Dickey Stephens Scores and Restores

This fabulous baseball stadium, Dickey Stephens,
constructed in time for the first pitch of last year's season, is home to the Arkansas Travelers, a minor league farm team of the Anaheim Angels. My son Sam and I were out for a walk with Brody. We were imagining the coming green grass of the outfield and the broomed and groomed, red clay infield under the lights on a warm summer's night.The stadium is a stunning baseball monument on the banks of the Arkansas river with a million dollar view of Little Rock's skyline.

The old, beloved and revered former stadium, Ray Winder field, over in Little Rock, was finally called "out" by the powers that be of baseball franchising against the booing and cat-calls of the fanatic nostalgics and terminal nay-sayers. North Little Rock easily shut out Little Rock in the playoff for the new park. When Dickey Stephens opened it took first place as the new standard for minor league baseball. The builders had considered all that played well in the old Ray Winder and put that on the new roster. The aspects that did not play well were cut. Record crowds poured through the gates when they were finally opened. The field was a grand slam home run hit.

Against the background of shimmering city lights in right field across the river it's baseball at it's best; the smells of ballpark food, the beer gardens, the noise of the crowd, the organ playing up the spirit. You can stroll all the way around the park on a wide concrete concourse. You can stretch out on patches of grass in the outfield. When you get back to the front you can see all the interesting things in the baseball museum, or buy something neat in the souvenir stand

On Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor day during the first season you could see and hear the performances on stage in Riverfront Park across the river on the giant screen and state of the art sound system. When everyone on both sides of the river were being thrilled by the huge displays of fireworks bursting above the river, the best seats were any of the seats in Dickey Stephens.

Bill Valentine, the man behind the dream, has a little Italian place in the park open year round. Valentine began his baseball career as an umpire and became a gourmand. After that he ran the Travelers organization and dreamed of this new park. His restaurant, Valentines, serves good wine and Italian food. The Martinis aren't bad, either.

It's interesting how all opposition melted away when the gates opened to Dickey Stephens Park. It's remarkable how quickly Ray Winder was forgotten and became a weed lot. Minor league baseball was tired and worn in Little Rock. The gauntlet was finally thrown down. Baseball is back with the crowds at Dickey Stephens Park. An idea has brought restoration.

Still First and Only

This is us, Bob and Becky, the first minute as husband and wife on the River Rail street car. (Number 411) The date was November 11th, 2006. For the ceremony the car, full of family and friends, was stopped at the top of the bridge over the Arkansas River. The folks at River Rail were very kind to allow us to be married on one of their cars. We are the first, and so far only, people to be married on the River Rail.

I am an advocate for the River Rail Line. Our home is an easy lob wedge from stop number 6. But, this is nothing to be compared to my advocacy of the institution of marriage. Married to Becky, I am restored. What a concept! The quaint, old timey trolley bumping along like old fashioned marriage. Some people will pooh-pooh marriage. Some will pooh-pooh the trolley. Some of that pooh-poohing will sink to plain, ugly hatred. All you haters I'm sorry for you- just go on down the road in peace. Love and faith in the supreme, the self and for others is the principle restoration project. Life issues from the human heart. When love and faith govern, all that is seen is new, ever growing and developing. Love is the ultimate source of all power and is ever presently available to us all for transformation, for RESTORATION!

What Are They Thinking?

This picture was captured from our bedroom window. Next to us are two vacant lots. I was told there was a home out there in the middle that burned to the ground in the 70's, I think it was. I once saw a picture of the house that was taken sometime around 1900. The house was very large and, though we are in the middle of downtown four or five blocks from city hall, the setting looked rural. The fire disfigured the trees around the house. There is a tree, a fallen sentinel, laying on the ground that fell when the tornadoes swept the state a couple of weeks ago.

It appears there have been no useful thoughts on these lots for many years. Time is taking it's toll. I think the current owners are a little indecisive as to their plans. They may just be thinking in terms of "Maximizing Profit". They bought low and now with increasing development...who knows? It is a free country and that is their right if so it be.

This area must be a battleground of sorts where ideas have fallen. I look upon this ground and see many dead and dying ideas. So it sits and waits for someone with a sound idea to come along and make it into something; some sound idea to make this place into something of value that provides shelter, security and hospitality. If I were that piece of ground I would want to be handsome and useful for good folks. I would be the ground their lives are planted upon.

