Come on, own up, you goddammed Limeys, exactly how many times have you thought about Arkansas in the last, say, 30 years? Well, don't feel too bad about it because I suspect most 'Arkies' (or 'Ozarks', even) don't think about the place much, either. I sense a certain smug satisfaction amongst the male population of Arkansas that the slickest 'slick Willy' of all time hailed from that great State and managed to multi-task superbly as he sat at his desk in the White House. Apart from that, what's to know?
Well, it is the task of this blog to entertain - but also to educate, as well! Thanks to my 'Arkie' e-pal, 'JK', we at Duff & Nonsense are now able to point you to a learn-ed book on the history of the State: “Arkansas/Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies and Good Ol’ Boys Defined a State”. Alas, despite its author's immense scholasticism, somehow I can't see it hitting the NYT Best Sellers list, which is a pity because there is much, I suspect, to be enjoyed in it . After all, us 'Limeys' live in a land full of towns and villages with strange names so there is fellow-feeling for a State with towns called Greasy Corner, Booger Hollow, Possum Grape and Toad Suck.
Its tendency towards the eccentric, another much beloved trait amongst us 'Limeys', is instanced by this:
Then-Gov. Mike Huckabee once lived in a triple-wide trailer while his governor’s mansion was undergoing renovations, and a state law mixup briefly did away with a minimum age for marriage.
That last unfortunate mixup only added to the disgraceful imputation that, rather like the inhabitants of Norfolk in England, 'Arkies' look suspiciously like each other! Alas, this proud State has become the butt of jokes:
In his book, Blevins recounts a Saturday Night Live sketch in which comedian Dana Carvey, impersonating Ross Perot, notes that a half-million dollars is “enough to buy a still and a new outhouse for every family in Little Rock.”
I have to say that when the smart-Alec metros make jokes of a place, the more I like the sound of it and the more I'd like to get to know it - especially if they all own stills!
In the meantime, my thanks to 'JK' for the link.
Being an Arkie myself I resent the you neglected to mention my home town..... HOG EYE
Posted by: Meyieaea | Wednesday, 14 October 2009 at 03:31
Hog Eye! Of course, how could I forget? It's just up the road from Bug Scuffle.
And now I can't get that tune out of my mind "I left my heart, in good ol' Hog Eye . . ."
I suspect that the early settlers came from a village near here called 'Piddletrenthide' with its world famous pub 'The Piddle Inn'.
Posted by: David Duff | Wednesday, 14 October 2009 at 08:54