Enjoyable experiences in NWA
June 30 was my last official day of work as a school principal in Missouri. I was eligible for retirement after that and chose to move to Northwest Arkansas.
I don’t like the word retirement, because I plan to keep working, but that’s not my point here.
My point is that I chose to move to Northwest Arkansas because, like so many of you, I know it is a great place to live.
I have always intended to continue teaching and writing throughout my life, and having grown up in Arkansas, and being well-acquainted with the great attributes of our state, Northwest Arkansas seemed like the perfect place.
Since moving here, I’ve had several interesting and enjoyable experiences, and what follows is a rundown of several of those, in no particular order:
COVERING THE MILES — The Razorback Greenway is an excellent opportunity to exercise and to enjoy the outdoors. I’ve spent a lot of time on it already and I wish I could say I was in good enough shape to bicycle 25 miles at a time, but I’m not there yet. For now, however, I enjoy logging a number of miles on it by simply walking. In some locations, however, it needs more signs to keep you from accidentally wandering away from the trail.
EDUCATING OUR YOUTH — Northwest Arkansas has great schools that are doing some great things. I have visited several of them and can speak with some level of expertise on this because of my own background in education. It’s great to see hard-working teachers who care about kids and who take their job seriously. It’s also good to see that so many communities take pride in their schools. It shows. Northwest Arkansas schools have some of the finest facilities I’ve seen anywhere.
WOO PIG SOOIE — I have followed Razorbacks football all of my life and have attended several games over the years. But I’ve never lived this close to all of the action and it’s a lot of fun. My oldest son and I attended the Arkansas win over Texas State on Sept. 17 and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I’ll be back for more.
PATRIOTISM IS IN STYLE — Before the Texas State game got underway, as a part of Military Appreciation Day at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, a huge American flag was unfolded over a large area of the field and they started playing “America the Beautiful.” Without any prompting and without any announcement about the flag or the patriotic music, the entire crowd stood up and started cheering. I was overwhelmed with pride, not just for being an American, but because while some people today won’t even stand for the national anthem, people in Arkansas love their country and know how to show it.