I have struggled for nearly a month to put words to a shared high school experience I enjoyed in the mid-1970s. In 1973 at the conclusion of our Freshman year, our last year of Junior High School, a tornado tore through Jonesboro, Arkansas (my hometown), and destroyed not only a lot of homes and businesses,… Read more »
It’s a small collection of streets that make up the neighborhood: Robin, Cardinal, Thrush, Lark, and Starling. Dove was added after all the history was made. In the early 1960s when we first moved into Birdland, there were an abundance of lots available. There were several undeveloped lots on the east side of Robin near… Read more »
In late May of 1975, my friend Danny returned from college in Dallas. On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we drove to Hardy, Arkansas to participate in the Spring River Canoe Race. The race was held every Memorial Day. Danny had a very cool red jeep complete with a kick ass Craig stereo, over… Read more »
Back in the day, Roy’s First Chance/Last Chance was where a lot of folks from Arkansas State had their first beer. Roy’s still exists, and is still little more than a shack that used to be held up by beer. Today I suspect it stands only because the termites are holding hands. It’s a small… Read more »
In Paragould, Arkansas there is a bar called the Landmark Lounge. It’s a little out of the way place. A dingy, dimly lite dive where cold beer and lousy food is proudly served and where crappy local bands play really, really loud. When you are young, this seems like a good place to be. Cold… Read more »
Today I was working in the yard. I was pulling weeds from the gardens and putting mulch down. It’s not like I enjoy working in the yard. Some people enjoy it. Some people enjoy colonoscopies, too. I don’t enjoy either. I would almost rather have a tooth pulled than to have to work in the… Read more »
Over dinner a few nights ago, we visited with new friends and had a great time telling old stories from our lives. Our new friends are an interesting couple who share a lot of interests with Landi and me. The husband works in Information Tech. This of course, led to shop talk. Shop talk leads… Read more »
On a warm and starry night in the spring of 1954, a dashing young doctor met a beautiful young nurse on the Skyway at the Peabody Hotel and they danced. On November Sixth in 1954, they eloped and embarked on a wonderful fairy tale of a life. Through house fires, tornadoes, three children, and a… Read more »
Roughly 15 years ago my niece, Ashley, held her wedding on a sweltering evening in mid-August. Everyone thinks they know hot. Everyone thinks they know humid. If you haven’t spent an August in Jonesboro, Arkansas you know neither hot nor humid. In August, if the air moves at all, you feel more like a dog… Read more »
In early August of 1965, I joined the Jonesboro YMCA swim team. I joined on a Friday, and the State Swim Meet was held the next day in Jonesboro. I won 3rd place in Freestyle and Backstroke, and would have had 2nd in Butterfly, but I was disqualified. Before that morning, I had never heard… Read more »
Recent Comments