get the snack my mother had put in the warming closet and do my homework.  Then I was permitted to turn on the radio at 5:00 PM to listen to my hero as the theme song would resonate “So just try Wheaties, the best breakfast food in the land” and the voice of the announcer would proclaim “Jack Armstrong, Jack Armstrong, The All American Boy.”  After the few chores and supper were over, I would put on my sleepers and get ready for bed.  But on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights I would get close to the speaker and oh-so-carefully fine tune the radio to WGN, 720, listening for the thumping sounds of the William Tell Overture announcing the thirty minute program, The Lone Ranger.  If I was lucky I would hear the announcer say “Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.  From out of the past come the thundering hoof-beats of the great horse, Silver.  The Lone Ranger rides again.”  Radio back then was much more exciting that TV is today.  Other great shows were Jack Benny, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Shadow (very scary, sometime), the Green Hornet (theme song was The Flight of the Bumblebee) and other greats.  We got our weather reports from C.C. Williford of station KWTO, 550 in Springfield.  Dad liked Gabriel Heatter for the national news.  He also liked to listen to the Cardinal games.  Harry Caray was the Cardinal announcer for many years before he had a run-in with the owner, August Busch.  He spent one year at the mike for the Oakland team but the owner, Charles Finley, insisted that he change his trademark “holy cow” saying to “holy mule.”  He refused and moved to Chicago where he spent eleven years with the White Sox before ending his career after several seasons as the very popular voice of the Cubs.  He started the routine there of leading the Cub fans in singing “Take me out to the ballgame” during the home seventh inning stretch.  Even though Harry died in 1998 at the age of 83, his singing legacy still continues at Cub’s home games with guest soloists leading the crowd.  Harry’s son, Chip (who died in 2008) and grandson (Skip) became announcers for the Atlanta Braves.  Try to Google Harry and listen to his famous voice.  Also check out some of the other old radio shows through the magic of internet.  Mixing a little  trivia along with the old memories here in my corner of the Queen City.  Bye til next time.