Arkansas Times | January 2024

BIG ON BURGE’S | CITY PLANNING, 1913 STYLE | A Q&A WITH BRAD NEELY

ARKTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2024

FLAT-TRACK FURY ROCK TOWN ROLLER DERBY’S GAME-TIME ALTER EGOS, AND THE REAL ATHLETES BEHIND THEM

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE

1974 2024

YEARS

AND

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JANUARY 2024

FEATURES 32 BRAWL ON WHEELS

Roller derby is alive and well in Arkansas — and no, it’s not “like wrestling.”

By Stephanie Smittle

40 COLD TURKEY

A photo essay on Burge’s, and the turkey salad that made it a Little Rock institution.

GET SAD: The despondent indie rock of Soccer Mommy (pg. 19) is coming to The Momentary on Jan. 13.

9 THE FRONT

From the Vault: An origin story from Arkansas Times publisher Alan Leveritt to mark our golden anniversary. Plus, LL Cool J makes a cameo in the Arkansas Times archives.

Q&A: With outdoorsman Sanford Tollette.

Big Pic: The design firm tackling a downtown Little Rock master plan is taking inspiration from a 1913 map.

19 THE TO-DO LIST

26 NEWS

58 CULTURE

By Benjamin Hardy and Jim Ross

By Daniel Grear

If we build a $145.6 million high school in West Little Rock, will there be enough students to fill its classrooms?

28 OPINION

When it comes to reproductive rights, one word can change everything.

By Sam Watson, For AR People

54 SAVVY KIDS

A Q&A with Brad Neely, whose Ulysses S. Grant biography entertains a complicated relationship to the truth.

62 CANNABIZ

Should marijuana cultivators be allowed to market products to consumers?

Depends on who you ask.

By Griffin Coop

The students vounteering for the Ozark 66 THE OBSERVER The Miss Gay America Pageant at Mission Project are taking a pass on Ringing in New Year’s Eve in the Robinson Center, Friday Night Fight Metal traditional summer camp — and picking emergency room. at Vino’s, Piazzolla’s nuevo tango at the up power tools. symphony, Small Works on Paper at the

By Tricia Larson Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and ON THE COVER: (left to right) Rock Town Roller Derby players by Brian Chilson. more.

Pictured: Yolanda Handley-Jones, aka AfroVenoMiss; Lauren B. Jackson, aka B-Money; Alisha Macom, aka Ally; Grace Brown, aka Beetlebruise; and Moss Burr, aka Lavender Menace by Brian Chilson.

4 JANUARY 2024

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THE FRONT FROM THE VAULT 1974 2024

YEARS

HERE’S TO 50 YEARS: Alan Leveritt (left), Mara Leveritt (then known as Margaret Arnold, at center), David Glenn (right) and other Arkansas Times staffers meet in September 1974 at The Shack.

FIRST DAY ON THE JOB

A CROSS-COUNTRY HITCHHIKING TRIP AND A LIFETIME IN PUBLISHING.

BY ALAN LEVERITT The Arkansas Times turns 50 in 2024. To celebrate our golden anniversary, we’ll be running a piece each month looking back at the history of the publication, along with periodic excerpts from some of our favorite stories over the past half-century. This month, publisher Alan Leveritt recalls the august origins of the magazine he founded as a 22-year-old in Little Rock.

O

riginally, the Arkansas Times was going to be a monthly comic book.

I’d been publishing Essence, an independent student newspaper at UALR, when I met Patrick McKelvey, who ran a sort of artist/musician collective called Art Farm (which later became the Greasy Greens). I was hitchhiking from UALR one day when Patrick picked me up in this big, shambling 1950s Oldsmobile.

By the time he dropped me off at my apartment downtown, he was our newly minted editorial cartoonist, and he was going to help me gather a group of artists to create a comic ’zine about life and politics in Arkansas.

The concept was fluid, though, and when I saw the debut issue of Texas Monthly the next year, the idea for the Arkansas Times became clear to me. We were going to tell the story of Arkansas — its culture, its history, its politics and the people who lived here. How could life be any better?

So, in the spring of 1974, I sent a letter to every journalism school in the country inviting young writers to come to Arkansas to start a magazine and become an owner.

We had no money, so everyone would be paid with a monthly stock certificate.

Really, the only requirement for working

here back then was having another means of support.

We got a response from a guy at Washington and Lee University, another at New York University and a young woman in Boston. I decided to hitchhike to each location, interview the prospects and give them the pitch on why they needed to come to Little Rock and save the world.

The day came, and my red Walmart pack was stuffed with little plastic bags of trail mix, each containing a sweet, encouraging note from my girlfriend, Mara, who would later become my wife. I was to be gone for 14 days, so there were 14 packets of trail mix.

I caught a ride with a friend all the way to Nashville and struck out for Lexington, Virginia, late that afternoon. I was not new to hitchhiking and knew there was always ARKTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2024 9

MAIDEN VOYAGE: The first cover story of what would become the Arkansas Times.

