The E-FORUM has been dark for a week and catching up due to the author’s absence from E-FORUM world headquarters in Richmond.

There is nothing like a few days in the Arkansas Ozarks to cure a Boozé -induced hangover from a late night (actually early morning) City Council meetings characterized by interminable and rambling personal diatribes largely irrelevant to the business at hand.

Still sleepy, we left Oakland early Wednesday morning of July 11 and as the sun set in Fayetteville, we were having a cool one rocking on the porch of my brother’s home on what was once the historic Butterfield Trail.

Then off to bed at Deepwood, which we call “sleepwood” because it is so shaded by towering maples, hickories and oaks that the morning sun just doesn’t penetrate. Between time zone lag and midday darkness, sleep is hard to shake. Temperatures were in the mid to high 90s during the day but dipped into the high 60s at night with a nice breeze. It’s typically 6-8 degrees cooler at Deepwood than in downtown Fayetteville, and we never used the air conditioning.

Fayetteville has a great farmer’s market on the historic square Thursday and Friday mornings.

Friday, we spent the day at Crystal Bridges Gallery of American Art in Bentonville, the world-class institution built with Walmart money. Admission is free.

This is where the iconic  Norman Rockwall “Rosie the Riveter” painting resides.

Ever wonder what the downtown looks like where the world’s largest retailer and largest employer is headquartered? Well, Bentonville’s courthouse square looks a lot like it did about 1880, with the exception of one circa 1960s building, the world’s first Walmart, now a museum and visitor center. It’s considerable less lively than Point Richmond.

That night, we met up with about a dozen friends from the Fayetteville High School class of ’62 who had remained in Fayetteville and retold while embellishing some of the old stories. Our 50th reunion will be in Fayetteville in October of this year.

My brother and I own a restored 1947 Willys CJ-2A Jeep that I like to drive around when I am in town. It was bought new by my grandfather 65 years ago and was a primary mode of transportation at one time or another for four generations of Butts and Kings.

On Saturday, back to the farmers market and lunch with some cousins.

I stopped by the home of a Fayetteville woman to pick up a package of letters my deceased (middle) brother, Martin,  wrote to her when he was in Vietnam in 1967. It was like finding a time capsule. He was a Marine in Vietnam in 1967-68, coming home with a Purple Heart but otherwise in one piece. After surviving combat, he died a little more than a year later in an automobile accident in 1969 when I was in Vietnam. I intend to scan and share them with friends and family.

Then on Sunday off to float the Buffalo National River, a tradition that goes back to my early youth. Because of a summer drought, we had to go to the lower Buffalo to find enough water to float. We did the Spring Creek to Dillard’s Ferry (Highway 14 Bridge) trip down south of Yellville, then came back the scenic route, stopping to swim at every Buffalo River crossing. Grinder’s Ferry, Hasty and finally Ponca, where the water was barely trickling.

 

Sunday evening, we rode bicycles out the Scull Creek Trail about 5 miles to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The Fayetteville trail system is growing and is very popular. The Scull Creek Trail follows what we call a “branch” and weaves in and out of abutting apartment complexes. I especially liked a trailside snack bar.

Monday was paint up – fix-up day at Deepwood. I replaced a ceiling fan,  patched the roof where a tree limb speared through it in a storm and fixed a leaking gutter. That evening we entertained again remnants of the Fayetteville High School Class of ’62 and dined outside with my brother and his wife.

On Tuesday, touchdown in Oakland, renewed and rested just in time for the July 17 City Council meeting, which ended sometime around 1:00 AM after another night of chaos at the dais.