26. The Fayetteville Square at Christmastime

Catherine reminded me a week ago that I needed to post a blog about the Town Square. From left to right above is: Peter, Catherine's boyfriend, Catherine, Bill, me, Sarah, Billy's girlfriend, and Billy.

In recent years, Fayetteville has invested a lot of time, money, and lumens in the Lights of the Ozarks extravaganza. Preparations for this begin in October. Below is a photo on my way to work one morning as the workmen were beginning to assemble the lights.



This spectacular view is from my office window.



One evening, Billy and Sarah joined us for pizza at Tim's after Mass. I quickly snapped this picture, but it was cold and chilly so the picture is unsteady. Nevertheless, I like the photo, so it remains uncropped.



Sarah was in a UA Christmas concert in December as part of the Donne Voce group. Her family came from Green Forest to see her. The next set of pictures was taken that evening.



I like the way you can stroll through the lights.

This is Sarah and her littlest sister, Lizzie, AKA Tootsie. Sarah is trying to keep her warm.

Here's a picture of Lizzie up close. She's six years old and absolutely adorable. This is really what the Square is about--children at Christmas. Lizzie was delighted with the lights. Too bad the camel wasn't around that evening.

Here are Billy, Sarah, and Lizzie.

More lights!

Last week the workmen returned to dismantle the lights. I believe that it may take even longer to undo the spectacle than to set it up. I took the picture below with my iPhone camera from the other window in the office. That man was way up in the tree without a lifeline! Yikes! I didn't think the branches looked strong enough to support him.

Here are workmen carrying boxes of lights for next year's display.

25. Tiny Tim's Pizza

This is one of our favorite places to go these days. It started with the Adamses below, Chuck and Rhonda on the left and Roy and Maxine on the right. Every Tuesday night the four of them head to Tim's for pizza and sometimes we're graciously included. Tim's is kind of the "Cheers" of our crowd. On the particular evening when I took these pictures, we ran into Tim and Cyndi Maddox. Tim's the principal of the architecture firm where I work. They just got back from their honeymoon in Roma where for some unknown reason they didn't want Bill or me as their tour guide. But I digress.



The pizza at Tim's (we call it Tim's although it's technically "Tiny" Tim's Pizza) is the closest thing to an Italian pizza--thin crust.



Rhonda and I have been playing with our new iPhones whenever we get together. Here, I had just shown Rhonda my new app--the Louvre Museum. Rhonda was positively excited about this app and said at least a dozen times (we know because Maxine and I started to keep count), "Oh, my gosh!"



Last night after work I headed back over to Tim's where I joined Roberta and Robbie and Casey Jones, the City Prosecutor, for a glass of wine. Bill met up with us once his class was over. Tim's is located on the south side of the square and like Cheer's has its "regulars," notwithstanding the Adamses, the Billingsleys, and the Quinns. There's even one character who resembles Otto, the bus driver, on the Simpsons.



Seriously, there's a guy who sits at the bar whenever, I mean whenever, we're there who looks just like Otto from the Simpsons! (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/Otto_Simpson.png)

If you're in Fayetteville, drop in for a pizza and a glass of wine at Tim's. You might run into us--all of us!

24. Tailgating with the Adamses

Welcome to the Adams' tailgating party.



For my overseas readers, a tailgating party is a gathering to watch American football. Its name is derived from the fact that the table for the party is often the open tailgate of a pickup truck. The Adams' tailgating party is an upscale version of that American icon. And just in case you're not sure if you've reached the proper venue, there are signs that tell you that you are in the right place.



Below is a shot of your typical pickup. Notice the "beverage" cups.



People dress up their vehicles for the occasion. The blue Tracker below is Roberta's car.



This is the venue for all of the Adams' tailgating parties. Their driveway is transformed into a party patio. Sitting in the foreground are Tom and his daughter, Samia. Little Samia is named after our dear friend, Samia Nkrumah, whom we met in Roma in 2005. Joining Tom and Samia is Lucy Ann, the dolly. The three of them are watching the parade of ticket holders walk to the stadium. On the left is a cozy fire pit and beyond that, the food tent.



Here are Robbie Billingsley and Bill setting up the projection screen.



You see, you can never have enough views of the televised football game. Notice that there are two TV sets and the projection below and that all three are carrying the same image!



Greeting us upon our arrival were Chuck's Bloody Marys. Now, there is a friendly rival between Chuck and Robbie as to whose Bloody Mary is better. I was perfectly happy with Chuck's version below.



Rhonda made delicious breakfast burritos, and there was also plenty of coffee to take the chill out of the air.



This is the quintessential view of a tailgating party--fans visiting with each other. Below from left to right are Roberta Billingsley, Rhonda Adams, and Angie Maxwell.



Here are Roy Adams and his son, Chuck, our host.



By my own admission, I am absolutely the worst American football fan. Below, is the best football fan, Roberta. Note: I said I was the worst American football fan. I am an excellent fan of real football (soccer), second only in this group to my husband.



Now this is a real football fan!



Some of the attendees are as interested in the game as I am. Samia has her red Razorback shirt, but enjoyed playing with chalk...



or eating a huge cookie.