I believe thought backed with faith is how anything comes to be. I realize I desire to acquire these two lots. I think I will create a park with a fountain and swings and benches and green grass and trees. I will put in a sidewalk and lamps and beds with pleasant landscaping that will bloom from beginning to end of the growing season. There will be couples strolling arm in arm. Young people will toss Frisbees and strum guitars. Children will run and play and scream with delight. Older folks will walk their dogs and meet to gossip and talk about painting projects needing done. I will watch out for the wolves and the bears and the lions that threaten as I am called to do as a man and father. I will maintain it as a park until the neighborhood is developed and further progress demands something more needful on this ground. I desire to bring new life to this ground now. That is restoration, too.

Restoration of the Heart

Pictured is the University Mall, known as The Mall in years past, being demolished. I'm sure many of my old friends have stories from their youth about what happened at the mall. Historically speaking I recall that my parents bought a radar range and pocket calculator at the Montgomery Wards. That was in the year these items were first introduced to the public at the end of the sixties or the beginning of the seventies.

The mall grew tall and strong after it was born in suburban Little Rock. All that free parking attracted more shopping centers out west with wide, free parking lots. Life bled out of old downtown. All the beautiful things of life could be found reasonably priced at the mall. The mall was comfortable, clean and attractive. Meanwhile, in a drugstore on Main street, saturday night special handguns replaced the candy in the front counter. Pints of cheap wine replaced the sundries once offered on the shelves behind the cash register. Downtown became mean, dirty and gut-ugly. The suburbs, young and attractive.

After all these years the mall grew old and has died. The burial is now taking place. The relations fought long and hard over the inheritance. Decisions were made, the project announced and the next new thing is to be built here. It is the multi use format. Retail on the ground, offices above and residences above the offices. What was old becomes new again, eh? Property values will improve. The new buildings will be better than the old. Life surges on around the vanishing mall with little notice being paid.

Thankfully some of that surge is coming back downtown where we live. I don't mourn the passing of the mall. I celebrate the new spirit refreshing the downtown. Gone are the days of cheap wine and Saturday night specials. Hearts are lifting up and our new day is beginning to dawn. That is restoration.

Mt. Magazine State Park Rises Again

Becky and I went wandering this weekend. We discovered a fabulous treasure in our state. As kids we both had heard of Mt. Magazine. Any school kid then could tell you it is the highest place in Arkansas. There was a resort there but it burned down in 1971. Now all is new again. Every structure I saw save for the amphitheater and a small, stone pavilion was brand new. All of the construction is on par with the best the Arkansas State Parks Service has to offer. These pictures are the sitting room by registration.

We saw a menu and a promotional leaflet from the old place in the 40's and 50's. Steaks, chicken and fish and mashed potatoes and green beans were the fare. For entertainment the Dan Blocker singers were featured. Becky and I wondered if Dan Blocker was the same Dan Blocker "Hoss Cartwright" of T.V.'s "Bonanza" fame. There was a troupe of young entertainers that sang and danced and performed comedy skits on a stage. The publicity photos had several young people posed in costumes smiling and beaming like flowers in the sun. Now days for entertainment you can just sit in your room watching the television . (Too bad)

The old place was very rustic. It was actually one of those depression era works projects. The Federal Government acquired the land in the early years of the depression. Prior to the depression there was a speculative effort to subdivide the mountaintop and build a town. The onset of the depression finally killed that idea, but the effort may have been doomed on account of the lack of water and the difficulty of the basic logistics involved. It is no wonder that fire took the old lodge.

The new place is the perfect combination of the old, rustic architecture blended seamlessly with new architectural advances like fire protection and ADA access. Every room has a view the mountain is famous for. When you dine it is like dining in the clouds. There are business and conference facilities. The indoor pool and sauna are beautifully set overlooking the valley below. There is a quiet sitting room upstairs where you can read or wirelessly connect to the internet.There are hiking trails, a hang glider jumping off point and terraces just to comfortably sit watching the passing time. The State Parks visitor center is very nice. Some great nature displays and a sun room overlooking bird feeders for birdwatching. They even provide binoculars!

As we walked the paths we felt awe at the magnificent vistas. We breathed in the fresh, cold air and got the blood stirring. We experienced being part of nature. We enjoyed and appreciated the warm, sheltering hospitality of the lodge at Mt. Magazine State Park. Arkansans should make a pilgrimage to the mountaintop and experience it's powers of restoration.

The Day Becky Found Her Couch

Becky shops and it's a trip. Here she is the day she found the sofa of her dreams. She had me climb down off a ladder on a job to come see it.

