Dreamy - September 2012 by Do South Magazine

dreamy september 2012 AtUrbanMagazine.com

Marla Cantrell Catherine Frederick Saidee Holmes Mark Mundorff

DESIGNER

Jeromy Price

WEB GURU

David Jamell

PUBLISHER

Read Chair Publishing, LLC

lifestyle

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Lawrence Buentello Marla Cantrell Marcus Coker Kody Ford Catherine Frederick Laura Hobbs Tonya McCoy Anita Paddock Galen Probasco

entertainment

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Marla Cantrell

14 15 16 20 26

Now Hear This Urban Reader Do Good When Larry Met Rachel Urban Appeal

people

MANAGING EDITOR

Catherine Frederick

Urban 8 The Hawk Ignite: Dogtired Ranch DIY

28 32 36

A Fair Day, A Fine Day Praying for Rain This Big Ol' Piggie Went to Market

taste

Subscribe to @Urban and receive 12 issues per year for only $20. Log on to AtUrbanMagazine.com today.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PRESIDENT

6 9 10 12

40 42

Bloody Maria The Secret Macaroon

travel

@INSIDE

Arkansas House on the Buffalo

Advertising Information

Catherine Frederick at 479 / 782 / 1500 Catherine@AtUrbanMagazine.com Editorial Information

Marla Cantrell at 479 / 831 / 9116 Marla@AtUrbanMagazine.com ÂŠ2012 Read Chair Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions contained in @Urban are exclusively those of the writers and do not represent those of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. as a whole or its affiliates. Any correspondence to @Urban or Read Chair Publishing, LLC., including photography becomes the property of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. @Urban reserves the right to edit content and images.

@LETTER FROM CATHERINE

ello. It’s our second birthday! Yep. Two whole years since we published the first issue of @Urban Magazine. We spent an afternoon recently, going through our back issues,

reminicisng about the people we’ve met and the places we’ve been. I know, that sounds like the beginning of a Dr. Seuss story. It’s been a little like that for us. It’s feels magical really. So, we’re going around with these ridiculous grins, and I imagine now you are to, since you’ve seen the cover with Benson, the winner of our My @Urban Pet photo contest. Isn’t he adorable? His owners, Jeremy and Christen Dean, think so. Choosing Benson was one of the hardest things we’ve had to do. All your pets were so cute and we are honored you shared them with us! You should go give them a treat right now. No, really, I’ll wait. Now that you’re back, we can talk about our newest contest. Here’s what we’re doing. We’re asking you, our faithful readers, to send us YOUR best short story and/or poem. The contest is open to those thirteen and older. Here’s the best part. Not only are there cash prizes, but the first place winners will be published in our January, 2013 issue. Be sure to check our Marla’s short story on page sixteen, and then go to our website for details on how to enter. After you settle down from all that excitement, start reading. We’re taking you to the Arkansas House in Jasper for a little R&R, a dinner of elk and buffalo, and finishing it off with black walnut pie. We’re taking you way up high for a look at what professional divers see right before they take the plunge. And we’re introducing you to Mr. Pig and the artist who loves him. All this, plus chocolate dipped coconut macaroons, a spicy tomato concoction for cocktail hour, and a DIY that will help you stay organized all school year long. And finally, thank you for supporting @Urban as our story unfolds. You complete us. Hope we had you at “hello”.

To reserve this space for your charitable non-profit organization, email: Editors@AtUrbanMagazine.com

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@LIFESTYLE

@lines Lawrence Buentello

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mid the picturesque Ouachita Mountains near Mena, lies Dogtired Ranch Small Dog Rescue, Inc. The ranch, which

sits on eight acres of rolling hills, is a temporary home for many little dogs (and a few large ones), in need of a loving home. Today, the ranch is booming with activity. On one side of the fenced front yard, a sleepy-eyed hound appears in the doorway of the fourteen-by-eighteen foot bunkhouse. Nearby, a poodle and a rat terrier romp in the grass, while a pug chases a ball. The dogs are just four of sixty that are currently living at the ranch, all waiting for the day when the right person shows up to adopt them. There on the porch stands Janet Dodson, the founder and president of Dogtired Ranch. Janet, along with husband Bobby, have dedicated their retirement years, as well as their home, to these dogs. This September will mark their fifth year in operation. The non-profit, no-kill organization receives funding from adoption fees, donations from supporters, and from the Dodsons’ own pocketbook. The costs can be staggering;

@story and images Galen Probasco

Each month in our Ignite series we bring you stories of people doing inspiring things to make the world a better place.

monthly food bills alone run over $1,000. Janet and Bobby could never do it alone. They have a team, including Janet’s daughter, Amy O’Pry, from Shreveport, Louisiana, who help make the ranch work. Amy and her young daughter manage the ranch’s Facebook page and website. She also helps pick up rescued dogs from various animal control facilities in Louisiana and gets them to the ranch. “Many of these facilities don’t hold the dogs but a few days and then they are put down,” Janet says. “Many are very ‘high kill’ shelters. We are pleased that some of these are willing to hand over the dogs to us, so that we can place them for adoption.”

@LIFESTYLE

Another member of the team is Nancy McIntyre, who lives in Acorn, just north of Mena. She is Dogtired Ranch’s foster mom and runs the ranch’s puppy division. “My home has gone to the dogs,” Nancy says and then laughs. She has turned a part of her home into a maternity ward and nursery for the dogs, where she can often be found bottle feeding the pups who require it. Right now she has approximately fifty puppies. Dogtired Ranch has placed over 600 pets in loving homes, mostly in the northeastern part of the United States. To adopt a dog, the potential owner must fill out an application, have a reference from a vet, and go through a pre-adoption interview. The cost ranges from $50 to $150, depending on the vet bills, which includes the cost to either spay or neuter the dog. The non-profit works with at least six area shelters including the Sebastian County Humane Society, taking dogs that might otherwise be put down. Dogtired also works with several

If Janet can’t find a home for one of these dogs, she keeps it.

different local government officials to help find homes for the

“Miss May, a fluffy, five pound Maltese, has been with us since

dogs taken from abusive and neglectful situations.

