Thursday, May 29, 2008

Walls crash down on decades of memories


It had to be a little melancholy for some Arkansas State University students last week, watching their former home disappear into a cloud of dust.

The university imploded its nine-story Seminole Twin Towers dormitory complex Sunday, clearing the way for green space and eventual new buildings. The residence hall once housed 700 students, before closing three years ago.

I never attended ASU, so naturally I know very little about this dormitory. But I did spend four years of my life living in on-campus housing. And because of that, I can imagine well the stories of ASU's twin towers.

If I spoke to the former occupants of that dorm, I imagine I'd hear tales of weekend parties and late-night study sessions. I'd hear stories of broken-down elevators and crowded showers. I'd hear accounts of hall sports and stacks of discarded pizza boxes.

That's what life is all about in a college dormitory. It's crowded, uncomfortable, noisy and sometimes stinky. And it's also one of the best times of your life.

My college days were spent at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Mo. I spent four years living in the dorms there, the first two of which were in Southeast's version of the classic "towers" dorm, in this case, a four-tower complex with residence halls bearing the ever-so-creative names, "North," "South," "East" and "West."

My home was in West, which was at that time, the last remaining all-male dorm on campus. And that right there tells you a lot about what life was like. It was loud, smelly, obnoxious and crazy. At least once a week, it seemed, someone would pull the fire alarm at 2 in the morning, forcing the evacuation of all 12 floors. The TV lounge was almost always full of guys watching sports or movies of every conceivable variety. And the favorite prank was to dump a bucket of cold water on people when they were in the community shower.

It truly was the "Wild West." Yet I made good friends there, and had some great times. I'll always remember the afternoons of hallway hockey, or the time when someone super-glued a quarter to the sidewalk below our rooms, and the whole side of the tower would watch out their windows and laugh when someone tried to pick it up.

I can probably relate a little bit to the former students of Seminole Twin Towers, because the West that I knew is also long gone. In this case, however, it wasn't an implosion that did it in; it was a renovation. The year after I moved out, Southeast closed West down, and converted it into a newfangled "suite-style" residence hall, which opened the following year. The wild West was no more.

I knew some kids in college who never lived in the dorms. They either commuted from home, or maybe got an apartment off campus. And there's nothing wrong with any of that. With college costs being what they are, there's no shame in living with mom and dad while you can; and off-campus living provides a certain breathing space that you can't find in a residence hall.

But all the same, a year or two living in a college dormitory is something everyone ought to experience sometime in their lifetime. It's an experience that will provide a lifetime of memories. And even if the university someday renovates it — or worse, blows it up — you will always have those great stories to tell about your old home.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

New overpass should be a landmark

The decision on the future of Highway 18 through Blytheville is not one to be taken lightly.

Not only will the eventual location of the four-lane, two-way thoroughfare forever change the way people get around in our community, but because the new alignment will include a railroad overpass, it will also forever change the way our community looks.

The Arkansas Highway Department presented two potential alignments during a public meeting last week at Blytheville Middle School. One would travel south of downtown, using portions of Sycamore and Ash streets. The other would run to the north, roughly along the present Chickasawba Street corridor.

From the point of view of this writer, the southern route — along Sycamore/Ash — is clearly a better option. The Chickasawba alignment seems pretty hare-brained. It would impact far too many homes, businesses and public services to be considered a viable option, and one almost wonders if its appearance on the maps was simply a matter of the Highway Department needing a secondary "option" to put before citizens.

The Sycamore/Ash corridor makes more sense, for the simple fact that its impact would be less severe. The only suggestion here is to move the alignment about 50 feet south, thus reducing the impact on a handful of structures — while necessitating the removal of an eyesore or two to boot.

But the alingment is not my biggest worry. The thing that has me concerned is the overpass.

There's no doubt that it's needed. It's long overdue, and the reality of the situation is that the downtown area is the most practical location.

But a railroad overpass is no insignificant structure. It will be tall, and it will be long. It will have a significant, if not dramatic, impact on the landscape of downtown Blytheville. And with all the effort that has been put into improving the appearance of downtown Blytheville — efforts that are paying off — it would be disappointing to see something come into the area that sets those efforts back.

That's why my best suggestion to the Highway Department is to take steps to make our railroad overpass a true landmark. I'm not an architect or a bridge-designer, but I do know that there are pretty bridges and there are ugly bridges. And it is my hope that when Blytheville finally gets its overpass, designers will incorporate some kind of archtectural details, color or other design elements that make our overpass stand out.

If done right, the overpass could even become a symbol for our community — something we could put on postcards or incorporate into logos. Cape Girardeau, Mo., did just this when they built their new Mississippi River bridge. Instead of building just another highway across the river, they built a landmark, something which has dramatically changed the city's skyline — for the better.

