The 2008 recession was not that long ago. Drawing from the experiences learned, we know small businesses were slow to recover, but not as slow as the unemployment rate (which rose to 10%) … Having been laid off from jobs in my youth, I remember the head game it plays on you.
Though it was only last week, it seems like a lifetime ago that Mayor Frank Scott’s secretary called and, most apologetically, canceled the mayor’s guest appearance on Wednesday’s live broadcast of Up In Your Business, saying a COVID-19 case had just been reported in Arkansas and Governor Asa Hutchinson had called an emergency coronavirus task-force meeting.
My granddaughter, Evelyn, used the words “uncanny valley” when I mentioned taking her and her little brother, Marshall, to see the new Jim Carrey fantasy/sci-fi movie, Sonic The Hedgehog.
I took my first plane ride in 1967. Because few seats were occupied, it seemed a luxurious and expensive adventure, afforded by few. My frightened 12-year-old mind will be forever imprinted with the glamour of seeing a pretty stewardess, propped up on an armrest chatting up the businessmen on board, who were smoking cigarettes (each seat had a built in ashtray) and sipping highballs in the middle of day. It was like a Frank Sinatra movie.
Let’s Lent! By that, I mean everyone can participate in the Christian tradition of Lent that began this past Tuesday, known as Mardi Gras (or Shrove Tuesday). You don’t have to be an Anglican Christian to observe a Lenten practice for 40 days. I have Baptist friends and evangelical friends that also enjoy the season of self-improvement.
Valentine’s day doesn’t have to be just for lovers. There may be other sweethearts in your life. Look around. Who is happy to see you, brightens your day, or makes your life easier or more fulfilling?
There are so many volunteer opportunities but, with limited hours in a day, one must pick and choose carefully. Because of this fact, I have narrowed most of my volunteering to two organizations: my church, Trinity Cathedral, and the Dreamland Ballroom.
Recently, Channel 11 did a week-long feature on Little Rock’s R&B legacy. The 5-part series included an interview with my son, Matthew Savage McCoy, director of the Friends of Dreamland, about the musical heritage of the Dreamland Ballroom.
The problems facing Mother Earth can sometimes seem so big and daunting that it feels discouraging to even try to help. While casually watching Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday and hearing one of her guests talk about effecting change, a little spark of hope ignited within me. The power of one is bigger than you may think.
Since the purchase of the crumbling Taborian Hall in 1990, with its Dreamland Ballroom, I have been pleading my restoration case.
I am often aligned with creative people. In the past, I wondered why, because I didn’t feel like I had any discernible art-form. Then, one day, while interviewing a guest on Up In Your Business, I realized that business itself is creative and that problem solving with others, in the frame of business, is my art-form.
About 4 years ago, I found myself running to the car in pursuit of a new life. I knew the next day was Easter 2016, but what I didn’t realize until later is that it was also a blood moon on the Hebrew calendar.
I’ve blogged about it before: anger is a secondary emotion. It comes after a vulnerable emotion like being tired, hurt, disappointed, or lonely. It’s a defense mechanism. And with this sequence of pain comes anger, then “the voice;” that internal negative repertoire in your head. For lack of a better description, I call this nagging voice “devils speak” because, if repeated over and over in your head, it will map a really nasty little neuron pattern in your brain. And if that ain’t some kind of devil, I don’t know what is.
Our new Razorback basketball coach, Eric Musselman, was in Little Rock, Arkansas for a game at Verizon Arena and spoke at the Tip Off Club luncheon. As he walked to the podium, I was shocked at the sight of him. He is only 5’5”! I am taller than him!
Accustomed to the wide open, gawking mouths from people when they first see him, he quickly broke the ice by making a joke about his height.
The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas gets hectic for us womenfolk and, sometimes, it can be hard to stop, smell the roses, and give thanks. I feel a duty to shop, cook, and clean – as if I held all the key to everyone’s happiness – all culminating into a 48-hour marathon. Don’t you wish that were true?
Yes, it all happened casually, without much thought. I’m sitting in my hairdresser’s (stylist’s) chair, talking about how much I wish I could still wear big, hoop earrings, when she says, “Well, get another ear piercing and you can.” How? Whatever did she mean?
Her assistant overhears and says, “Oh yeah, just put it higher up on the ear. And by the way, if you go, I want to go and let’s get our nipples pierced.” (God, I hope my granddaughter is not reading this).
The Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mr. Frank Scott, is an excellent orator. If you get an opportunity to hear him speak, take it. He is a former minister and the son of a Baptist preacher…need I say more?
As Bill Clinton walked on to the stage at the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s 200th anniversary celebration, I fretted. He’s thin, gray haired and slow moving, so I worried about his cognitive function.
As the audience awaited on bated breath, the 42nd President of the United States acted relaxed as he took his sweet time at the podium, opening his notes, looking out at the audience, and then finally beginning his oration.
It is hard to believe that last week we celebrated the 10th Annual Dancing Into Dreamland with a Tournament of Champions.
Last summer, Mrs. Elm got some bad news; she was diagnosed with incurable Dutch Elm disease. I was crushed at her prognosis and wrote about it in an earlier blog post. In that post, I professed that there are many unexplained miracles and cures that happen every day and, if there’s no scientific cure for Mrs. Elm, then it is time to move to plan B–a miracle. To enlist a miracle, you must have hope, faith, prayer, and ritual.
In an earlier blog I wrote, “Leadership qualities are not a secret. Leaders are usually: hardworking, action oriented, optimistic, brave, good communicators, empathetic, open minded and honest.” In my previous blog, I expounded on the topics of honesty and optimism.
To continue my pseudo-lecture on leadership qualities, I’ve next selected the attribute of bravery to write about. Everyone can learn to be brave and this bravery comes in all different fashions.
Saturday is errand day. My husband and I are in the car when I notice he keeps rolling the window up and down. Finally, he asks, “Do your feet stink?”
Leadership has been a reoccurring theme the past two weeks. I’ve been asked my thoughts on this subject by psychologist…
Meet Robert Ray from Michigan. He climbs flagpoles. Through NIFDA, we learned of Robert’s nerves of steel and hired him to climb the 30 ft. flagpole atop the five story Federal Bankruptcy Court building in downtown Little Rock.