we began. She is at least fifteen years old, and has been at the ranch longer than any dog yet. She is definitely the queen of

It’s a feat in organization and caring that keeps Dogtired Ranch

the house.”

on track. The ranch is teeming with dogs right now, all living good lives, waiting for the right person to come along and take

Janet looks across the ranch where the dogs are playing. The

them home.

sound of barking rolls across the hill. She smiles. There’s no other place she’d rather be than right here, fulfilling the ranch’s

“Though technically, there is no set limit, at least so far, I feel

mission of saving God’s creatures, one dog at a time.

we are operating at top capacity,” Janet says. “Because we hate turning animals away, we try to find foster homes, if we just can’t take them in at the time,” says Janet. “As long as our incoming

For more information, visit dogtiredranch.com

rescues and adoptions balance each other, we’ll continue to

or call 479.394.2524

operate at full capacity. There are just too many dogs and not enough homes.”

@LIFESTYLE

Step 1 Lightly sand, paint and/or stain your base board. I like the shabby look, so I sanded, painted, sanded, then lightly stained my board. Drill holes in the top two sides- this is where you will place your wire to hang the board.

Step 2

@story and images Catherine Frederick

chool is back in full swing and my little man is bringing home tons of papers that I want to show off. Back in the day,

I would have taped all of the papers to my refrigerator. When you can’t see your refrigerator anymore, you know there’s a problem. Enter this custom “brag board” I found on Pinterest®. It’s easy and inexpensive to put together, keeps things organized, and you can completely customize it. Don’t have little ones? Use it for photos, reminders or a grocery list! Ready?

Materials »» *Cupboard door or

»» Modge Podge Matte

Step 3 If using rub-on lettering, let the base board dry overnight or the letters will not adhere and will pull off the paint (this comes from experience). You can also use vinyl lettering or hand paint- either way is fine.

Step 4 It’s now time to glue the clothespin to the base board. I used Gorilla Glue, but any strong adhesive glue will work. You just want to make sure whatever you clip into the pin does not come crashing down to the floor.

»» Gorilla glue or other adhesize

Step 5

»» *Oversized clothespin

»» Sandpaper

»» *Scrapbook paper of

»» Twine or ribbon (optional)

Using the wire, thread it through the holes and curl or knot the wire from the front to secure it in place. I wrapped some twine around the top of the wire to give it some extra pop.

background of your choice

your choice (1 sheet)

»» Drill

»» *Wire for hanging

»» Paint in your choice of color

»» *Vinyl Letters or paint, and

»» Stain in your choice

brush if hand painting

of color (if using)

* I purchased the materials noted at Hobby Lobby for under $20. Everything else, I already had at home. I know, I need crafters

While the paint is drying on the base board, affix the strip of scrapbook paper to the oversized clothespin. If you want to paint or stain the clothespin, be sure to do so and allow it to dry completely before gluing on the scrapbook paper with the Modge Podge. I sanded the edges to give mine a shabby look. Finish it off with one light coat of Modge Podge to seal the top and edges.

anonymous.

Step 6 Stand back and admire your handy work, then hang something! Follow me on Pinterest®: Pinterest.com/catfrederick. Making this project? Send me a finished photo! Catherine@AtUrbanMagazine.com

@ENTERTAINMENT

straightforward sound of blue-collar, punk-influenced rock ‘n’ roll. However, their follow-up American Slang faltered, I believe, because they became too obsessed with their influences. Last year, Gaslight Anthem vocalist Brian Fallon claimed that their upcoming album would resemble The ’59 Sound. Now that they have released Handwritten, the results are in and it’s a mixed bag. The promising opening track “45” is a tale about a man hung up on his lost love and a 45 record that reminds him of days gone by. On “Too Much Blood,” the play between Fallon’s gravely voice in the verse and the smooth melodic delivery during the chorus works perfectly. “National Anthem” is the strongest track as Fallon, backed only by strings, and delivers his most sincere

now hear this

performance on the record. But unlike The ’59 Sound, Handwritten features some mediocre

the gaslight anthem — handwritten

tunes. The title track seems like filler rather than the lynchpin of

@review Kody Ford

the record. “Biloxi Parish” sounds like a gritty, restrained power

ballad, but the song quickly feels repetitive. The lesser tracks

have that idea, meet The Gaslight Anthem, a post-punk quartet

Handwritten is an improvement for The Gaslight Anthem,

from Springsteen’s beloved New Jersey.

although they fall short of the musical glory of The ’59 Sound.

magine that in the early ‘70s Bruce Springsteen fled Ashbury

find the band repeating its past mistake of trying too hard to be

Park and headed to England where he teamed up with The

someone else.

Clash to form a super group of epic proportions. Now that you

Bands don’t always write albums like their previous ones. The band burst onto the scene with their debut Sink or Swim.

Fans could lose interest quickly. But Fallon would be wise to

However, their sophomore release The ’59 Sound proved to be

remember that you can’t always sound like Springsteen or the

their seminal album. It earned them international magazine

Clash. And that can be a good thing.

covers and garnered praise from American tastemakers like SPIN and Pitchfork Media. The record possessed the earnestness and longing of early Springsteen with a diverse take on the

I Rate It

@ENTERTAINMENT

That is exactly what happened to young Paul Tracey. The story starts in 1973. Joe Castle, a fantastic ball player from Calico Rock, Arkansas, has been called up from the minors to play for the Chicago Cubs. The Calico Rock fans switched their allegiance from the Cardinals to the Cubs because of Joe Castle, otherwise known as Calico Joe. Calico Joe hit homerun after homerun. He brought the Chicago Cubs fans to their feet with deafening applause. He was the most written about and talked about baseball player of the day, and he was destined for unmatched fame in the All-American

Calico Joe By John Grisham 198 pages

sport of baseball.

@review Anita Paddock

Tracey, angered because Joe has gotten a homerun off him,

That fame came to an end when a pitcher for the Mets, Warren threw a ball on purpose at his head, knocking Joe down and almost killing him. That was also the day that the son of Warren Tracey, eleven-year-old Paul, who had watched the game from the stands at Shea Stadium, stopped loving the game.

