An Unlikely Affair With Arkansas
Like most of college basketball fans coming of age in the early/mid 1990’s, I had no idea that Arkansas was a member of the Union. The state’s name itself simply referred to the Razorbacks basketball team that was dominating the NCAA, and nothing more. Should a governor be mentioned, I assumed they meant coach Nolan Richardson. I was as surprised as anyone to find out that “The Arkansas Legislature” wasn’t Corliss Williamson’s nickname. Any other information regarding the state, including the annual evening news puff pieces about President Clinton’s home town, was quickly disregarded, because it was just one of those places that never sunk in as being real. Kind of like Timbuktu, the name comes up often enough, but does it mean anything? With the disregard I had paid to the place’s very existence, I could never picture myself setting foot in this land of make-believe. And yet, as of June 2006, I have been there and would like to share my findings.
A few years back, my father, in his infinite randomness, started making regular trips from his home in Florida to a small Ozark Mountain town called Eureka Springs. Every time he would return with glowing reviews of the land and people he found there. My brother Jon and I made the trip down from Denver to meet up with him this past summer to see it for ourselves. Dad stayed on with a friend for a few days after Jon and I headed back home, and when I spoke to him later that week, he had put an offer down on a house and was arranging to start a new job at the Eureka Springs Hospital. Fast-forward to December; Jon and girlfriend head back to Arkansas to spend the holidays. Next thing I know, they’ve given notice at their jobs and are moving down to join the old man at the end of the month.
From what I saw during my visit, Northwestern Arkansas looks to be one of the fastest growing areas in the country, with the growth vaguely centering around the largest job markets: Fayetteville and Bentonville. The two major corporate headquarters (Wal-Mart and Tyson Chicken) in the area plus dirt cheap real estate, scenic locations, abundant recreation, and some genuinely interesting places to visit add up to a destination that I suspect will draw an increasing number of people in the near future. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at this mystery state.
Arkansas: “The Land of Opportunity.”
Nickname: The Natural State
Geography: No one can really say for sure. Sits somewhere roughly mid-country, maybe. However, it is fairly mountainous, so we can say definitively that it is not in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, or Kansas. Actually, the only way to find it is to follow the signs from Paris,Texas or fly (a third route, not approved by the Six Talking Heads involves rafting down the Arkansas river from Buena Vista, CO).
Climate: Mostly hot, with a chance of ice storms in the winter. Regardless, it always seems to be no-shirt season to some residents.
Official Language, Religion, and Demographic Information: Southern, with a strong concentration of Walmartish sects in the Northwest.
Major Cities: Arkadelphia, Bald Knob, Bonanaza, Bono, Elaine, Flippin, Marked Tree, Marmaduke, Quitman, Stutgart, and Texarkana.
Economy: Tourism, agriculture, and vanadium. Ok, enough joking. Just do what Wal-Mart tells you to do.
Wildlife: Razorbacks, apparently. Perhaps Scotty Thurman is still on the loose, most likely hanging out in one of the region’s extensive underground cave systems. And chiggers, able to seek out and imbed themselves into even the most well protected body, including one’s nether regions.
State Motto: No, Deliverance was not filmed here.
I have to admit, Arkansas was a charming place to visit. Check it out if you are ever in the area hunting razorbacks, protesting outside of Wal-Mart HQ, or if you get hopelessly lost on the way to work. Eureka Springs developed as one of several havens for wealthy urbanites that sought out natural springs for relief from the nasty diseases readily available in the early 1900s. Preservation has ensured that these small mountain getaways still feature stately old Victorian homes perched on lots that are cut into the side of the local mountain. Not only are the towns picturesque; the numerous waterways with high bluffs on either side provided some of the most visually striking canoeing I’d ever undertaken (this was a main draw for my dad, who has recently been amassing what he calls his “plastic navy”). Buffalo River is designated the National Scenic River for the entire USA. Eureka itself has a great sense of community for a town of roughly 2,000, and I can imagine my opinion of the population will only improve now that I am related to 1% of it.
Good luck with the move, Jon and Mo!
Non-Arkansas thoughts from the past week:
A few years back, my father, in his infinite randomness, started making regular trips from his home in Florida to a small Ozark Mountain town called Eureka Springs. Every time he would return with glowing reviews of the land and people he found there. My brother Jon and I made the trip down from Denver to meet up with him this past summer to see it for ourselves. Dad stayed on with a friend for a few days after Jon and I headed back home, and when I spoke to him later that week, he had put an offer down on a house and was arranging to start a new job at the Eureka Springs Hospital. Fast-forward to December; Jon and girlfriend head back to Arkansas to spend the holidays. Next thing I know, they’ve given notice at their jobs and are moving down to join the old man at the end of the month.
From what I saw during my visit, Northwestern Arkansas looks to be one of the fastest growing areas in the country, with the growth vaguely centering around the largest job markets: Fayetteville and Bentonville. The two major corporate headquarters (Wal-Mart and Tyson Chicken) in the area plus dirt cheap real estate, scenic locations, abundant recreation, and some genuinely interesting places to visit add up to a destination that I suspect will draw an increasing number of people in the near future. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at this mystery state.
Arkansas: “The Land of Opportunity.”
Nickname: The Natural State
Geography: No one can really say for sure. Sits somewhere roughly mid-country, maybe. However, it is fairly mountainous, so we can say definitively that it is not in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, or Kansas. Actually, the only way to find it is to follow the signs from Paris,Texas or fly (a third route, not approved by the Six Talking Heads involves rafting down the Arkansas river from Buena Vista, CO).
Climate: Mostly hot, with a chance of ice storms in the winter. Regardless, it always seems to be no-shirt season to some residents.
Official Language, Religion, and Demographic Information: Southern, with a strong concentration of Walmartish sects in the Northwest.
Major Cities: Arkadelphia, Bald Knob, Bonanaza, Bono, Elaine, Flippin, Marked Tree, Marmaduke, Quitman, Stutgart, and Texarkana.
Economy: Tourism, agriculture, and vanadium. Ok, enough joking. Just do what Wal-Mart tells you to do.
Wildlife: Razorbacks, apparently. Perhaps Scotty Thurman is still on the loose, most likely hanging out in one of the region’s extensive underground cave systems. And chiggers, able to seek out and imbed themselves into even the most well protected body, including one’s nether regions.
State Motto: No, Deliverance was not filmed here.
I have to admit, Arkansas was a charming place to visit. Check it out if you are ever in the area hunting razorbacks, protesting outside of Wal-Mart HQ, or if you get hopelessly lost on the way to work. Eureka Springs developed as one of several havens for wealthy urbanites that sought out natural springs for relief from the nasty diseases readily available in the early 1900s. Preservation has ensured that these small mountain getaways still feature stately old Victorian homes perched on lots that are cut into the side of the local mountain. Not only are the towns picturesque; the numerous waterways with high bluffs on either side provided some of the most visually striking canoeing I’d ever undertaken (this was a main draw for my dad, who has recently been amassing what he calls his “plastic navy”). Buffalo River is designated the National Scenic River for the entire USA. Eureka itself has a great sense of community for a town of roughly 2,000, and I can imagine my opinion of the population will only improve now that I am related to 1% of it.
Good luck with the move, Jon and Mo!
Non-Arkansas thoughts from the past week:
- Is it just me, or does the $68 million ponied up by the City of Philadelphia and members of the region’s art community for Eakin’s Gross Clinic feel less like an investment in the arts, and more like a kid not caring about a toy until some other kid tries to take it away. The arts do great things for a city’s image, but it is a vibrant current art scene that attracts creative people to stay long-term. That money, even a fraction of it, could have gone to any number of local artists who are still trying to pay rent or helped open a gallery somewhere outside of slimy Old City. That single painting is going to sit in a single room and die slowly. Sigh.
- Even non-techies are giddy about the new iPhone. I read that there was actual hooting coming from the audience when some of the new features were being demonstrated at the MacWorld event. Apple knows how to make an entrance. They are expecting to sell 10 million of the phones which will retail for about $400-$600!
- I’m getting those bald spots on my legs from years of pants rubbing against the back of my calves (some people’s come from years of crew sock abuse, something I’ve managed to avoid despite hereditary inclinations). And so begins my own slow decay.
- Finally, I walked into work this morning to find what looked a lot like a puddle of urine in the hallway outside my organizations cluster of offices. Luckily, someone had the presence of mind to throw down some newspaper...and leave it there. 2007, I like you already.
