My dad grew up in the Ouachita Mountains of central Arkansas. Some folks would surely call them hills, and they’d probably be right, because I come from a family of hillbillies. And there’s no place I like to go back to more often than those hills in Perry County, Arkansas. It’s probably been 35 years ago now that dad found a beautiful patch of land in the Ouachita National Forest that runs along the South Fourche River, just a few miles from where he spent his summers with his Grandpa and Grandma Crain, mostly working their farm, but also fishing and hunting anytime he could. This started a journey of patience when dad went to the county courthouse, found out who owned the property (an older lady who lived out of state), and wrote his first letter to see if she was interested in selling. She responded to that first letter and said that she was saving the property for her children to have as an inheritance. A few years later, dad wrote again. Still not interested, the lady kindly turned down dad’s offer and thanked him for his interest. Fast forward a few years later, about 8 years after dad’s first letter, and a man contacted my dad this time. It was the lady’s son, who had found my dad’s letters as he was going through his mother’s house after she had passed away. He wanted to sell, and dad made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse. Now owning the land of his dreams, dad and mom proceeded to build a cabin. When I say they built the cabin, I don’t mean that they hired someone else to build the cabin, I mean that they built the cabin from the ground up. For the longest time, the only power they had was the generator that he brought with him to the location. Now fast forward 25 years later, and it’s the place we have spent all of our holidays together for the last couple of decades. It’s truly my happy place, the place I go when I need to disconnect from the stresses of life and reconnect with my wife, my family, and nature itself. I took this picture a few feet off of the back deck a few moments ago. 

My wife and I will spend this weekend sipping coffee off the back deck, listening to the sounds of the river rolling by, and then watching movies when the sun goes down. I’ll go see my brother this morning, who owns the local convenience store in the area, and I’ll work his cash register as he makes the best fried bologna sandwiches in central Arkansas. My brother bought the store five years ago, continuing a family tradition that started in 1940 when our great grandparents bought the store. It’s been in our family ever since. One of the coolest experiences in my life took place at the store a few months ago. The store has the perfect, old-timey, backwoods country store look, something even Hollywood noticed. In early August, the store was used as a filming location for a movie with major Hollywood talent. For a guy who’s been obsessed with movies since we got our first VCR in the 80’s, I asked my brother if my wife and I could come over and watch them film. I spent the day watching them film, visiting with a producer, visiting with the director, even taking a picture or two with the actors filming that day. It was truly one of the most awe-inspiring days of my life. My wife and I were able to get the picture below on that day. I can’t lie, the beauty of my wife is probably what allowed this to happen! 

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends. I hope all of you get to spend part of it in your own happy place.