Greetings from Little Rock, Arkansas. As we all know this is the home of President Bill Clinton, but not his birthplace. He was actually born in Hope, Arkansas, a little spec of a town, about 2 hours before Little Rock, as the Georgie Boy flies.
We left our spot in Greenville, Texas at 8 am, filled up with gas ($2.59 a gallon, cheapest so far, and they were raising it just as we left), and hit the I-30 East, headed towards Arkansas. We passed through such places as Sulphur Springs, Old Boston, and Hooks, eventually reaching the city of Texarcana, which straddles the state line between Texas and Arkansas. This part of Eastern Texas/ Arkansas is lush and green, and the homes we see look neat and well kept. It's a real change to see all this greenery, and the trees are blooming in many colours. There are a huge variety of cattle on view, including longhorns, brahma bulls, and cows we're never even seen before. Marlene loves it!
After Texarcana (nothing on the radio but religion stations and country, with the odd Spanish language station) we pass by Hope, Arkadelphia, and Malvern on the final approach to Little Rock. Lots of traffic now, 8 lanes full, and we have to pass through the centre of the city to get to our first stop. Following our Garmin GPS we finally get there. Its the President William Clinton Presidential Library!
For the miserly investment of $7 each, we were able to see President Clinton's limousine, follow a pictorial and documentary timeline of his presidency, and enter exact replicas of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room as they were in Clinton's time in office. As a special added feature exhibit, they had the lapel pin collection of Madeline Allbright. These are mostly gold, with diamond, jade and other stones, and they must weigh a lot. They are beautiful, and many carry meanings relating to her job as Secretary of State. She had a pin made of 22k gold in the form of a viper, with rubies for eyes specially for her state visit with Saddam Hussein in Iraq. He had referred to her as a cold blooded snake. There were many butterflies, bugs of all kinds, vegetables, fruit, and everything else, immortalized in precious metals and stones. It is a fabulous original collection.
On display, in towering cherry wood stacks, are 3% of his papers from the time of his presidency. they are 3 stories tall, in large filing boxes, stretching the full length of the library. Millions of papers that crossed his desk. And this is only 3% of them. My eyes are sore just thinking of all that reading. There are some great photos displayed, as well as many of the gifts the Clinton's received from other world leaders. There was even an embroidered Kipa (Yamulke) from when he visited Israel.
I especially liked the cabinet room, where Marlene and I mugged for pics, and the Oval Office, which we were prohibited from entering. All in all, an interesting and strangely moving experience, especially the room commemorating the Oklahoma City bombing. I took pics of some of the remains of the Ryder rental truck used to carry the bomb.
We decided to skip the neighbouring Heifer Museum, and headed to Georgie Boy, patiently waiting for us in the Tour Bus parking lot. It is 80 degrees, like Tucson, but REALLY humid. Inside, it is 90 degrees, and Ben is panting pretty good. We fired up the generator and the air conditioning, and drove the 5 miles to our chosen Walmart of the evening. We scored a spot along the edge, with a green belt beside us.
Actually, what we see of Little Rock is quite nice. The people seem friendly, much like in Texas, and perhaps a little more orderly, judging by the greater number of people returning shopping carts to the corral. When we filled up this morning a fellow with a mullet, and a real Texas twang, asked me "what KAAAAND of raceCAAAAAR you'all got in that trailer?" I told him, and he said "Holy Sh*t, AAAAHHH gotta shake your hand man", and he did just that. I gave him a card, and he asked where we are headed. I told him Ohio, and he was shocked, his jaw dropped and he said: "AAAAAALLL the WAAAAAYY to OHIIIIIO? Holy Sh*t". I told him we were headed for Montreal after that, and he was flabbergasted. Clutching my hand, with my card in the other one, he just repeated his favourite phrase, and walked away, looking back twice on the way to his beat up old van. He and his friends waved furiously at Marlene and Ben as they pulled out.
This is not like Canada. Here in the U.S., people actually greet me in stores, and start conversations beside gas pumps. In Canada, people studiously ignore each other.
Anyway, tomorrow is Memphis, Tennessee, and we have a surprise planned. Stay tuned.....
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