December 29, 2019. Home to Pensacola, Florida. Here we go again. This is our eighth trip in search of warmer climes during the winter months. This time, we are on Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, for the month of January. We left home on the 27th and spent the first night in Jonesboro. Sadly, the "Welcome" sign which announced Jonesboro as my birthplace has fallen into disrepair. Well, to be truthful, it has disappeared altogether. To be completely truthful, there was never a sign to begin with. A prophet is not without honor save in his own country. The locals never appreciated me in Arkansas.
I have tossed in the usual dose of old barn pictures. There is also one of the dilapidated sign at the dilapidated Tally-Ho Motel in Thayer, MO. Annie, her sister and her parents once stayed there in the 1950s. At that time, the Tally-Ho advertised that it offered the largest outdoor motel swimming pool in the country. The pool is still there, just below the sign. Its dimensions are about 20 by 10 feet. It would be small for a backyard pool today. Giving the Tally-Ho benefit of the doubt, maybe there weren't many motels with pools in the 1950s. I would sure hate to think a hotelier would misrepresent the amenities of his holdings.
A trip through Jonesboro would not be complete without a picture of 1811 Greenwood, the residence of Max and Imogene for more than 40 years. There is also a picture of Gum Slough Ditch near Bay, Arkansas. Dad liked to brag that five generations of his family caught fish there. The only thing I ever caught there was chronic ear infections from the bacteria running off the cotton fields. I did learn to mud crawl there. It was the closest thing to a swimming pool near Trumann.
And then, there is the picture of 512 Kentucky (now Pine - I like Kentucky much better) in Trumann. This shot is taken from Speedway, looking across the vacant lot which was the Bettis residence and sawmill in the 50s. Mr. Bettis kept a couple of large draft horses to pull the large logs across his yard to the mill. I can still hear the blade screeching as it sawed through the logs, producing standard sized planks. It wasn't unusual for the workers to take a whip to the horses when the load was heavy. I remember feeling sorry for the horses. They were being made to pull more weight than they were able to pull. Dad liked Mr. Bettis, despite his disregard for his horses. He would often walk across the street on Saturday afternoons to visit with him and talk about the vagaries of the business world. Dad dropped out of school in the eighth grade and looked for knowledge from anyone who knew more than he did. It was Mr. Bettis who introduced Dad to the stock market. That served Dad well over his lifetime.
We spent last night in Meridian, MS. As we were traveling today, we heard weather reports that tornados might hit that area. Annie was happy to be in Alabama when she heard that report.
We are now in the first of two condos we've rented in Gulf Breeze, across the bay from Pensacola, FL. We will be here two weeks, then move down the hall to another condo. The first one faces the Bay separating the island from the mainland. The second one faces the Gulf.
The last time we stayed in Pensacola was on our honeymoon in 1968. Annie and I both suffered horrible sunburns from lounging on the white sand beaches. We will be more careful this time.
I will be back from time to time, so feel free to drop by for the latest in the exciting life of the Farkleys.
Goodnight.
