North Little Rock Finds its Cool

Thanks NYT. I think the more appropriate headline, however, would be: NYT finds North Little Rock, which was of course cool all along.

Still, love it when this town makes it into that rag from NYC!

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/08/17/travel/20100822-SURFACING.html?8dpc

Country Music 101

A wise friend and lifelong Arkansan told me, "All country music is about cheatin', drinkin', or lovin.' And every song tells a story, so listen to the lyrics."

A couple months ago, I figured it was about time I learned to appreciate country music, so I drafted some friends into providing me a list of the basics. Results are below. Now, I wonder if said friends might make me a cd of said tunes for a certain upcoming long road trip...?

Merle Haggard
George Jones
Johnny Cash
Patsy Cline
Willie Nelson
Loretta Lynn
Lyle Lovett
Jon Prine
Guy Clark
Hank Williams Sr & Jr
Glen Campbell
Lefty Frizzel
Johnny Horton
George Strait
Joe Ely
Conway Twitty
David Allen Coe "You Never Even Called Me By My Name"
David Allen Coe "The Ride." It's his own little tribute to Hank, Sr.

As Rosh Hashanah Dawns, We Support the Troops

This time two years ago, someone very dear to me was preparing to depart on a year deployment with the U.S. Army to Iraq.

He left at the end of September, and given the dates the Jewish holidays fell that year, if I remember correctly, he sort of missed celebrating Rosh Hashanah all together that year, but he arrived in time for Yom Kippur. We were both thrilled to learn that he had the opportunity to be escorted to another site where he could commemorate both Kil Nidre and the full day of Yom Kippur, including a break fast meal with fellow Jewish soldiers who had come together from various bases for the occasion. I think part of his excitement was breaking up the routine and getting to spend a night in peace and quiet away from work, but the most important thing to him was that though he was one of very few Jews in the Army, he could celebrate the most important time of the Jewish year.

So, this year, I came up with an idea. I collected Rosh Hashanah cards from Arkansas' Jewish community to send to deployed Jewish service members. I asked the senders to write generic messages that any soldier would be happy and honored to receive. People wrote beautiful, meaningful things, even though they were sending them to people they didn't know personally. And in the cases of many who sent me cards to send, they had very little, if any, personal connection to anyone serving in the U.S. military. I was proud to find one, even if very small, way to help them relate to the wars we are fighting in the Middle East and to the many brave, patriotic Americans who have chosen to dedicate a least a portion of their lives toward representing our country through the military.

Through some Googling, I quickly learned that there is a group of people throughout the United States whom have never met, but whom only have in common the fact that they want to do everything they can to ensure that Jewish service members are as comfortable as they can be while they are deployed far from their families, friends, and Jewish roots. They have a listserve -- which they immediately invited me to join upon reading of my interest -- through which they maintain a list of overseas addresses for deployed Jewish soldiers and chaplains. They share ideas of religious, cultural and food items to send on the various Jewish holidays, send cards throughout the year, and help anyone interested in helping them do the same. This group is just a small subset of the many, many groups across the country organizing similar projects for soldiers from their area.

Whether or not you "support" the wars or the reasons we're fighting them, everyone supports the troops. I'm glad I found one way particularly meaningful to me to show it.

For further reading, you may find my officer's story of grappling with his Jewish identity while serving in a Muslim country here, at the New York Times At War blog:http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/personal-identity-in-a-war-zone/

The little watermelons from Hope

The New York Times features Hope, Ark.'s newer small, hybrid Precious Petites and Orchid Sweets:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/dining/18melons.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Sad news about our boxer, Rubin

My family's wonderful, sweet dog, Rubin, died a few days ago. Below, my brother Justin's thoughts from this past Friday:

It is with a heavy heart that I report to you that our beloved family dog, Rubin "Hurricane" Friedman, has passed on to the Great Doggy Beyond. Rubin was nine years young. For a Boxer, he lived a long and active life.

Rubin had been afflicted with "malignant masses" (a polite way of saying cancer), but it barely slowed him down. Even over the last few days, he was going on walks in the woods and did a little swimming in the creek near my parents' house. Rubin was actually scheduled for surgery today, but he didn't make it through the night.

As a puppy, Rubin quickly outgrew our full-grown Bichon Frise, Clyde, and was known to bully him regularly. (Clyde, by the way, is nearly 12 and is thriving with Samantha in Little Rock.) It wasn't until my parents adopted Duncan (also doing quite well and living with my parents in Bethesda) that Rubin became the tame being that you will remember. Duncan, although smaller, had a knack for herding the other dogs and he soon became the alpha male.

Rubin was a happy, pampered dog. He almost never whined, other than when he would mosey up to the pantry where we kept the milk bones and whimper until he got one. Milk bones were his weakness, and this routine would happen anywhere from 3-10 times per day. Sometimes he would go back to the pantry immediately upon finishing his treat. He usually got what he wanted.

Rubin loved Hanukkah, when there would always be a bag of treats or a toy gift-wrapped for him. As soon as we lit the candles, he would tear into his gift, unwrapping it with his teeth. If it was edible, he usually devoured the entire package before we even noticed he had opened it.

We will miss Rubin. For those of you who knew him, I hope you will take a moment to think about all the great memories. As one friend once observed, "If Rubin could talk, he would be a complete gentleman."

That's my Governor!

A little shout out to the boss -- link to Governor Beebe campaign video below:

http://www.youtube.com/mikebeebe4governor

Don't forget the blue laws

Must. Get. To. Wine. Store. Before. Sunday...

If I want to rebel against the blue laws and consume wine at dinner. This is a Bible Belt phenomenon I'm never going to get used to.