Thirty years pass; Paul Tracey lives in Santa Fe with his family.

magine being an eleven-year-old boy, in love with the game

He gets a phone call from Warren Tracey’s fourth wife who tells

of baseball, whose father was a pitcher for the New York Mets.

him his father is dying of cancer. Paul doesn’t care; he hasn’t

You lived in White Plains, New York, and could ride the train in to

seen his father in years. He does come up with a plan: he wants

see ball games at Shea Stadium. Your scrapbooks were full of

to take his father to Calico Rock where Joe lives with his mother

newspaper articles about all your favorite baseball stars.

and works as a maintenance man on the high school’s baseball field. He wants to make his father ask Joe for forgiveness.

Even though your father could throw a baseball through a brick wall, you had few pictures of him in your scrapbook. Your father

This is a beautiful book, written by a fine storyteller. You’ll be

was a violent drunk who beat up on you and your mother.

glad you read it, and I guarantee you’ll have a lump in your throat when you finish.

And he eventually ruined baseball for you, himself, and Calico Joe.

@ENTERTAINMENT

o Good Jones sat in a recliner at Delbert’s Sporting Goods

the hat. Now that he thought about it, the message on was an

Emporium, where he’d come to buy a turkey call. The chair,

outright affront to his very faith. God, in his opinion, was not in

covered in the same camouflage fabric as his clothes and cap,

the fortune telling business.

seemed to swallow him whole. Only his ruddy face and hands were visible. He considered getting up, but the ringing in his

He pulled himself up, and said. “I got a question for your cap,

ears had started again and he was sweating now, even though

ma’am. What’s for dinner?”

it was late October. “What?” the woman asked. Just then, a girl no bigger than his youngest granddaughter, walked by and then stopped. She rounded the chair twice,

“On you cap,” Do Good said. “No matter what the question,

peering at him like she wondered if he was real. Do Good

Jesus is the answer. My question is what’s for dinner? Not

reached up to tip his hat and the little girl shrieked. It didn’t

Jesus, I wouldn’t think.”

do to scare children, he thought. Soon enough someone would come by and tell him to leave, so he grabbed the arms of the

The woman took a step back. “Here I am trying to make sure your

chair and hoisted himself up.

heart’s still beating and all you can do is insult me. I shouldn’t try so hard, my friends tell me that all the time. They say, ‘Glory,

The turkey calls were at the far end of the big store, past the

people mistake your goodwill for meddling,’ but I can’t seem

Razorback gear and Case knives. He stopped at the rickety log

to stop. What happens to a person, I’d like to know, when she

cabin that had been built near the deep fryers, as winded as if

stops giving a dog-dang’s difference about her fellow man?“

he’d spent the morning hoeing corn. A cot was set up near a fake campfire and Do Good stopped, lowered himself onto it,

And with that the tears started.

and felt himself slip into sleep, as easily as if he’d been drinking. When he awoke, a woman was shaking him by the shoulders.

The ringing in Do Good’s ears was gone. In its place, his heart had started to pound. It sounded the way cowboy boots did on

“Sir,” she said, “Sir. Are you all right?”

the dance floor. How long had it been since he’d been out twostepping? It must have been just after his ex-wife, Stella, took

He rubbed his eyes. His vision had gone blurry, and it took all

up with Buster Colt, back when Daddy Bush was still president.

his effort to focus. The woman’s cap was the color of mustard,

Do Good patted the spot beside him on the cot. Glory plopped

and in orange script were these words. No Matter What the

down, took off her cap, and freed her two gray pony tails that fell

Question, Jesus is the Answer.

silently onto her shoulders. Do Good fished his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over.

He felt unsettled, the way he did when he woke in a strange hotel room. And embarrassed, truth be told. So he focused on

“I like your pigtails,” Do Good said.

@ENTERTAINMENT

“You do not,” Glory said, and her cheeks turned the color of

“I want to ask the question again,” Do Good said, as nervous as

summer tomatoes.

he’d been in a very long time. “What’s for dinner, Glory?”

“I do,” Do Good said.

Glory laughed. “I don’t know.”

“My ex-husband hated them,” Glory said.

Do Good pulled out his wallet that was attached to his belt by a silver chain. He’d had it since the days when he drove the

“Not a smart man,” Do Good said, and he realized he was flirting.

big rigs all across the U.S.A. Inside was a picture of his six kids, sitting in front of a white Christmas tree, the year before Stella

“You come here to sleep?” Glory asked.

left. He fumbled through the bill compartment until he found a half-off coupon for two at the Good Enough Café. He unfolded

“Naw, just needed a turkey call.”

it, and then handed it over like an offering.

Glory kicked the phony campfire and the plastic flames jumped.

“Anything your heart desires, Glory,” he said. “Anything at all.

“I like my hat,” she said, and then began to rise from the wobbly cot.

CONTEST ALERT! @Urban wants to see YOUR original short story and/or

Do Good’s heart raced; he did not want her to go. He reached

poem, for a chance to be published in our January, 2013

out and took her hand.

issue!

“A fine hat,” Do Good said. “A perfectly fine hat. I meant no harm. I’ve been feeling unwell of late – just the last hour or so, nothing serious - and you startled me. Seeing your hat with

“Contest” tab. 2. Follow the instructions to enter.

the name Jesus staring down at me made me wonder if I’d been

3. Open to those 13 and older.

carried from this carnal abyss into the great beyond.” He smiled.

4. Deadline is Nov. 10, at midnight, CST.

“And you do have the face of an angel.” Glory stared at her hands, her brow furrowed. Do Good sat perfectly still, waiting, like he did in the deer stands when a buck was coming into his sights. Finally, Glory sighed. And then she did something that amazed Do Good. She touched his cheek, and the air turned warm around them.

1. Visit AtUrbanMagazine.com, and click on the

Even better? Arvest Bank is sponsoring our writing contest. There’s cash to be had, writers, so get going!

