Local Celebrities

This past week, I had two experiences, which showed me how much the locals love their beloved folks who've made it. 

Thursday night, I substituted for a (non-Church of Christ ladies) Bunco, which was held in the back room at one of the local deep-fried hamburger joints on Stateline Road. This was the first time the Bunco group met at this location. When the owner came to check on us, one of the organizers said the location was perfect. She then asked if they could book this place the third Thursday of every month for the remainder of the year. 

The owner replied with, "Well, as long as the Governor doesn't need the room, it's fine with me." 

I piped up, "We will just invite Governor Abbot to join us." 

And then the room went silent. All dice rolling ceased. All eyes were on me. The manager looked at me with pity. Someone cleared her throat then said. "You mean Sarah." Oh yes! I was on the East side of Stateline Road. I hadn't thought about the fact I'd crossed into Arkansas.

Then came all sorts of vetting for the Governor of Arkansas. Someone taught her Sunday school class. Another had her father (and also former Governor) as their preacher back in the day. Someone else was friends with Sarah's mother... and the list went on. By the time the conversation ended, everyone in that room had some sort of one degree of separation from Governor Sanders except me.  

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Friday night Corona-Krissy, Corona-Patty and I--along with most of Texarkana, apparently--braved the weather and attended the Temptations concert. The one hundred year old Perot (another local celeb) Theater was sold out. 

You see, one of the city's own, had come back. Otis Williams, the last surviving founding member of the Temptations, is from one of the Texarkanas. I'd point out that he left here (TX? AR?) when he was eleven and spent his formative years in Detroit, but why bother? The day before there was even an unveiling of an Otis Williams mural in the area in his honor. 

I'm pretty sure, given the conversations around us, anyone over a certain age also had a one degree of separation from Mr. Williams. In fact, there was a sweet elderly lady who stood up the entire concert, dancing-ish, who claimed she might have been his third grade teacher. 

By the way, Otis Williams is 82 and can still dance and sing. It was a great concert. Much better than Alabama's "I owe my bookie and need some cash so I need to tour" Tour some of us attended a few months ago. 

A few photos of the mural and the concert below.