Sunday, November 04, 2007
Fall in Fayetteville
Fulfilling my goal of going to Fayetteville, Arkansas, each fall actually happened this year. A friend/colleague is working on her doctorate there and I worked it out where I could go down on one of the evenings before she had an early class so that she didn't have as far of a drive. It was a bit early for the leaves - although normally we would have hit the peak. But it was a great drive down and a fun evening.
I took the "old highway" down and the changes over the last ten to twenty years are amazing. Walmart and Tyson dominate the area even more than they did then. I checked out the wikipedia entry for northwestern Arkansas and in the last decade, it was the sixth fastest growing "metro region" in the nation. Most large consumer product manufacturers have up to several hundred people full time in the region in order to meet the expectations/demands of Walmart. My dad has never been a Walmart fan given that they cut out the level of salesmen he is. And we've watched them drive out the competition - sometimes rightly and sometimes sadly. Although they sometimes have the best produce in my town, I don't trust them for actual beef and I'm not even sure about the chicken despite their relationship with Tyson. I still prefer the more "mom and pop" like operations for meet and poultry. (In fact, I picked up my frozen Butterball turkey in anticipating of hosting Thanksgiving at the farm again this year.)
I was able to get in some shopping before June got there. My only disappointment was that Gloria Jean's Coffee and Tea is now Cloria Jean's Coffees and so no more of her Cherry Vanilla tea for me. :-(
We walked around Dixon street and ended up eating at the old Powerhouse. I had to get back the next morning for a meeting and my colleague had class, of course. And Shadow as a little trooper the whole time - not protesting too much when he had had to hang out in the back end of the car when we went into shops and went to eat.
The semester is going to be a bit odd with Thanksgiving almost a week early.
I spent several hours today in spite of not being sure if my eyes are totally well. I just don't want to miss this fall and I love being outside and didn't even mind it getting to 70 today. The leaves are gorgeous and I even cleaned out part of the gutters. One of my favorite neighbors is moving to another part of town and so I'm hoping for good new neighbors. My bedroom is on that side of the house so it's even more imperative that they "fit the bill." Of course, it's also nice not being the youngest in the neighborhood that isn't renting.
I have to perform one of my least favorite job duties tomorrow but it's something that has to be done and is in the best interest of everyone involved.
Grading and a teacher workshop on assessment will fill the rest of the week.
I took the "old highway" down and the changes over the last ten to twenty years are amazing. Walmart and Tyson dominate the area even more than they did then. I checked out the wikipedia entry for northwestern Arkansas and in the last decade, it was the sixth fastest growing "metro region" in the nation. Most large consumer product manufacturers have up to several hundred people full time in the region in order to meet the expectations/demands of Walmart. My dad has never been a Walmart fan given that they cut out the level of salesmen he is. And we've watched them drive out the competition - sometimes rightly and sometimes sadly. Although they sometimes have the best produce in my town, I don't trust them for actual beef and I'm not even sure about the chicken despite their relationship with Tyson. I still prefer the more "mom and pop" like operations for meet and poultry. (In fact, I picked up my frozen Butterball turkey in anticipating of hosting Thanksgiving at the farm again this year.)
I was able to get in some shopping before June got there. My only disappointment was that Gloria Jean's Coffee and Tea is now Cloria Jean's Coffees and so no more of her Cherry Vanilla tea for me. :-(
We walked around Dixon street and ended up eating at the old Powerhouse. I had to get back the next morning for a meeting and my colleague had class, of course. And Shadow as a little trooper the whole time - not protesting too much when he had had to hang out in the back end of the car when we went into shops and went to eat.
The semester is going to be a bit odd with Thanksgiving almost a week early.
I spent several hours today in spite of not being sure if my eyes are totally well. I just don't want to miss this fall and I love being outside and didn't even mind it getting to 70 today. The leaves are gorgeous and I even cleaned out part of the gutters. One of my favorite neighbors is moving to another part of town and so I'm hoping for good new neighbors. My bedroom is on that side of the house so it's even more imperative that they "fit the bill." Of course, it's also nice not being the youngest in the neighborhood that isn't renting.
I have to perform one of my least favorite job duties tomorrow but it's something that has to be done and is in the best interest of everyone involved.
Grading and a teacher workshop on assessment will fill the rest of the week.
Labels: Arkansas, colleague, drive, Fayetteville, friends, fun, job, leaves, shopping, Thanksgiving, Tyson, Walmart
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