@story Tonya McCoy @images Brick Fields Music

@ENTERTAINMENT

t’s nighttime in New Delhi Café in Eureka Springs, and a storm has just rumbled past. The room fills with the bluesy voice of

Rachel Fields. Her eyes are closed, her face skyward, as she sings, “Storms of wonder, rains that fall. Thunder heard, never seen, yet called.” Her voice is Joss Stone meets Janice Joplin. She opens her eyes and a stranger walks through the door carrying a guitar. Rachel notices his smile. Her drummer knows this guitar player and invites him on stage to play. It’s kismet. The marriage of Larry Brick’s blues-folk acoustic licks combined with Rachel’s soulful tones is meant to be. Larry had learned to play music by ear from front porch picking “When he started strumming and picking, the songs came alive,”

in the Delta of Arkansas, where he grew up. He went to college

says Rachel. After that evening Larry gave me his number and

at the U of A for business, but dropped out in 1975, deciding

said I should call him the next time I needed a guitar player.

to follow his love for music instead. He’s performed on and off

I lost the number. It was a few months before I ran into him

in bands and by himself since then, playing in the Florida Keys,

again, got his number again, and lost it AGAIN! Time went by and

Nashville, and also with a gospel group in the ‘mega-churches’

finally one day we crossed paths at the post office. This time I

of California.

grabbed a-hold of him and didn't let go.” Rachel played the flute for her high school band in Pine Bluff, And it’s a good thing. Larry was on his way to Canada. He’d

which she still incorporates into some of her music today. She

taken a trip there a couple of years before on a creative hiatus,

left her small town for the Big Apple and took voice lessons

spending time with friends, writing and composing music. But

and studied music and theater at The American Musical and

after talking to Rachel, he decided to stay home.

Dramatic Academy in New York. Her band, Big Folk even toured with the Jerry Garcia Band (a tribute group) in 1998.

“We immediately began writing songs together, making plans to tour, playing music every day. Sometimes Larry will be playing

But the performance life for the newly formed duo in 2007,

something on the guitar, and I’ll put some words to that. Or

wasn’t easy. At first they were playing whenever the stage was

sometimes I’ll get to going on my guitar and write a song that

free at the New Delhi Café. Sometimes they’d play from noon

needs some adjustment and he’ll come in and add the really

‘til midnight for tips and food. Soon the owner saw they were

nice chorus to it. And I’ll play and we’ll put a bridge on it, or

drawing a steady crowd, and that’s how they landed their first

chorus. We pretty much write all the songs together I’d say.”

gig. Before long the two were playing shows all over Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

@ENTERTAINMENT

“After we started spending time together, I noticed that he made

duo, and a quartet. The common force behind them all: Rachel

me laugh. He was and is very peaceful, wonderful to be around

and Larry. The Brick Fields Blues Band won first place in the

and I found myself wanting to be with him all of the time and

Ozark Blues Society Challenge in 2010, Brick Fields Folk music

missing him when he was away.”

placed in the Ozark Folk Songwriters contest in 2011, and the Nashville Blues Society says Brick Fields has "unleashed

One night after a show, Larry leaned over and kissed Rachel.

cleansing for the soul."

Somewhere between singing soul and writing love songs, the two had fallen for each other.

Right now Brick Fields is a regional winner in the King of the Roots competition. They are vying for a chance to play at the

“He just took my breath away. I was surprised. I didn’t see it

‘Roots N Blues N BBQ’ festival this month in Columbia, Missouri,

coming.” In a few months they said “I do,” in a front porch cabin

which will headline Soul legend Al Green.

wedding in Eureka. And they’ve just moved to Fayetteville, where they continue As soon as their wedding was over, they packed up their guitars

to work from one project to another, song by song. They love

and headed to California. There they spent three months

their life. They are a marriage filled with sound, working on a

playing street corners, subway stations, coffee houses, wineries

sound marriage.

and resorts, before returning to Arkansas. “It's like Rachel and I just fit together. Like we've been together

Curious about Brick Fields’ unique sound? Visit

our whole lives. We are compatible… I first noticed that we

www.brickfieldsmusic.com and listen to continuous

played music together really well; this does not happen to just

streaming music from their various projects. Plus you’ll

anyone. The music part has always been easy for us,” says Larry.

find all the show times and dates. If you’re interested in booking Brick Fields call Teresa Herrell at 501-693-6271.

But it has NOT been easy for listeners to classify their music. It’s been called blues, gospel, jazz, folk and roots. The guitar provides both the blues and folk chords. Then there’s Rachel’s soulful, roots vocals. Add a saxophone player for a touch of jazz. Some gospel references in the lyrics. Stir in the fact they’ve played everywhere from bars to churches, and you end up with a lot of confused music critics. Confused but happy. In fact, this genre-transcending duo has been praised for their projects, which include a blues band, a gospel group, their

Christine Howard Creative Director, I.O. Metro

Knock Out Neutrals

Do you think neutral colors are boring? Well, think again. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve all seen lackluster spaces that pile taupe on top of taupe, and all too many builder beige model homes that have given neutrals a bad rap. Nevertheless, with the right combination, a neutral dĂŠcor is anything but void of color and flair. People often decorate with neutrals because they feel they are safe; however, without proper forethought and styling these spaces can actually look less impressive than those with too much color. The right mixture of neutrals makes for a chic and bold interior. So, to prevent your neutral color scheme from seeming flat and drab, you must incorporate the correct elements. Here are five tips that will allow you to create a luxurious space that is full of life.

Let's Talk Tones To design a room that is soothing, sophisticated and warm, you must work with a large palette of neutral colors. Try integrating browns, grays, beiges, black and white. And yes, black and brown, and brown and gray, go very well together.

Contrast Counts Not only must you work with many shades, it’s important to layer

opposite colors next to, and on top of, each other to generate contrast. This creates the important element of depth and prevents a space from looking colorless. The best way to add a dramatic neutral punch is with black and white.

Play with Pattern The most artfully arranged neutral shades will never truly pop

without the addition of a pattern. Mix and layer neutral toned patterns to add interest and personality. Graphic pillows and rugs will give you the most bang for your buck.

