The Ouachita Mtns. in Oklahoma and Arkansas. One of the all-time great drives goes through here, the Talimena Scenic Drive. Jeff and I have gone there a few times. arkansas.com

another shot from 7, south of the photograph below. courtesy arkansas.com 

ok, it was highway 7 where that photograph was taken. When you drive it, you'll see a lookout tower up on top at a souvenir store. From that point, it is a 1500' drop into the valley below. Yes, the Bostons are A # 1 wonderful. Keep going south on 7 until you hit 123, turn right and head south on it. Enjoy. Stop at Haw Creek Falls campground and check out the surroundings. This road ends up down near I-40 near, where you can hop on down to the Ouachitas if you really feel like a two day trip. I wish I was there right now. These are the most comfortable feeling mountains I know of, the Bostons and the Ouachitas, and I'll also include the Sangre De Cristos in New Mexico, and the Blue Ridge, where Jeff and I went driving one day when he was fighting in the war down in Nash-vegas.

be good

That is all it is?
A haiku is that simple?
I wish I had known.

You might be the best driver in the world, but you are going to get some serious competition in the bad haiku arena, my friend. I,m pretty doggone cluesless about poetry, and even more so about these little three liners, but I do enjoy a good rhyme now and then.

Enough of that intellectual hogwash. A couple of truths have been struck upon in your latest offering. Numero uno. The Boston Mountains are, indeed, one of the finer creations on this planet. Scoffed at by those in the Rockies as mere hills, they are a perfect balance of majesty and livability. The larger mountain ranges in this country and others as well are no doubt awe inspiring. But, a body can only handle so much awe, in this world anyway. My biggest frustration with the big mountains is that they always introduce an element of failure into my existence because I immediately want to conquer them when I see them. "Gotta get to the top of that sucker". Not likely that it will happen, so I get defeated by a mound of dirt. And even if I did, what would I get? Out of breath and some more awe. But, is there anything of lasting significance that I can do up there? Not really. Just come back down. On the other hand, these Ozark Mountains, of which the Bostons are the reigning champs, posess an unparalled combination of beauty and practicality, no doubt the reason our ancestors looked so favorably upon them. They are a sight to behold as you look upon them. They aren't really that difficult to get up and down, and they provide a magnificent view once you get up there. Not to mention that they are chuck full of some of the best water in the world, good for wells, fishing, floating, etc. In betwixt, you can find some pretty fair soil for crops, but not so much as to invite corporate agriculture into the picture. Just enough for the necessary vittles and to keep a few head of livestock fattened up. Did I mention caves? Boy, howdy, talk about something that looks just as good on the inside as it does on the outside! All in all, the Ozarks are the pinnacle of creative perfection as they combine an unequalled blend of form and function. Which brings me to point number two. They are highly navigable. It is entirely possible to reach the crest of most peaks in these parts by vehicle, albeit not necessarily on a road. Or on bike or on foot. And, in this hillbilly's humble opinion, there ain't much better travel than a ridge road. That's about as close to flyin' as you're gonna get and still stay on the ground. Not boring either. Sad to say, they have cut a super slab right through the guts of the Boston Mountains, but the old Hwy 71 still winds its way across the tops of the hills, with an occaisionaly dip into the valleys. I must admit, though, that the new four lane is probably the most scenic stretch of four lane you will see outside the Alps. I'm not sure when the opportunity will present itself, pardner, but when I do get down there, I'll grab a couple of extra whiffs just for you. Perhaps another looksee will get you by in the meantime. Mystery Link #16.

Will somebody please take a trip on my behalf this fall down to the Boston Mtns. south of Jasper, Ark. Found this shot on a web site, it looks like it was taken from up on the highway that runs the ridge from Jasper to Pelsor, maybe 123, ain't sure. It is one of the absolutley bestest places I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot of places. Somebody go and take a day to breathe it all in. I'd be going if I was there...

The haiku structure, as far as I recall, is a 3 line poem with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third. It's supposed to be about nature somehow, you know, mountains, the river, etc. But I think it is ok to take poetic license literally in these cases.

five syllables now,
seven and then five again
bad flippin' haiku.

be good.

I never quite got the hang of those haikus. That doesn't necessarily stifle my poetic drive, though.

There once was a fella named Mark,
Who spoke of the Light and the dark.
The Lord was his labor.
He was a Good Neighbor,
And he'd rather go driving than park.

On a totally unrelated note, I was just notified that the next (actually first) official Bluegrass Meetup for this area (Joplin, aka The 4) is going to be held on October the 13th at the Good Neighbor Cafe on the square in Carthage. Must be a satellite location.

