With hardwoods in emerald bloom, warm weather upon us and schools about to dismiss for the summer, I wondered just how many of us Arkansans regularly make the relatively short trip to the Silver Dollar City theme park near Branson. There's bound to be an army.
I knew this internationally honored tourism destination that opened 57 years ago draws widely from across the country (2 million annually). But what about from their immediate southern neighbors?
Living in Harrison, the visit from here is a convenient 30-minute scoot up U.S. 65, about like driving from Fayetteville to Bella Vista. Once inside the park, I easily get absorbed in the shows, rides, food, crafts and so much entertainment across its 55 acres. Plus, only a few miles away more than 1,600 Arkansas visitors already have boarded the sister attraction, the Showboat Branson Belle, for dinner and a show since it began cruising Table Rock Lake in March.
I asked Lisa Rau of Silver Dollar City just how many Arkies show up at the park each year. She told me 60,000 of Silver Dollar City's 300,000 season-pass holders are from Arkansas.
"Arkansas is very much a major, important market for us," she said. "We have about 390,000 overall visitors to the theme park from Arkansas each year. Fayetteville alone, with 220,000 visitors, is the second-largest market behind Springfield, Mo."
Rau said she regularly meets with tourism-related groups, including specific focus groups to determine where Silver Dollar City is excelling and in need of improvement when it comes to spreading its message. She said the park's biggest spending for radio ads is in Northwest Arkansas. "It's been our fastest growing market for several years now."
"With all the newcomers continually moving into the region, we realized we needed to overcome a clarity issue since a surprising number didn't realize this theme park offers so much more than rides," she continued. "So we've focused on helping people understand what all is here just two hours away."
She said the park also has been working to resolve an apparent split in how Silver Dollar City is perceived by those confused about whether a visit is best suited as a day trip or an overnight escape. "There's so many entertaining aspects here that people in Arkansas haven't been exposed to and we're working steadily to make those things known."
Well, based on these numbers (and the obvious symbiosis that exists), I'd say they are doing just fine.
Scotty's 'old' crusade
Personable Scotty Seawel at 72 is on a chronological crusade. He's not trying to save the world. He just wants people to stop referring to those possessed with maturity as "old."
"Yeah, I got on a soapbox and not sure when or if I'm climbing off it. I'm trying to spread the word to stop saying people are 'old.'"
He believes the term is not only needlessly pejorative, but leaves the false impression that because people have lived longer, they aren't just as capable, energetic or accomplished, not to mention experienced, as those with fewer years under their belts.
"I don't know why it bothers me so much," he said, "but whenever I hear someone use the term 'old' to describe someone, it gets me upset."
At 70 myself, I'm no fan of political correctness, yet I can understand exactly what Seawel means. After all, my friends, synonyms for "old" include decrepit, enfeebled, tired, broken down, even ancient. And most of my friends at this stage of their lives are anything but old in their attitudes and spirits. Most seem genuinely shocked that so many years of their lives have sped past almost without notice.
Seawel was emphasizing his point while smacking his golf ball 220 yards down the fairway. That's farther, incidentally, than most half his age. In my senior golf group, several between 72 and 84 can drive a golf ball much farther than those born decades after them.
Then there are men such as Mohr Keet of South Africa who bungee-jumped when he was 96, landing in the Guinness Book of World Records, and Yuichiro Miura of Japan, who climbed Mount Everest at 80. Many of us remember George H.W. Bush celebrating his 90th birthday in 2014 with a skydive.
The way many people perceive chronological aging clearly is rooted in uninformed assumptions and myth rather than reality.
Every day across America, more and more are joining the ranks of those beyond retirement age whose bodies have changed from 50 years ago, but personalities and certain abilities remain very much the same (or better) than when youthful hormones were surging.
Scotty's crusade takes on added perspective when we realize the 2010 census showed the number of those 65 to 69 ballooned by 30.4 percent, from 9.5 million to 12.4 million. This group has continued to swell even more rapidly since the first so-called baby boomers began turning 65 in 2011.
So I'm joining ya at the barricades with my raggedy "Don't Old Me!" banner, Scotty. You all can call me Mike, numbskull, or late for dinner. Just don't call me (or ol' Scotty) old.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.
Editorial on 05/14/2017