Having a great time at the Deep-Fried Festival

If you didn't get a chance to spend time at Saturday's Springtime on the Mall — the annual festival put on by Main Street Blytheville — you really missed out.

Not that I can get on too high of a horse on this matter. After all, this was the ninth Springtime on the Mall since I moved to Blytheville, yet it was only the second one I've attended. Most often, the festival conflicts with the annual meeting of the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors, so I've almost always had a conflict. This year, however, the editors had to push back their meeting. So I was able to attend.

A highlight for our family was the kids area, sponsored by the United Way. Eight-year-old Katie and 5-year-old Drew both loved playing a few of the games, but the giant inflatables were the true crowd-pleasers. Their favorite was probably the flying-saucer shaped inflatable, where the kids could run around inside for as long as they wanted. Drew even got to do this one twice. "There was a quiz in there!" he told me. (I'm pretty sure he meant, "a maze.")

Of course, there was no shortage of food along Main Street. In addition to the usual hamburgers, hot dogs and barbecue, there also seemed to be an abundance of deep-fried items. In addition to the ever-popular funnel cakes, there were also fried Twinkies, fried pickles, fried Snickers and even fried Oreos. This could inspire a whole new theme for Blytheville's annual festival. While some communities have food-related festivals like the "Sweet Corn Festival" and the "Soybean Festival," we could lay claim to the "Deep-Fried Festival."

I had never heard of "fried Oreos," so I had to try one. And I sincerely hope that my doctor, who only 24 hours earlier had been expounding on the evils of all foods highly sugared or deep-fried (let alone foods highly sugared and deep-fried), isn't reading this. The fried Oreo was ... interesting. Very sweet. Very fried. I think I may have gained a couple of pounds just by holding it in my hand.

We made a visit to Arkham Comics, which was celebrating Free Comic Book Day. Both Drew and Katie got to pick out three comics each, from a nice variety of books, which ranged from the traditional comic book fare, to more kid-friendly options, such as "The Simpsons" and "Sonic the Hedgehog." Neither child has ever been a comic book fan before, but when we got up Sunday morning, we found the kids reading to each other from their new comic books. (The comic books also kept them quiet in the car for an hour Sunday afternoon on a trip to a graduation party in Glennonville, Mo.)

The award for the most bizarre booth goes to Jagger McGuires, and it isn't even close. I can only begin to describe the bizarre dance/art/weirdness that this salon had on display as some sort of a cross between mud wrestling and pantomime. Somebody told me it was some kind of art nouveau. Maybe. But I was just weirded out. I will say this: It attracted a crowd of onlookers through most of the day. So if getting people to stop and look was the goal, it was a smash hit.

The award for most courageous booth goes to the Blytheville Police Department, which actually had an operating dunk tank, despite the breezy, 60-degree weather. Several volunteers, including Chief Ross Thompson, took turns alternatingly falling into the cold water, and sitting — shivering — on the platform above. I couldn't even bear to ante up to throw a few balls. I would have felt too guilty.

Overall, the kids had a great time. We ate, we played. We saw a magic show and had caricatures drawn. We saw friends and neighbors, and petted some of the cutest dogs this side of the Mississippi. It was one of those events that makes you feel really good about where you live.

And therein lies the heart of the Springtime on the Mall. It's not just about inflatables or fried Oreos or dunk tanks or dog shows. It's about community. It's about people coming together to celebrate where they live. And that's why I say those who missed Springtime on the Mall really missed out. They missed a chance to see Blytheville at its best ... people coming together ... black, white, young, old ... celebrating a beautiful spring day in the Delta.

Documentary features Ritz Civic Center

Perusing YouTube offerings that feature our community, I came across the following video. (Actually, Ken Jackson at the Arts Council tipped me off to its existence.)

