Out of My Mind : Give to the community you call home
Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Even after more than 20 years of watching mules jump in Pea Ridge, I'm amazed by the number of people who express complete bewilderment about mule jumps. One person laughed, saying there really must be nothing to do in Arkansas.
Actually, the Pea Ridge Mule Jump is an excellent example of a community working together. Many people spend countless hours working to host the event and then clean up afterwards. It's good, clean entertainment.
It's true and honest. There's no veneer.
The mules either jump or they don't.
Nowadays, when many forms of sports are entertainment and people scoff at the reality of them, including socalled reality shows, mule jumps are without the facade. There's show - plenty of it. There is excitement, frustration, anger, egos of owners and handlers. But, what's there is real. Mules don't fail to perform to build the excitement.
A day at the mule jump is a time for people to reconnect with one another, to visit, to share stories of the past year. Former residents of the area return just like for homecoming.
Mule jumps are the outflow of raccoon hunters who used mules for nighttime hunts. The hunters trained their mules to jump fences. It's the stereotypical "my dog's bigger than your dog"replaced with "my mule jumps higher than your mule."
It's not much different than the families on the football field on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. They're cheering on their children who are on the field as players, cheerleaders or managers. They're visiting with other parents, grandparents, neighbors.
People are incredibly social beings. We love a good gathering. Every weekend seems filled with some opportunity to gather and eat and visit.
A friend who loves politics laughs often at my lack of interest in politics. I try to remind her that my coverage area is northeast Benton County - and, therefore, I am interested in Pea Ridge and the surrounding area. But, recently I realized that it's more a lack of interest in veneer, in the show.
I love stories about good, honest statesmen - people who serve the interest of their voters and are truly seeking the good of the entity they represent, whether school district, city, county, state or country. I am not interested in people who are full of themselves and seek positions of service simply for their own grandeur. They destroy the reputation of statesmen and politicians who truly seek to better their communities.
Those men and women who serve selflessly deserve praise, but those who truly deserve it are usually self-deprecating and deflect the praise to others. It is easy to grow weary, to believe they're not accomplishing anything worthwhile when the majority of what is communicated to them are complaints.
Pea Ridge is changing. It's no longer the small, rural farm town with a couple of stores and farmers who come to town once a week. Many people live here because they want their children in a small school system where the teachers actually know the students' names and remember them from year to year. They want to live in a community where they feel secure and believe it's safe to let their children walk to the store or hamburger place, to ride their bicycles to their friends' homes.
Good and bad co-exist side by side along with the change. Whereas the old-timers say "I never used to lock my door," we now have reports of crime. We can appreciate the good while deploring the bad. But, we can use wisdom and seek to deter the bad. Sometimes the "crimes"are foolish acts of mischief on the part of bored youngsters. Locking doors to our homes and vehicles deters crime and may actually help thwart a would-be thief.
Applaud the selfless servants among us. Thank the community leaders who seek to better our community. Enjoy Pea Ridge and help serve - give back to the community you call home.
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