Real Improvement

A good improvement project improves life. The real improvement projects are ourselves.

The story of our house began on this day in April of '06. The previous owners accepted Becky's offer on the house and before closing we took the clan to have a look see. That's my crazy brother in law, Scott. Sometimes we think we ought to keep him locked in the basement. All you ladies - he is available!

The stuff belongs to the previous owners. It was soon replaced with our stuff piled down here on moving day. I tried to bring order. I moved stuff around thinking I could organize the area. I've heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. I knew finally I had to pour the concrete tiles or live with the clutter which then included a large set of unusable shelves.

I have little to show for all my efforts to improve the basement. I desire to master all my dithering and piddling, and indecision. The whole floor would be done and other shelves built. The area would be organized and productive. Life would be even better. God give me wisdom and quicken my spirit!

Small Steps

I thought moving a set of shelves from my storage unit into the basement was going to be simple. Turns out the shelves I built are much sturdier than I remembered. It was tough just to fish out a set, take it apart, load it on the truck and move it into the basement. It was tough to set the shelves back up. Then I realized the floor was so uneven that the shelves could not be made to stand. Tom, the architect neighbor, glibly said, "Just pour a slab over the floor about three or four inches thick." That conclusion was reached over a year ago.
I could not do a slab over the whole floor at one time. I hem-hawed around and finally decided to pour individual slabs. Each one is about the same size as a city sidewalk section. I calculate 24 tiles will be required to cover the entire floor. I have completed three. This work gets my imagination spinning. Working with concrete brings to mind studies of plastering and mosaic tile. I have determined to make this my school of these kinds of works. I love to improve efficiency.
I publish this in part that persons searching for avenues of achievement may receive inspiration from my stumbling forward. I publish in hopes that someone with knowledge will weigh in. These little concrete slabs are nothing but a bit of mud poured like batter into a pan. A little imagination of the ages can reveal whole worlds lost or not yet discovered. One thing I think about is how superior plaster is to sheetrock. I would like to carve out a new and better way in this line. I float some concrete and I dream of how the old masters did frescoes and mosaics. I love the smell of the concrete. I love the temporary lighting. I love the struggle to master the material and cause it to conform to my desire . I dream of doing beautiful, useful works myself. Do you?

My Basement

Our house has a basement. This is rare in our neighborhood. I have been busy fixing it up as it is in bad shape. Some of the nosy neighbors wonder what I am up to down there. No, this isn't what's in my basement. This is the basement of my dreams.

Landscaping Last Spring

Last spring we had the front walk replaced. The guy did it cheap and we got exactly what we paid for. I cleaned up the mess he left and did the landscaping. I was disappointed with his work. The project could have been better if our interests had been primary.
When I estimate a job I try to include every last detail and then assume there will be other unknowns to answer. I am not cheap. If a project is underbid it follows that the job done will be underdone. The idea is to put every detail out there in the planning stage. Then negotiate the final details. But make sure the end result, the actual work is sufficient.
When I step on the sidewalk I am reminded of my dissatisfaction. But wait! We got what we paid for. Maybe my dissatisfaction is a result of feeling the guy did not care enough to consider we wanted something better than crap. All we had to go on was the assumption that...? Nothing in writing, no kind of representation other than 'sidewalk here'. I admit the person at fault is me. I allowed this work to be done despite feeling the project was out of control.
How about this: He presents a written, detailed project proposal with a price that reflects a "done good jobby". Then what happens is the wife and I come to understand there is more to the project than meets the eye. In my case I could counter propose to do the site work myself and we could negotiate the finer points. The result is that maybe he could have gotten a little more money and expended less effort doing the work. More importantly the actual concrete on the ground would be properly done, which it is not now, hence my dissatisfaction. The fact that it was cheap does not help one bit.

To Be or Not To Be

"Come on Bob! You know all this is a scam." That's what Richard in Creative Services at the television station tried to tell me . I painted practically the whole interior of the station one year and I got to know everybody and everything that went on there. Poor Richard was the resident cynic. It bothered me greatly that he should see my efforts as a scam and not worthwhile. It bothered me to be the butt of his jokes. I felt sorry for him to have such an awful outlook on life. So I looked him in the eye and I said, "Richard, do you think what you do is a scam?"
What is it then? To Be or not to Be? Do you know that sickening feeling that spreads through you like bad blood when you realize there is no faith in some relationship? When you sense the faith evaporating like a soul leaving a body at death you know hope in that relation is dead. I think Forrest Gump said it best, "Sometimes there just aren't enough rocks." If I do something for you, patch some plaster, build a wall, we must have a relation of faith established. That is TO BE!
Poor Richard did not realize his life was going by. To not live the days in faith? That is a real horror show. Faith goes hand in hand with Hope. Whatever work is done, it has to be done in faith. Consider the farmer who plants a seed in the ground with faith in the seasons and hope of the future harvest.