The Texture Tier

When all of your colors are in the same family, it’s critical to add texture. Incorporate texture with rich fabrics, leather, metallics, and organic items such as a jute rug or natural finished wood furniture. Be sure to also insert interesting and differing shapes

so that everything doesn’t look monotonous.

Lighten Up Good lighting is critical for pulling the whole look together. Neutrals never look their best in dim, poorly lit spaces. Utilizing natural light and layering interior lighting with fixtures and lamps will allow the underlying tones, contrasting colors, and textures to play well with each other. Finally, mirrors are very important to completing a neutral interior, as they reflect light

1 Maesta Pillow – Gray $79.95 2 Keyhole Mirror – Driftwood $799.95 3 Ballast Coffee Table – Driftwood $499.95 4 Ross Corner Sectional - Harry Granite & Cafe Noir $2,499.95

5 Knobby Loop Rug- Natural 5' x 8' $399.95 6 Antique Mirror Tray $99.95 7 Armillary Sphere $99.95

and open up the space.

@story Marcus Coker @images courtesy Bill Brown Entertainment

@PEOPLE

he sun is shining at the Arkansas Oklahoma State Fair, and

a trampoline in front of the pool, flipping and twisting in the

Dan Poor, who is fifty, is standing ninety-feet above the

air. First they go forward, then backwards. Some land on their

ground on a platform the size of a record album. Below him, a

backs, others on their stomachs, bouncing high in the air and

crowd has gathered close to a pool, craning their necks to see

doing handstands on the side of the pool before they come

what will happen. From Dan’s perspective, the pool, which is

back down.

twenty-four feet wide and nine-and-a-half feet deep, could be covered with a half dollar, and Dan’s supposed to land in it. As the crowd starts clapping, Dan raises his arms above his head and prepares to jump. Eighty-five feet below, the surface of the water is smooth. In fact, it’s hard to tell the top of the pool from the bottom. So other divers begin to splash the water, making the surface more visible from up high. And then it happens. Dan somersaults three times, does a half twist, and hits the water going fifty-five miles an hour. “The shock of entering the water is comparable to

Next are the dives into the pool, one, two, even five at a time.

jumping off the top of a six-foot ladder and landing on concrete

Sometimes in costumes, the performers crawl along the diving

without bending your knees,” says Dan. “If the landing’s not

boards and climb the tower, bouncing or flying off into the

perfectly vertical, the pain can be tremendous.”

water. They crisscross each other in the air, and then appear to land on their faces or backsides—anything for a laugh. “The

The crowd is silent, waiting to see if Dan’s okay. In a few moments,

easier it looks, the harder it is,” says Bill Brown, owner of Bill

he emerges on the side of the pool, smiling and waving as if

Brown Entertainment.

the whole thing is no big deal. But it is. With each jump comes danger. “I’m afraid every time,” says Dan, “but I keep coming

Most of the dives are from springboards that extend out across

back because conquering that fear is an incredible feeling.”

the water, but several of them are from twelve-by-twelve inch platforms about sixteen or thirty-three feet above the water.

Dan is part of a group of performers that travels worldwide

“Thirty-three feet is as high as they go in the Olympics,” says Bill,

entertaining audiences like the ones at the Arkansas Oklahoma

“We do many dives that you see in the Olympics, plus many others.

State Fair. The group is called Bill Brown Entertainment and

Some of ours are harder because they use two people or more.”

includes trampolinists, tumblers, and divers. During this year’s fair, which is September 21-29, the performers will put on a free

The divers continue until the show is over—twisting and

twenty-minute trampoline and diving show three times a day.

tucking in the air, sometimes holding onto each other as they

The show includes five divers and an announcer. They start on

somersault into a pool no deeper than most ceilings are tall.

@PEOPLE

can do this in our sleep. But if you mess up, it can bite you. For example, you have to learn how to lift your shoulders as you enter the water so you slide across the pool. Once, a long time ago, I messed up and broke my legs. I was on the bottom before I knew I was wet.” Now, at the age of fifty-seven, Bill still dives. “I have a little juice left, so I dive when I feel like it. My body is fine, I just can’t do as much at the speed as I used to.” That’s what’s inspiring about Bill—he doesn’t let anything keep him from what he loves, at least not something like age, or even cancer. “In 1996, I was taking chemotherapy three times a week for stage-four melanoma. We were performing in China, and I had my shots with me. The doctor said I had a five percent chance of living. But I didn’t slow down. We traveled to The Georgia When the show is over, they’re smiling and taking pictures with

National Fair, and I tried to do a dive and landed flat on my face.

the crowd.

I had no energy. I was ignorant and didn’t want it to get the best of me, so I just kept going.”

Everyone—the crowd and the divers—seem to love it. Still, a show like this isn’t without challenges. Tim, a twenty-one-year-

Sixteen years later, Bill’s okay, still travelling the globe with his

old gymnast from Michigan, has bruises all along his arms. He

diving shows and giving people the time of their lives. “The

says, “I’m used to landing with my arms out. Sometimes, when

audiences are what keep us going. Sometimes they laugh;

diving, I forget to pull them in.”

sometimes they cry. We live for those moments.”

Bill says, “He’s just new to diving. He can do a triple twisting back somersault on the floor, no problem. But when you adapt it

For more information, visit arkansasoklahomafair.com

to diving, you still have to fall nine or ten feet at the end of the

or billbrownentertainment.com.

move.” Bill slaps his hand on the table and says, “When you’re learning, the first few go like this.” For Bill, who grew up as a diver, the bumps and bruises are part of the gig. “A lot of us, like Dan and me, are old timers and

@story Marla Cantrell @images Ryan Goodman

@PEOPLE

yan Goodman is tracking the extreme drought from his home

It’s hard for Ryan’s father, who is friends with many in the crowd.

in Tennessee. He watches closely, the statistics that show

He knows this year will mark the last for some of them, and

eighty percent of the Arkansas’ pastureland scorched beneath

many of those dropping out will be the older cattlemen. In a

the brutal sun, hay prices spiking, and estimates that the fallout

state where there are 49,300 farms and 1.7 million head of

of historic drought could be as high as billions of dollars.

cattle, it’s bound to have an impact.