Sure, a landmark overpass might cost more money. But it's worth it. The overpass we build will be here for a long, long time. It will be seen and noticed by every person who lives in Blytheville, not to mention many of those who visit our community. The investment would easily pay dividends for generations to come.

The very personality of our community is on the line with this project. It's imperative that we get it right. With good planning, strong design and community involvement, it can happen.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Checking the Internet to see if I'm cool

Sometimes I wonder if I'm cool.

OK. I know. We all know the answer to that question. And it's far from the affirmative.

Still, from time to time it's worth checking to see just where my hipness, or lack thereof, really measures up.

A good tool for this is something known as the Lycos 50. The Lycos.com Web site is a good barometer of all things pop culture. The Lycos 50 is a ranking of the 50 most-searched things on the Internet. In other words, you could argue that the 50 items on this list are the things that are of most interest to computer users everywhere.

So I decided to take a look at the Lycos 50 and see how many of its entries I knew anything about. Here's what I came up with:

1. Katie Holmes. I know Ms. Holmes. Or perhaps I should say Ms. Cruise. Score 1 on my cool-meter.

2. Emma Watson. Plays Hermione in the "Harry Potter" movies. Two for two.

3. Mariah Carey. Know her, but try my best to ignore her.

4. Paris Hilton. See No. 3.

5. Naruto. Never heard of him/it/them. The first big black mark on my hipness report card.

6. Clay Aiken. "American Idol" runner up recently on Broadway. Never bought his album, though.

7. Pokemon. I know my 5-year-old son is into it, but it all baffles me.

8. YouTube. Know it well. Use it frequently. Even have my own account.

9. Pamela Anderson. How can you not know Pamela?

10. WWE. Wresting, I guess? No cool points for me here.

11. BitTorrent. Heard of it. Mostly confused by it.

12. Angelina Jolie. Trying to keep her from trying to adopt my kids.

13. MySpace. Know it, never used it.

14. Apple. Typing this column on one right now. (I assume we're talking about the computers, not the fruit; though I am familiar with both.)

15. Kim Kardashian. Never heard of her/him/it.

16. Britney Spears. Really, isn't about time we leave Britney alone?

17. Miley Cyrus. With an 8-year-old girl in my house, you can be assured that I am well-versed in all things Miley.

18. Disney. Know it all — the theme parks, the characters, the cable channel, etc.

19. Facebook. Not only do I know what it is, I even have my own Facebook page, complete with my very own Flair. And no, I will not add you to my friends list.

20. NFL. Are you ready for some football? Give me a few months.

21. Baseball. While I am more in tune with t-ball and 8-and-under softball at the moment, I am generally aware of the sport of baseball.

22. Lindsay Lohan. Know her. Tired of her.

23. Barbie. The Barbie phase has seemingly ended in my house, though there are still enough dolls and accessories lying around that I can't forget her.

24. Dragonball. Heard of it. No clue what it is.

25. Juno. Heard of it. Haven't seen it.

26. Wikipedia. Know it well. Use it all the time.

27. Madonna. See No. 22.

28. Perez Hilton. I'm guessing this is not the same person as No. 4, Paris Hilton. So I guess I'll have to plead ignorance on this one.

29. Anna Nicole Smith. Didn't she die? Why are people still so interested in her?

30. Scarlett Johansson. Good-looking actress. Can't name any of her movies.

31. Carmen Electra. Aren't her 5 minutes of fame over yet?

32. NBA. Who cares?

33. Jennifer Lopez. Don't know her as well as we all did a few years ago. Thank goodness that "Bennifer" thing is over.

34. Jessia Alba. Action-movie babe. Don't know much else.

35. Salma Hayak. Was once near the top of my favorite babes list.

36. Xbox. Know it. Never played it.

37. Inuyasha. Never heard of it.

38. RunEscape. What?

39. American Idol. Know it well; watch it every week. Archuleta's overrated, and Cook deserves to win.

40. Poker. Texas Hold'em anyone?

41. Eva Longoria. Desperate Housewife is nice to look at.

42. Beyonce. Know the name, but can't tell you anything about her.

43. Ashlee Simpson. Is this the one that was married to the Backstreet Boy? Or was that her sister? Or was it a 98 degrees guy?

44. Atkins Diet. Just another fad.

45. Jessica Biel. Get her confused with Jessica Alba.

46. Jennifer Anniston. I'd like to talk to her about my Flair.

47. LimeWire. Heard the term. No idea what it is.

48. Shakira. See No. 42.

49. Webkinz. I know my kids want one, but that's it.

50. Jessica Simpson. See No. 43.

So ... while I'm not living in a cave, it's pretty obvious that my finger is far from the pulse of American pop culture.

But I'm OK with that. After all, I stopped trying to be cool years ago. Besides, it's far more rewarding to make fun of the hip crowd than to be a part of it.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

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.

Friday, May 2, 2008

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: