Arkansas: The Natural State

How do you spell Recession?  As of yesterday, I spell it A-R-K-A-N-S-A-S.  The first sign that this state is not prospering is the condition of the roads.  As Larry put it, “I’ve driven on gravel roads in Alaska that are smoother than these.”

Heading east on I-30 and I-40, I noticed more trucks than I had seen since the 70s--remember all the Citizens Band (CB) radio lingo like “breaker-breaker-one-nine”? (That means “I’d like to break into this conversation cuz I’ve got something to say.”  Much of the highway is two lane with huge chunks under construction (although workers were not present).  I can only imagine the frustration of truckers on deadline as they creep along in bumper-to-bumper traffic.  

The second sign of the recession occurred when we pulled in to the RV park in Benton, Arkansas.  Benton is the birthplace of Walmart, in case you were wondering.  Imagine my surprise when a school bus came into the RV park and unloaded children.  It’s a sobering sight to see kids coming home to an old 20 foot travel trailer in a park with no frills.  I can only hope that they are permanent residents and the children are not trying to cobble out an education as Mom and Dad move to new locations in search of a paycheck.

In my quest to visit all the Presidential Libraries administered by the National Archives, we made a stop in Little Rock to see The William J. Clinton Presidential Library.  Regardless of your politics, it would be hard to miss the resemblance this place bears to  a double wide trailer. (Insert your own joke here. It’s a freebie.)

As with the other presidential libraries I have visited, this one is full of historical reflection, videos, and pictures from our collective history.  Seeing the picture of little Baylee Almon in the arms of an Oklahoma City firefighter took me right back to 1995 and the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building.  It’s also eery to look at the events of the 90s.  In hindsight, it’s plain to see the escalating terrorism by forces loyal to Osama bin Laden. On a light note, we both enjoyed watching Bill and Hillary ham it up in videos made for correspondent dinners.  The guy definitely had a sense of humor.

Without a doubt, Larry’s favorite part of the museum was a temporary exhibit loaned by the St. Louis Cardinals.  Apparently, for boys in these parts (like Larry and Bill Clinton) the world came to a screeching halt when Dizzy Dean took to the airwaves to call a game.  

I was melancholy as I exited the museum.  These were the days before events that forever changed our lives.  For the most part, they were happy times, even though Washington was full of bickering (Remember the little impeachment debacle and that blue dress?).  As a country, we were economically healthy.  So perhaps it’s no surprise that I saw great irony in a video clip of President Clinton giving a State of the Union speech. He said, “What will we do with this surplus?  We will fix Social Security first.”  I hope in my lifetime to see another president concerned with what do with a federal surplus.  And I hope for better days ahead for Arkansas.