LITTLE ROCK — Twenty-two years and ready to leave Arkansas for good! Lynne and I have lived on our ranch in Bruno, on some acreage in Springfield, in a townhouse in Conway, and for over six years made weekly trips to Fayetteville and Little Rock. For the past five years we have lived in Mountain Home. We have left and returned three times. We will be making our final move to Florida shortly, and when our friends ask us why, we tell them, “You can love a place but not be content there.”
Some of the desire to move can be attributed to our backgrounds. Lynne grew up in Coral Gables and Miami, I in Philadelphia, so a small town, to us, meant 100,000 people. The amenities and choices we grew up with are missing and are missed. Before I retired from my consulting business, we traveled extensively, so the amenities at home didn’t matter; we could always shop in Seattle, San Antonio, Dallas, Laguna Beach, Kalamazoo,New York or Chicago. But now Lynne’s physical condition, although not super serious, restricts our ability to travel. That means wherever we live had better suit us since we won’t be leaving much. We would rather be confined to north Florida than north Arkansas.
We have another reason for leaving. In 38 years of marriage, Lynne has never cooked a single meal, so the daily shopping is left to me. I need to say here-for those of you thinking how lucky she is-that I have been far, far luckier. If anyone reading this has ever shopped at a Publix supermarket, they know the difference between a small-town grocery and a world-class facility. I miss the latter very much. Maybe someday our local supermarket, including Wal-Mart, will carry such delicacies as tripe, sweetbreads, various cuts of veal and other items most people take for granted in other locales. Daily access to fresh seafood also played a part in our decision. Yes, Little Rock has a wonderful Kroger, but, sadly, no Gulf of Mexico.
You only have to read the Voices page for a few weeks to know our next reason for leaving. Lynne and I have not been inside a church for over 30 years, and then only to attend the funeral of her mother. Religion plays no part in our lives and never will. What others believe is totally irrelevant to us. But living, as we do, in the buckle of the Bible Belt, those of our persuasion feel suffocated. We need to go to a place where religion is a by-product, not the whole ball of wax. Some of the Voices letters regarding religion are eloquent in support of the writer’s beliefs, but far too many reek of intolerance and hate. We have been getting copies of the newspaper from our future home in Florida, and I find it interesting that, in over 70 of their letters, not a single one mentioned Jesus, God, religion or the Bible. What a breath of fresh air!
Speaking of newspapers, we are moving to a place that has a good one, but not a great one. Arkansas has a great one and everyone should be thankful for that. Paul Greenberg, although I disagree with at least half of what he says, is a journalistic gem and continually proves that a mark of a good journalist is not only what he says but how he says it.
Through my consulting career I have had the privilege and pleasure of working with a number of outstanding Arkansans, every one of whom has made the state a better place in which to live. Working with them has been the more pleasurable part of our journey in Arkansas, and we will always treasure their friendship.
I feel as though I played a small part in some of the progress that has been made since I served as campaign director for the Old Main restoration, (a project that a surprising number of people were against) the Bell Engineering Center, and worked closely with Dr. Harry Ward on a number of UAMS projects. Who knows, this progress might someday extend to the athletic department in Fayetteville and it will abandon its haughty attitude and schedule a football game with ASU. Or maybe it isn’t their attitude that’s the problem, but just plain fear of losing. Wouldn’t that be a hoot? Arkansas 14, ASU 38!
My farewell wish for Arkansas is for its politics to become much less incestuous-that goes for the state as well as specific areas. Regional rather than local planning needs to take place, but local politics appear to be too entrenched to allow that to happen. State-wise, the “good-ol’-boy” network needs to be dismantled. Hiring competent people, not political cronies, would do wonders. One great improvement would be for the Legislature to go back to meeting every other year so they can only foul up half your life. I also don’t think it is a good sign when the vast majority of Arkansas’ college-bound high school graduates opt to stay in the state for their education.
So goodbye and farewell to Arkansas. As Jimmy Buffett sang, “It’s been a lovely cruise.” The one thing we will always appreciate is the innate kindness that seems to permeate the population. No matter where we were living in the state, really good neighbors were right next door. We shall miss that.
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Ed Dugan is the former president of the Indiana Institute of Technology and retired head of a strategic planning and fundraising firm.
Editorial, Pages 11 on 07/23/2012