We leave New Orleans; Southeast Arkansas amazes

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On the Delta Heritage Trail


Have mask will travel, doing the museums in Helena. 

As you may know, Carol and I are on the road.  We dusted off the Lodge (our Airstream Bambi Sport 22-foot trailer) and headed north. We finally pulled ourselves away from our daily rituals of worrying, reading, and bike riding, and got busy with research. Plans must be made. This is our 4th long-form RV trip, and we made a change in that our waypoints are going to be Rail-Trails instead of Craft Breweries.  Actually, we really didn't explicitly plan to visit breweries as waypoints in previous trips, it's just that they are everywhere,  and the beer is inevitably good, not to mention the great people associated with these family and dog friendly places.  Anyway, we will do the Delta Heritage Trail in SE Arkansas, the Katy Trail near St. Louis MO, Chichaqua Valley Trail in Iowa, Red Jacket Trail near Minneapolis, Georges S. Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills, William J. Mentock Trail in Wyoming, Bitteroot Trail near Missoula, Palouse Falls State Park Trail in the Palouse (SE Washingon), and something in Walla Walla, WA. As we dip our toes into the hot tub at our son's home in Salem, Oregon, we will have completed our 2020 journey. Current plan is to leave the Lodge in Salem as a down-payment and incentive on our plan to move to the Pacific Northwest, probably in the next year. World in motion.  

I'm posting this now because I need to to get some inspiration and to toss some fuel into my tank.  If I only read and listen and "consume" and  and don't write or somehow produce or create something, I begin to feel anxious and guilty, like I am enjoying life without contributing.  Not that these blog posts offer much, but it's something, write?  And that is definitely nothing.  This type of writing reminds me of something I read about an hour ago, it's Charlie Kaufman's interview for the By The Book feature in the New York Times.  I found it to be stunning in how it took me out of all the crap we have to put up with day after day these days, and I just laughed out loud until I cried. So good. So it all depends.  Here's something.  

I know I still owe the blog a Fiona Apple Part 2.  Such a procrastinator, me.  But this is here, so all is not lost.  Briefly: 

Stuff I learned about Helena, Arkansas: 
1. Town created in 1833, in Phillips County. While it is situated to be a major port on the river, Memphis (65 miles upriver) won. 
2. It’s at the southern end of Crowley’s Ridge
3. Population is 6,323 at the 2000 census.  68% Black, 30% White, a fraction of 1% for any other category, such as Latinx, Native American, etc. 
4. Median household income $18,000; 41% of the population lives below the poverty line.  
5. Helena hosts the longest running radio program in the US, King Biscuit Time. 
6. Probably worth looking into a bit: Robert Nighthawk.  Bluesman from the Delta (a Helena native), he played (vocals, slide guitar, harmonica) from the 1920s into the early 1960’s. 
7. The only non-Canadian member the band The Band Levon Helm grew up just a few miles from Helena.  Now there hangs a tale, as Robbie Robertson, also of The Band, would say.  If you haven't heard this record , Robertson's solo release in 1987, I recommend you give it a listen.  I thought it was spectacular.  
8.  I can't quite yet put it into words, how visiting here has made me feel.  I hope to be able to.  This place is hallowed ground. 





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