His interest is two-fold. As a twenty-three-year-old grad student

When Ryan talks about his father, he grows nostalgic. He learned

studying animal science, he’s studying the effects of the worst

at his father’s feet, trailing him in the pastures early after school,

drought Arkansas has seen in fifty years. And as the son of a

driving a tractor to check cows when he was ten. His father is

Searcy rancher and cattle auctioneer, he has a personal interest

a self-made man; he doesn’t come from a long line of cattle

in what’s unfolding here.

owners, but when he landed a job managing a 3,500 acre ranch in Searcy, raising Angus cattle, he knew he was

Ryan is stoic about the current condition. Ice storms, floods, drought.

where he was supposed to be.

The rancher’s life is

hinged with weather. But this summer has been

“I love the lifestyle, working with the land,” Ryan

extraordinary. No rain, sweltering heat, no rain,

says. “The animals depend on us for everything.

the cycle like a song set on repeat. And then

Growing up, my holidays were spent taking care

NOAA released word that in July the U.S. broke a

of cattle. I was the oldest of five, and on Christmas,

heat record that hadn’t been surpassed since the

we’d either get up early and open gifts or we’d be

Dust Bowl summer of 1936.

up at the break of dawn feeding cattle, so we could get to the grandparents’ house to eat dinner.

The weather is driving many of the ranchers who come to his father’s Arkansas Cattle Auction in Searcy to sell their

“I learned life lessons like leadership and responsibility. I

stock. Two to three times as many cows have gone to market

realized, going through college, that there are people out there

as in a typical summer, and when they sell mature cows this

who don’t have the appreciation for work and responsibility

year, they’ll have fewer calves next year. The dilemma drew

that I had the blessing to learn, growing up on a farm. Less than

the attention of CBS News. They came to see the weathered

two percent of the country is directly involved with farming

ranchers pulling up in big trucks, their trailers filled with cattle

or ranching. I think we’ve become spoiled. We can go up to

they wouldn’t otherwise be selling. The stories stung. A rancher

Walmart and buy our food, and we don’t really know where it

whose wife was too brokenhearted to attend, another rancher

comes from. I think we’ve lost our connection with the farmers

from Oklahoma who was buying this year because his own herd

and ranchers, and we don’t understand the hard work that it

was hit by the crippling drought last year, a cattleman worried

takes to get that food to your table. If I could do one thing, it

because his stock pond is all but gone.

would be to encourage people to go out and meet their farmers,

@PEOPLE

to talk to them when you go out to fall festivals or farmers

So he looks ahead. “If the spring rains come,” he says, “and the

markets. Get to know what they do, ask for a tour of a farm.

grass grows green, things will pick up.” And then he turns the

Start making that connection.”

story back to his father, a man he says devotes his life to helping the cattlemen around him. “My dad will work really hard to help

Ryan has spent his whole life making the connection. While

the ranchers buy back cattle to rebuild their stock. He is always

attending Oklahoma State University, he worked summers at

giving back, offering ranchers advice on feed, just supporting

places like the Texas feed yards, where he helped bring food to

those around him.”

60,000 head of cattle. It took a million pounds of feed to get the job done each day, which came from the feed mill on site.

It’s all you can do at times like these. Hope for the best. Next year could be better. The rains could fall and the fields

He also worked at a ranch in the Big Horn Mountains of

overflow with hay. It’s a rancher’s right to imagine it. Let’s just

Wyoming, a place he still loves. While he was there, he started

hope he’s right.

to blog, sharing his experiences with friends and family and city folks who were fascinated to follow a young cowboy on his great adventure. When he’s finished with his graduate degree at the University of Tennessee, Ryan plans to work in several parts of the country, learning different farming techniques. But he’ll probably end up back home in Arkansas one day. His roots run deep. And he likes working with his father. He calls his life blessed. Watching the effects of the drought has been hard. He knows the weather is forcing many good people out. “More of our land is being sold to those wanting to build houses, so land competition is high. Ranchers, particularly the smaller farmers with fewer resources, facing this drought, may give up and sell everything for development. That could take a big toll on the numbers of cows we have.” Even so, Ryan isn’t pessimistic. “We’ll continue to have cattle,” he says. “It’s too big a part of our economy not to.”

You can follow Ryan on his blog, agricultureproud.com

@story Marla Cantrell @images Mark Mundorff

@PEOPLE

rtist Rae Russell lives on a little piece of paradise in

“Literacy is dismal in Arkansas,” Wendy says. “One out of

Fayetteville. On sweltering afternoons, she takes a break

five adults reads below a fifth grade level. That’s including

and swims in the creek that flows behind her house. In the

immigrants and native speakers.”

mornings, she heads to her studio, the one her husband gave her as an anniversary present, where she paints portraits of

The Ozark Literacy Council is intent on improving that number,

people and dogs, and works on projects that involve found

working with everyone from those needing a G.E.D. to those

pieces like steer skulls and bits of tree branches.

who come here from other countries, including many whose spouses are attending the University of Arkansas.

But lately her life has revolved around a sky-blue fiberglass sculpture Rae calls Mr. Pig. Rae’s spent hours lying on her back,

To provide the services, the group needs money. Enter the pigs.

acrylic paints beside her, painting Mr. Pig’s underbelly, her dogs

Sponsors who pay the full $6,000 will get to keep their one-of-

romping close by, so that the whole procedure looked like

a-kind swine. Those paying $3,000 will have to give them back

something from a sitcom.

in March of 2013, where they’ll be auctioned off. It may sound like a lot of money, but there is a lot of expense in the project.

Rae knows that the exposure she’s getting from working on one

The artists will be paid an honorary $500. And then there are

of twenty-five pigs for the Ozark Literacy Council’s PIGShibition

costs for materials and design work to produce twenty-five

fundraiser, is widespread. Today, she’s doing her final work on

fiberglass pigs that stand almost six feet tall.