Even four-legged creatures, animate and otherwise, enjoy the hoopla. This is Brighton, the Adams' dog, with a Razorback bear.



One of my favorite things about tailgating at the Adams' is watching the fly-over by the big jets at the start of the game. This time I had my camera ready. I guess it's a sign of the recession that the only thing flying over the stadium yesterday was this little plane. By the way, that's the sun up there!



The stadium is only a few blocks away from the Adams' house which creates an interesting phenomenon. You see, when the team does something well, we hear the cheers (and cannons) before the 3-second television delay conveys the image to the viewing audience. So, if you weren't paying attention to the game (like me), once you hear the roar of the crowd you can turn to one of the three television images in the garage to find out what was/is about to happen. I find that to be a bonus because most of American football is waiting for the defense and offense to change places on the field, something they do every 10 seconds or so, at least so it seems. I much prefer getting a heads-up from the stadium audience that I'm about to see something worth watching on TV--it's much more efficient television viewing!

Chuck and Rhonda provide lots of things for their guests to do. Here are Ryan Billingsley and his girlfriend, Jessica, playing a game of skill with balls on a rope. Look at the concentration on Ryan's face!



Ryan's dad, Rob, got into the action next.



Here's an action shot of a ropey-ball thing getting ready to land on the rack. At the foot of the rack is another game, the name of which I will not tell you because it greatly offends our host, where the object of the game is to throw bean bags into the holes.



Here's a shot of Ryan, Roberta, Robbie, and Jessica.



Bill and Robbie went to the game yesterday. Afterward, Bill, Ryan, Robbie, and Chuck threw the football to each other. More action photography.



Meanwhile, Roberta and the girls were doing their line dance.



Shortly after this shot and seven hours later, I went home. I was getting antsy and my introverted self and the drowsiness prompted by the afternoon sunshine had gotten the better of me. However, the Fayetteville experience is incomplete until you have been to a tailgating party--and the best party in town is always given by Rhonda and Chuck Adams. Thanks!

P.S. In case you're interested, Arkansas beat Auburn 44 to 23 yesterday.

23. Bikes, Blues, and Barbecue

Once a year, hordes of motorcycles arrive in Fayetteville as part of the Bikes, Blues, and Barbecue weekend. We have friends who annually leave town when this weekend rolls around because of the din. I find it an annoyingly loud weekend even in our neighborhood. The bikes are like swarms of bees on steroids, buzzing here and there, and not just one at a time, either; the bikers bike in packs.

Here is one shot of the parking along Dickson Street. Nothing but bikes!



Bill and I walked from Carnall Hall on the UA campus to downtown on this particular night. It was a madhouse of congestion.



The Walton Arts Center parking lot was turned into a food court. It sort of reminded us of the Berlin Winterfests, but something was radically different. Hmmm...what do you suppose it could be?

Bill is convinced that there is no greater population of ugly women than biker babes. Yes, I did notice that the girls seemed a little hefty.

Then, there's the Bikers for Jesus group.

Many of the attendees are middle-aged professional people, doctors, lawyers, and dentists who like to don leather chaps once a year and pretend they're James Dean. Of course, since they're middle-aged they don't exactly have Dean's slim profile.



The town is totally transformed during BBB. Only bikes can park on Dickson Street and even the UA bus route is changed for a day. Traffic is horribly congested. But the biggest difference I noticed is the noise level. The bikers love to rev their engines. A year ago we happened to be watching one of Billy's UA soccer games on Razorback Road when the Bikers' Parade went by. It was fun to see all of the bikes and even some of the costumes, but the noise was deafening. Even at our house in the 'burbs you can hear the engines. The next little video might give you some sense as to just why our friends leave town on this weekend.



I will list this as one of the things you should do at least once when you're in Fayetteville. However, a little goes a long way.

22. Gulley Park

Sunday Afternoon in the Park with George was a Broadway musical that was based on the following painting by Seurat. Well, today was simply the most splendid August Sunday I can remember since moving to Fayetteville thirty years ago, with moderate temperatures and sunny skies. It was so beautiful that I decided to take a walk in Gulley Park. Now you can spend Sunday afternoon in the park with me!



This is Gulley Park, a park that is less than a mile from our home. You can see the gazebo in the background.



There is a picturesque creek bed that bisects the park.



There are two parking lots. This is the newer of the two and is based on bioswale technology for cleaner water. You can get LEEDs points for incorporating this into your design.



This is a closeup of the bamboo in the center of the lot above.



This is my favorite part of the park. This little hollow is just so natural. The footpath is worn earth, not macadam.



You emerge from the hollow into a sunny place filled with lots of kids' toys.



I like trains, no matter what kind they are!



I generally walk in a large circle, following the path. I stepped off the path, however, to take this shot of filtered sunlight on the creek.



There are two footbridges in the center of the park.



While on this bridge, I happened to look down and see these girls visiting and kicking their feet in the water.



Gulley Park is the site of our concerts in the parks. It's also where Bill runs every morning. At this time of year there is usually fog, but I'm too lazy to get up that morning just to take pictures!