I remember ducking into Hope, Arkansas, back around Elvis' birthday in January, 1993, bound for Austin, Texas, in that surreal period just after the 1992 US national election, right before Bill Clinton actually became 42nd President of the United States. On the very day of that visit early in 1993, Little Rock had been a hive of activity and Hope was glowing, thanks in part to the memorable "believe" speech Clinton had delivered at the Democratic National Convention the previous July.
Now, in 2012, Hope's old train depot is an easily accessible museum that notes not only the presidency of Bill Clinton but also other folks from Hope who've achieved larger status, including Mike Huckabee. Pretty good work for a town of about 10,300 people. Furthermore, the Bill Clinton birthplace and first childhood home is now part of the National Park Service. At the site, the Park rangers are hospitable and enthusiastic -- one gave a fun tour of the house, which is not too far from I-30, the main highway connecting Little Rock and Texarkana and on down to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Wonderful.
Here's a link for more information: http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/bill_clinton_birthplace.html
Today's Rune: Partnership.
3 comments:
Once I get out of debt, I will do some traveling on my own--I like the saying: A place called hope. As of right now, my passport has been rejected; guess I'm considered a flight risk.
I could go to Hope, but then I would have to return to what is rapidly becoming hopeless.
Didn't realize Huckabee was from Hope. That kind of brings me down!
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