Mr. Pig, who will go to his permanent home at the Clinton House in a few days. There’s no telling how many people will see him

Rae, who’s Mr. Pig is sponsored by the A&P, loved working on

there, and from seeing him, they’ll discover who Rae is.

the project. She points to some of the landmarks she painted: Drake Field Air Museum, Mt. Sequoyah, Ella’s Restaurant at

Wendy Poole, director of the Ozark Literacy Council, says

Carnall Hall on the U of A campus, KUAF, George’s Majestic

promoting the artist community was one of the things they

Lounge on Dickson. The buildings are nestled in the branches

wanted to accomplish. The non-profit teamed up with the

of a tree that start out at Mr. Pig’s back legs, where the trunk

Fayetteville Advertising and Promotions Commission to get

rises across his hind side.

things moving. When 151 artists turned in submissions for the project, they knew they were on the right track. Narrowing the

“I saw all these bumps and curves and I thought that would

field to twenty-five was hard, but necessary.

make great tree trunk branches, and then I decided to nestle the buildings inside the branches,” Rae says. “I kept adding

And now that the pigs are showing up around town – the Arvest

more buildings and ideas. I wanted to show the bounty of

pig was the first to show up downtown – momentum is building.

Fayetteville. We have all these beautiful buildings, and they’re

The money that’s being raised will help fund the school where

all used. I wanted to represent why we come together – for art,

300 show up to learn at the hands of 60 volunteers.

for sports, for learning. The hardest part was drawing straight

@PEOPLE

loving husband, amazing kids, and parents, sisters and friends who rally around me,” she says. The path she’s on started when she was a student at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, where she served as a model for the art students. Soon just modeling wasn’t enough, so she started taking classes as well. Her mother encouraged her, letting her paint murals on the walls inside the family’s home. “When she put the house on the market, a man who came through to look at the house tried to open a french door I’d painted on a wall, so I think I must have done okay.” Ten years ago Rae moved to Fayetteville.

She made

connections with other artists, and she started to sell more and more work. The Great Recession of 2008 hit her hard, since art wasn’t something people had to buy. But slowly things lines on the curved surfaces.”

picked up. Crystal Bridges, the Walton-sponsored art museum in Bentonville, is helping grow the art market in the area, she

Mr. Pig, who’s 5’7” and weighs 75 pounds (without his steel

believes, and when projects like PIGShibition come around,

base), looks impressive, but he’s not finished yet. When he

everybody wins.

leaves Rae’s house, before he’s taken to the Clinton House, he’ll stop by a body shop where he’ll be given a clear finish that will

Art and literacy are great partners, Rae thinks. Both improve the

protect him from the elements.

world. Both leave the world with a richer legacy. Working with a pig during the dog days of summer was just icing on the cake.

Rae likes the idea of stopping by to see him, to watch how the

Yes, Rae says, life is very, very good.

tourists react, when they come to see where Bill and Hillary lived once upon a time. To see more of Rae’s work, visit raerussell.com. She feels fortunate to be one of those chosen for the project.

For more on the Ozark Literacy Council,

And she knows she’s lucky to make a living as an artist. “The

visit ozarkliteracy.org

only reason I have the opportunity to create is because of my

@TASTE

1.5 oz. Don Julio Reposado Tequila 6 dash Tobasco 6 dash Worcestershire Sauce 1 pinch Celery Salt 1 pinch Pepper 1 teaspoon Horseradish 2 teaspoon Lemon Juice 7 oz. Tomato Juice Rim an old fashioned glass with lemon juice and lightly dip into black pepper. Fill glass with ice, add all ingredients and stir. Garnish with thin strips of celery.

Sponsored by Cheers Liquor 4000 Rogers Ave., Fort Smith 479.782.9463 Cheers of Fort Smith

I’m reading this wonderful book called A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg. Molly writes the überpopular food blog Orangette and is one of those lucky few food writers whose work became so celebrated that she got a book deal. Molly’s book is a delightful mix of vignettes paired with wonderful corresponding recipes. I often find myself thinking, I couldn’t have said it any better!, or Wow, you’re so cool, or Can we be friends? @recipe and images Laura Hobbs

I came across a story in Molly’s book that struck a nerve. It was about secret recipes, and her utter disdain for such a thing. Molly says the idea of a secret recipe “Is sort of ridiculous... Recipes were made to be shared. That’s how they improve, how they change, how new ideas are formed and older ones made ripe. The way I see it,” she says, “sharing a recipe is how you pay back fate... for bringing you something so tasty in the first place. To stop a recipe in its tracks, to label it a secret, just seems mean.” Ouch. This made me reevaluate my death grip on my own secret recipe for coconut macaroons. I would oblige to make them for anyone who asked, but I wasn’t about to share the recipe itself, for fear of people discovering the simplicity and ease of the recipe, leaving the mystery of Laura and her Amazing Coconut Macaroons on the shelf to gather dust. Selfish? Yes. Arrogant? A little. Desperate? Well, this is just embarrassing. So here we are. I made a decision; I’m ready to spill. And while I don’t remember quite where my coconut macaroon recipe came from, I do know that I have perfected it over the years, and can probably make them with my eyes closed. For those who are familiar with these macaroons, you are going to be incensed as to how simple they are. There are four main

@TASTE

ingredients: coconut, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and egg whites, all folded together into a sticky, fluffy mess. I’m a big believer in the “bigger is better” doctrine here: I use an ice cream scoop to make monstrously fluffy mounds on a parchment

(Makes 12)

covered baking sheet before I throw them in the oven.

1 (14 oz.) bag of sweetened shredded coconut

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 egg whites

pinch of salt

There is one little issue that I’d like to address before I leave you to your devices: macaroon puddles. Yes, I said macaroon puddles. Some of the egg whites have a tendency to puddle out of the cookie and onto the parchment paper, creating a brown, melty looking puddle ring around the bottom of the macaroon. While the puddle is delicious, they’re unsightly; I tear my puddles off, leaving them in a plastic bag for munching. You’re welcome to leave your puddles on, or tear them off. It’s like the over-versus-under toilet paper roll - to each his own. I’d like to reiterate what a momentous occasion this is; I’m sharing something that I protected with a selfish ferocity for the past ten years. It’s time to let go. It’s time to share. It’s time to get over myself. Without further ado, I give you Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons. Enjoy!