I will remain BOB THE PAINTER!

Talking the Trades

I believe a proper education in the trades for a young person will plant in him or her knowledge, wisdom and understanding of the eternal principles of achievement. The fruit is self reliance and happiness. My son Sam has been working with me for a while. He has been learning the painting trade. My duty is to communicate the eternal trade principles. My task isn't so much showing how to hold a paint brush and paint a straight line. It is showing by example the integrity and self discipline proper painting preparation requires.
It is my opinion that the craftsman is guided by his heart and mind. So the primary development is that of the conscience. It is no small thing for a craftsman to be engaged to do work. The craftsman must be able to give a good assessment of the work's scope to the owner. He must make a call of required labor and material applicable to the project. He must negotiate with the owners to answer their call for improvement work. He must be square in efficiency and accuracy to do proper work according to the budget. He must have good tools and equipment and he must know how to use and care for them. The craftsman must have confidence in his ability to meet and overcome any difficulty that may present to him in the course of the work. He cannot start painting a living room and then quit half way through for any reason. It would be better not to start in the first place. These traits are learned through study and experience. Possessing these traits are better than possessing gold. It is said that riches, long life and honor are in the hands of wisdom. ("...therefore get wisdom...")
It is tough but Sam is staying the course through the thick and thin. I admire him for that. With good knowledge of a trade a young person will gain understanding and self reliance. A young person can learn through the trades that he or she can make his or her own life to order through the application of the eternal principles.

Details of a Retaining Wall

This is the making of a handsome retaining wall which will add value and beauty to the property. With a little imagination one can see how these retaining walls create a place for nature to live artistically. There will be flowers blooming and interesting plantings that will have you guessing their names. There will be bees buzzing and butterflies fluttering. The chipmunks will scramble and the birds will sing.
The warm, colorful texture of the native stones blend easily with the contour of the land and invite one to be open to nature's song. You will want to pull up and just settle in the shade of the tree and get yourself a breath of fresh air.

Putting in the foundation of this landscape was a delightful experience for me. The owner stood at this end and had me walk to where he wanted the wall to terminate. He had me drive a stake at each end and said, "Build it from here to there and make it meandering." I did everything myself except the stone veneer. You can't call something 'hard work' if you love doing it. I like to do landscape work like this. It is something that really adds value in all the right ways.

Something Needs Doing? DO IT!

You have something bugging you in your living quarters. Maybe a bad spot in a ceiling like the picture. Maybe your bathroom or living room needs painting. Maybe you want some shelves somewhere. Then just do it already! If you can't do it yourself, then hire it done.
I have all kinds of customers from all walks of life. I've got one category of customer who I never actually do work for. I am their symbol of eternal procrastination. Every time I may see one of them the conversation is about the same mythical project they will one day be doing. This can go on for years and I don't worry about it. I let this be a lesson to myself.

Sometimes the best way to get an improvement project done is to just begin. Say you are going to paint your bathroom cabinets. Don't buy the paint first, just empty the cabinets and get started cleaning and sanding to prepare them. Don't get in a rush. Keep going until you have finished no matter how tough the going gets. You will learn as you go. If you can control your imagination, and use it to your benefit, you can learn a lot faster.
Once you start, you can't stop. Otherwise you are a quitter and you will fail yourself. There are all kinds of helps out there; many people willing to give you wholehearted help. When you decide you have enough information to begin, begin and don't look back. Don't stop until you have tasted success. It will be sweet.

I am Bob the Painter and I am here to help make life better.

Response to a Comment

This post is a response to Treez who commented on the last post.
Treez,
You wrote: "... Bob, I would appreciate any thoughts you have on interior color schemes that help enlarge/brighten rooms". I suggest you try a textile piece on the right spot on the wall in question and make sure it is well lit. You can take textiles with you when the time for change comes. Select carefully for future application. You won't remember the dark days when the piece has found it's home.
You write of your Aunt's house:
"...an extraordinary house set by itself on a bluff overlooking a river.The privacy and the view alone took your breath away...EVERYHTING down to the guest soaps was….well, made me feel like I was in a bottle of Pepto-Bismol...
...Cat“Boogins”. When we came to visit, it would come out & rub my mother’s leg, because it knew my mom hated cats."