Be happy and careful.

You know, I was really hoping to offend at least one person. But then again, we rarely have that many readers.

bad haiku for the day:

oh lowly blogsite
pathetic posting webpage
loser writer's pal

be adequate

A little catching up to do here.

Re: Religious posts - Who ya worried about offending? Who ya think you're gonna run off? Please check the "stuff" at the top of the page here. As fer as I can tell, you are well within those self-imposed restrictions, and you comments are certainly rated PG (Pro-God). So, speak on.

Re: Problems - Well, I'd like to say that I am too busy to respond to that one, but......... IMHO, here we are, in the world. What ever it is, how ever it is. I suspect it is imminently important not to "operate" in this world in such a manner as to bring discredit to our Creator and scare folks off. Too many folks are doing a top notch job of that already, as pointed out in a previous submission. Regardless of pressures and demands, we have to take a little time and enjoy what we have been given, and let other folks witness it.

Be happy and careful

Problems, problems, problems

Have tried to post several time these past few days and to no avail.
Still, I will continue trying to put these words together in order to send them out to any and all who would read them, and yet, I suspect that they will seen by few, read by fewer, because we're all just too 'busy'. Too busy to have any kind of genuine connection to anyone else outside of our own particular drama. Too busy to risk the investment of time and energy to sustain any kind of community, even if it is to be done via some pathetic blog. Too busy to care about some dumb thing like speaking to someone else or listening to them, or to risk being misunderstood or ignored. Because if we can just eliminate as many possible sources of friction from our lives, and avoid as many unnecessary people and conversations, then we can have smooth, painless, interesting lives that don't require anything from us beyond cashing the checks that fall into our laps and spending the dough on the important people and things. Yep, I've got mine and we've got ours, and it's just tough luck for anyone else. I mean, there's no rule that says I have to be polite to the telemarketer who calls me and 'invades' my privacy, even if they are somebody a lot like me who would really rather be doing just about any other job if given the chance to actually make a living somewow. There ought to be a law about who can contact me. Yep, what this country needs is a few more 'gaited communities'...and the march toward social autism continues.
When will I snap out of this B/S way of living and actually live, you know, like a real live human being made in the image of God? What would life look like if I did that? Well, someday I'm going to start doing that. But for now, well for now I'm really too busy. Lot of stuff going on. So much to do. I just don't have time for the small talk. I have responsibilities. But someday, right?

be whatever you want, right?

Do blogs and religion mix? What is the proper protocol for discussing this topic without having it turn into a real brouhaha (baseball term)? I really don't want to see a 'religious blog', so to speak, but it's a topic that is part of life, and some would say, is life. I tend to hold to the view that everything is spiritual. Bluegrass, hockey, guitars, coffee, pie, driving, cigars, books, films, getting happy, getting mad, discussing religion, arguing religion, avoiding religion; it's all spiritual. So, what place should we give it on the blog in the form of forthright discussion where we don't have to be afraid of saying the word 'Jesus', or any of the other words tha might send some folks running? I ain't worried about hurting anyone's feelings, I just want to do it with some style if indeed it is actually ever done. So...do we have a policy re: religious posts?
I await your reply(ies).

be good.

RGNC Sunday editorial

My beef today? False advertising. From whom you might ask? Well, from people who sell Jesus as the do all fix it guy who comes along and makes your life perfect and painless. I've heard it for years: "accept" Jesus and He will give you a brand new start in life. And if by chance you wake up 6 months down the road and things are not yet perfect, well then, its probably your own fault because you haven't believed enough.

I have a new criteria for who I will listen to tell me about Jesus Christ, and its fairly simple. Unless the person has questioned, challenged, tried to bribe, gotten angry with, shaken the fist at, and blamed God; walked around dazed and confused, bled profusely from being beaten by life, wondered about his own sanity, and at least tried to give up a time or two...well, if they don't meet these requirements, I will not listen to them. Take it somewhere else. Jesus was a man well aquainted with our sorrows and I can't think that He wants us to lie about "living the good life".

I read a story once about a Christian in Russia being asked by another Christian who had been in the gulag for a while, "You're a Christian?" "Yes, I am" "Well, then why aren't you dead?" Cut to the chase: All of the 12 Apostles except St. John were killed. Do we really think were going to get a better deal than they did just because we live in America? And when life is still broke and it doesn't clean up as easy as the guy on tv said, people who were sold the false adverstising end up blaming Jesus!

And no, I am not saying life is all sorrow and trouble without any joy. My next editorial gripe might be about the grace stealers who insist on misery. But thats another story for another day.

I have said my piece.