8 oz. milk or dark chocolate Preheat the oven to 325°. In a large bowl, mix the coconut, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla together until well-combined. In the bowl of a standing mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites and salt at high speed until medium peaks form, about a minute and a half. Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Using an ice cream scoop, place the macaroons on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone pad. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack. (If you want to remove the puddles, this is where you do it.) Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave, 20 seconds at a time and stirring in between, until completely melted and smooth. Dip each macaroon in the chocolate and place on another piece of parchment paper or a silicone pad. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes until the chocolate hardens. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Find out in the @Urban food blog. AtUrbanMagazine.com/blogs/dish

Ingredients purchased at Ozark Natural Foods, Your Community Market.

@story Marla Cantrell @images Saidee Holmes

@TRAVEL

he road to the Arkansas House in Jasper weaves past ancient barns and general stores where the only alarm

systems are the bells that sound when you walk through the screen doors. At the top of the rise, cars are pulling over to see the Arkansas Grand Canyon. It’s a staggering view, little puffs of clouds above, the trees so far below it’s not clear if they’re oak or pine. The owners of the Arkansas House and Boardwalk Café, Joseph and Janet Morgan, wait at the end of the line, ready to talk about the beauty of this area, and why they traded a life in The Big Easy for the easy life in Jasper. “I love New Orleans, and I go back often,” Joseph says. “But I’m here, really, because of my love of whitewater rafting. In the 1970s I was flying here and there, just to raft, and one day in the airport a fellow asked me why I wasn’t rafting the Class 5 river in the Deep South. I didn’t know about the Buffalo until then. I drove here – it was still a wilderness really – and the river was at

design. But the signature of this building is Gould’s stone map

flood stage. It was wonderful. It only took twenty minutes to go

of Arkansas outlined in wavy metal and set into the façade at

six miles because the river was flowing so fast.”

the pinnacle of the two-story inn in 1934, a proud reminder of our Natural State.

Eventually, they moved to Jasper. Janet retired for three years. She found herself stopping again and again by a boarded up

Today, the glory of the Arkansas House starts in The Boardwalk

building just off the town square. “I was just drawn to it, and

Café where Janet cooks organic food.

one day in March of ’06, when Joseph was off getting hay, I

razorback, it’s all on the menu. How difficult is it to get organic

called him and said, ‘Guess what? I just bought the Arkansas

food in a town of 458? Not hard at all. Joseph has a farm not

House.’ We opened the doors in April of ’07.”

far away, where he raises cattle, grows organic vegetables, and

Elk, buffalo, wild

even has a beekeeper who supplies the café with honey. He’s The old building is impressive. The exterior walls are handmade

found thirty other organic farmers who keep the restaurant

cement blocks set with river rock, as careful as if a jeweler had

stocked. The exotic meat comes from a farmer just twenty-five

made them. Gould Jones, a master mason who spent most of

miles away.

his eighty-five years in Newton County, is responsible for the

@TRAVEL

As I’m trying the elk burger - something I never thought I’d

can hear their wings. They sound the way a bicycle wheel does

be saying - a regular stops by the table. He has a take-out

when you attach a slip of cardboard to the spokes and then

container with him. He’s just had lunch and he’s taking home

peddle as fast as you can.

another meal that he’ll eat for supper. Another reason to come here are the elk. In September they Joseph shakes his hand. “This guy,” he says, “is our walking

start their rut season. These massive animals, some weighing

testimonial. He’s probably eaten 2,000 meals with us.”

as much as 900 pounds, gather in the fields and meadows all across this area. The males call out, they bugle to the females,

The elk burger is so good I taste the buffalo burger. Equally

their voices bassooning through the air. All along the roadways,

as good. I try the potato salad, the best I’ve

cars pull over and the curious step out, hovering

ever had, and before the trip ends, I’ll add wild

as close as they dare, to watch the mating ritual.

razorback to the list of foods I’ve never eaten before. It’s all so good, I don’t know what to

Joseph can’t wait to see it again. And after that

recommend, except to say get the black walnut

comes autumn. “Fall,” he says, “that’s what we

pie. I would have paid good money for the

call glory days. When the leaves are turning and

recipe, but Janet, she’s not talking. She says

the river’s flowing, and you can float down this

it’s all in the ingredients. Fresh equals success,

masterpiece of a river. It’s second only to the

she says, but there’s more to it than that.

snowy, moon-filled nights. It’s so surreal. You float under the boughs of the trees in the river, flocked

Back in the room, I click on the TV to check

with snow, and just your passage drops a little

the weather. The temperature here is twenty

snow on you.”

degrees cooler than when I left Fort Smith. There is an antique dresser, a four-poster bed, an antique rocker, and a sitting room

He is in love with this place he calls home. “I live here, at the top

big enough for a small cocktail party. Just outside my door is a

of the world,” he says. “I can see the Smokies and the Rockies. I

meditation garden, four more suites, a cabin, and a hair salon.

can see the Arkansas and the Buffalo. It is heaven here, in this place, and I can assure you it is not lost on me.”

I don’t stay inside long. This is the land of the Buffalo River, the 135-mile free flowing wonder of a river, a place that draws 1.5 million visitors a year, who fish, go caving, canoe, and hike.

For more on the Arkansas House and

My first stop is Steel Creek, just minutes away. It is a gorgeous

the Boardwalk Café, visit thearkhouse.com.

place, bluffs rising to the sky, the water – low from the drought – still rippling across the smooth rocks. I’m ankle-deep in and fish skitter at my feet. Two hawks swoop so low above me that I

For more on the region, visit buffaloriveronline.com

Read Chair Publishing, LLC 3811 Rogers Avenue Suite C Fort Smith, Arkansas 72903