Has the life of this house this been your IDEAL since you were a precious child? That is, something disliked yet something you feel you aren't good enough for? I think you may be saying it was a lonely, sickening and hated place. Children know things like this instinctively for survival sake. I say you aren't bound to that place at all. You are free to live your life in your way.

"Here is my décor dilemma. I would love to experiment with my interior wall colors but I am chicken.I had wanted to paint one wall of my large living space a “warm” color – I was thinking persimmon-ish red, while leaving the rest off-white, but I was afraid of the light issue I have.I don’t want to do anything to rob the light. I was afraid that during the dark days the persimmon would sit on me, so I just painted everything “Glow” - an off-white that leans towards yellow instead of beige or grey. It’s okay, I mean, it looks better, but it’s….boring."

Don't let the persimmon sit on you. I think for an apartment it sounds like you have the right base color if you are happy with that. Think about complementing your space with lively, new textures. Go out and find yourself some new treasures. Get rid of old decor if it no longer serves you. In seeking you will find. Keep an open heart and mind- trust me and please stay in touch.
Bob The Painter

Nothing Interesting Here

There once was a lady who lived in a castle one hundred shades of pink. On a high hill she served her husband who enjoyed great success selling precious potions in the physician trade. He spent his treasure of affection on two tiny dogs.
I was a painter make-up man paid to find the right shades from the paint stores hidden deep in the wine cellar. We painters agreed, like us, she knew what she was letting herself in for. It wasn't sad, but it wasn't anything interesting, either. However, her house always was presentable. Maybe that is what's most important to you.

A Word About Historic Preservation

The other night the wife and I were watching one of the learning channels. The show was a telling of events that made 1968 a year of overturning change in our country. We were born in the late fifties and recall the time as kids.
I recall I could hop on the bus at the stop in front of our house and, for seven cents, be downtown in minutes. I remember, prior to 1968, riding the bus downtown with Grandmother, wearing her white gloves, and shopping. The sidewalks were full of all kinds of people and Main Street had an endless procession of cars and trucks. I remember a large Coca Cola sign painted on the side of a building. Coke came in returnable bottles and cost a nickel. "The Pause that Refreshes." I loved going into the Woolworth store with it's squeaky wood floor, the lunch counter and the smell of fresh popcorn. I loved going into the Blass department store. The toy department was on the third floor. It was glamorous. It was romantic.
Sometimes on summer mornings I would jump on the bus and run downtown. I would show up at my Mother's office in time to have lunch with her at some neat lunch spot. My favorite was the cafe in the Blass mezzanine. They had these little glass pitchers for coffee cream. Sometimes she would give me a dollar and on the way home I would get off the bus in the Heights and get myself a matchbox car at the Heights Variety store.
I did not know much about events then. The Mall opened in west Little Rock with that enormous parking lot and it seemed that overnight the life of Downtown died. Some of the stores hung on for a few years but the blight came as surely as the sunsets in the west.
I had my first taste of the Preservation movement when I moved into my first apartment in an old house downtown. What had once been a proud neighborhood was then a dark and dangerous place. One day my landlady asked me if I knew how to paint. Of course I said I could. I had no money. I found out that people in the district had organized to preserve significant properties. I saw that restoring an old Victorian house was an enormous and costly project. I moved on to seek my place in the world and now after long years I have come full circle.
My wife and I knew each other in High School. We met up again, by chance, about two years ago and fell in love. We have a blended family in this old house. Life has been hectic lately so she and I made our way back to the hole in the wall where we had our first date. Over a meal of fried oysters and beer we had opportunity to reminisce.
I have gotten a degree of mastery in my trade and I understand that Historic Preservation is not about bringing back a time when Father knew best to segregate. The work of restoration we do is to demolish the dark degradation that took over the old town. We tear out the rotten members and restore sound ones. Preservation is about preserving a decent society of all stripes and colors based on the Articles which incorporate us all. What decent person does not desire safe streets to walk? Who would not want to be treated with respect and recognized as a neighbor in the places where they live and abide?
Restoration means bringing light and pushing out the darkness of decay. Sometimes the work is hard and hazardous. We get our hands dirty. Sometimes it seems as though there is no way to proceed. There's not enough money or resources. People don't show for work. Someone gets hurt. The painter's drunk and on and on. Having that American Ideal firmly in mind and a heartfelt burning desire keeps us working and planning and moving forward. The work will never be done.