It's interesting, informative and well done. Check it out:

It's about time somebody sticks up for the present

One of those "nostalgic" e-mails landed in my in-box a few days ago. You may know what I'm talking about — it's one of those things that gets forwarded from friend to friend to friend, such that it circles the globe about once every 17 days or so. Indeed, I'm pretty sure this e-mail — or one very similar to it — has been sent to me about two or three times before.

This particular version included still photos from vintage TV shows like "The Little Rascals" and "Batman," followed by a diatribe about how different things "used to be." The article laments the rise of video games and Prozac, while remembering mothers who used to cut chicken and chop eggs on the same cutting board with nobody getting food poisoning; and remembering that "we didn't act up at the neighbor's house, because if we did, we got our butt spanked there, and then we got butt spanked again when we got home."

The overriding intent of the piece was to laud the way things were in the past, with the obvious insinuation that the present just doesn't hold a candle to it. Indeed, one recipient along the way added the editorial comment, "I agree, this was America's best, and today its worst."

Now, there's nothing wrong with looking back on the past with fond memories.

But it's about time somebody sticks up for the present.

Sure, it's different. It's worse in some ways, but it's better in others. And those who dare to take off their nostalgic glasses will see a world that has a whole lot of good things going for it.

After all, today we live in a world where a woman and an African-American can be viable candidates for president of the United States.

We live in a world where we can place a phone call to our friends and loved ones from virtually any spot in the country.

We live in a world where, for the first time, citizens are finding ways to use less energy and recycle more.

We live in a world where, with a microwave, you can cook dinner in a matter of seconds. And with a dishwasher, you can clean up with the push of a button — giving you more time to spend with your family.

We live in a world where little girls can play baseball and little boys can dance and cook, if that's what it is they want to do.

We live in a world where we can pause, record and rewind live television.

We live in a world where doctors can actually grow new human organs, restore your sight with surgery and, in some cases, eliminate cancer.

We live in a world with Google, where you can find a dozen causes for lower back pain, or a complete list of every movie Seth Rogan has appeared in, with only a few clicks of the keyboard and mouse.

We live in a world where if you don't like what's on television, you can go to the video store and rent every episode of your favorite oldies — or simply download them off the Internet.

We live in a world where you can be a doctor or a teacher or an editor or a lawyer or an executive or a scientist, no matter if you're white or black or male or female or Chinese or Indian or Christian or Muslim.

We live in a world where our cars can tell us when we're lost, parallel park themselves, and play movies for the kids in the backseat.

We live in a world where, with e-mail, it only takes about 3 seconds to send a tirade to all your friends about how terrible the world has become.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a little nostalgia. In fact, it can be healthy. After all, you'll never know where you are unless you first know where you've been.

But what I take issue with is the idea that any one period in time can be universally better than any other period of time. Such comparisons are futile. Time is ever-moving, and the world we live in is always in motion. Things change, sometimes for the worse, but just as often for the better. And when you add it all together, all you can say is that there's good and bad that comes with every age.

We can take pride in our past, but we can also be happy with our present. And as for the future, we will always have hope.

Celebrating our community by remembering its past

The Sunday, April 27, edition of the Courier News includes a very special section. We call it "Snapshots." Essentially, it's a collection of stories and photographs intended to celebrate our community by remembering its past.

The idea was inspired by a presentation given my Mary Gay Shipley, of That Bookstore in Blytheville fame. In the presentation, Mary Gay makes the case that Blytheville, Arkansas, is truly a special place, with a distinctive history and a unique heritage. She calls her presentation, "We've a story to tell."

Indeed, we do. We have MANY stories to tell. But "Snapshots" is not intended to tell them all. If you're looking for a comprehensive account of the community's history, you'll have to look elsewhere. Instead, we've tried to provide a readers a collection of snapshots of our area's rich and storied past.

In addition to the printed edition, we've also created a multi-media presentation. The video is below. We you hope you like it, and we hope our readers come to understand, as we do, that our community, with its rich history and a promising future, is something worth celebrating.