Imagine living in a place where your airport has 3 gates, but only 1 door to go out of. (You actually have to walk on the runway, then climb up the stairs to get on the small prop planes we have.) Imagine dealing with the scrutiny of people saying, "Arkansas... where is that even?" I hear all sorts of guesses. My favorite is "Arkansas... isn't that near Nevada? I have a cousin that goes to school there." Not quite.
I live in what is called the Bible Belt. I live in Tornado Alley. I live in the "South". It's all relative. I have so many classifications, I sometimes have an identity crisis. The closest big city even worth going to is Dallas, 3 1/2 hours away. Gotta love Arkansas.
The second biggest city in Arkansas is Fort Smith at a whooping 80,000. The census actually included small towns nearby, commuters, and homeless people. It's more than likely closer to 50k or smaller. We try and keep trendy. For example, Myspace is catching on. (Let me guess, it was cool a year or two ago, well we just got electricity so bear with me here) We have one mall, and the biggest store is a Dillards. One thing we do have is Wal-Marts. With 8 Wal-Marts and 2 under construction in a 20 mile radius from my house, it's not hard to find one. On weekends, my friends and I are often found in the parking lots of said Wal-Marts "crusin'" and such.
I'm not bitter. The fact that I can see cattle on my way to school is kinda cool. Knowing the every police officer isn't that bad, because most of the time they will just tell you to go home, which is always only a few blocks away. We drink beer and whiskey. We can mumble and y'all and people understand us.
Travel to Arkansas once in your life. Steer clear of the cities and get lost on the gravel roads. You learn about great cities like Bald Knob and Toad Suck. Try and tip a cattle. (Sorry, it can't be done. It will kill the cow via breaking it's legs) Go hunt for squirrels with .22 gauges. Go noodling. But most importantly, don't ever, ever stay for more than a week. It will drag you in, and you will go back home wearing overalls and chewing straw.