WE FOUND TWO HOLLOW CORE DOORS WITH FISTSIZED HOLES IN THEM ON ONE SIDE, FLIPPED THEM OVER TO THE GOOD SIDE, RAISED THEM UP ON CONCRETE BLOCKS AND HAD OUR FIRST DESKS. 10 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

a concrete pad underneath either end of every freeway overpass with about 3 feet of head space between the pad and the bottom of the bridge, making for a relatively dry and safe sleeping spot. I consider that night on the road my first in what has become a 50year adventure working here at the Arkansas Times.

The next day, I arrived at Washington and Lee and immediately bonded with the young man who had replied to my letter. He was articulate and really smart and, unfortunately for both of us, I still believe, was headed to law school at his parents’ directive. I think his white shoes were already waiting for him in Richmond.

He wanted to join us and ultimately visited us at our house and office at 1215 W. Second St. in Little Rock — but a week after he returned to Virginia, he wrote that he could not go against his family’s dream for him.

Forty years later, I got a letter from him as he was retiring from law practice. It read simply, “So. How did it go?”

When I left Washington and Lee, I headed to an appointment with a young man named David Glenn in New York. I had never been to the Northeast and was surprised at how rural much of New Jersey was.

It was getting dark as I got dropped off near the Hudson River and elected to sleep in a pine barren that night and walk into Manhattan for my appointment the next morning.

And it was a glorious morning. I walked several miles to the bridge leading over to New York and crossed over at dawn. The skyline was magnificent, and I was overcome with a sense of discovery as the world seemed to reveal itself to me. A couple years earlier, I spent three months hitchhiking through Mexico, and I had that same

feeling of wondrous discovery. I think that feeling leaves us as we age and experience more. I wish that wasn’t true.

David was balding prematurely, wore Coke-bottle glasses and was from a Hasidic Jewish family. He had never been south, and I guess we were both pretty exotic to one another. He was a bit suspicious at first, but he visited our place in Little Rock and ultimately stayed at the Arkansas Times for 10 years. David later worked at several newspapers in the deep South before eventually returning to New York.

Today, his son is a rabbi in Brooklyn.

I left New York that afternoon and arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the sun was setting. I was determined to see Harvard, for some reason, and after a look around I decided to stay the night. I found an old building with a hedge up against its red brick walls and just enough space in between the two for my sleeping bag. I passed a pleasant night there with the satisfaction that I could now say I had been to Harvard.

I met the young woman the next day in a Boston coffee shop, and unfortunately, she took me to meet her family. Her mother took one look at me, my pack and my hair and hated me. The interview was brief, but I asked the would-be applicant if she would drop me off at Walden Pond, where we spent a great afternoon skinny dipping. Don’t ask me why that seemed perfectly normal at the time, but it was. Oddly, there was a traveling carnival parked across the highway that was loud and a bit incongruous.

Camping was prohibited at Walden Pond, but I thought that was an unreasonable restriction for a place so associated with personal liberty.

So, after my friend left, I rolled out my sleeping bag in the tall grass near its banks. Late that night I was awakened by a barking German shepherd and his handler, who was walking the Walden Pond perimeter with a big flashlight.

Obviously, they were looking for the likes of me. I was plain scared but stayed still in the tall grass, and the duo passed within 25 feet of me and continued on. I thought to myself, “What a weird place Walden Pond has become.”

The next morning found me on the road to Montreal. Though not on

my original itinerary, I had never been to Canada and decided to take a little vacation before heading back home to Little Rock and beginning a career in publishing.

Somewhere in Vermont, a local pulled over and asked me where I was headed. I told him and he said, “Fine, hop in. Just so long as you don’t plan to stay in Vermont.”

It was an odd sort of hospitality, but I appreciated the ride.

He dropped me at the bottom of an exit near the Canadian border, and when I walked up the entrance ramp, I noticed a hippie-looking guy with a pack and walking stick with his thumb out. His name was Charlie, and he was a carpenter from Ireland, off to see the world. Charlie the Irish Carpenter turned out to be one of the most open, friendly people I had ever met, and we quickly decided to travel together.

Later that afternoon while walking up another entrance ramp, this time in Canada, we noticed two pretty young women trying to hitch a ride. They were from the Midwest and had been working as cocktail waitresses at a mostly Jewish holiday resort in upstate New York. When it closed for the season, they decided to see Montreal. We had a brief, friendly chat, but continued on our way up the freeway: Hitchhiking has its own etiquette, and courtesy required that we walk another 100 yards or so past them, as a crowd of people might deter a potential pickup.

After a few minutes, a car pulled over and picked them up. And then much to our surprise, the driver pulled over for me and Charlie as well. The girls had asked him to pick us up. So off we all went to Montreal, and after checking into a youth hostel, enjoyed one of the most interesting cities in North America. This was at a time of much agitation against English Canadians in Quebec and the rise of a movement toward independence from Canada. Many French Canadians would only speak French to their English counterparts, and Charlie and I had to constantly explain that I was from the American South and he was Irish but a good Catholic. That seemed to work well.

Charlie and I parted in Quebec City and he promised to join me in Little Rock before heading down to Mexico. Two days later, I was nearing the border crossing that would take me down into the states and on to Arkansas. I was picked up by a guy who was clearly crazy, jittery and paranoid and who kept wanting to stop and steal gas from parked cars. He had a siphon in his back seat. Eventually, we got to the

American border crossing, and he asked me “You holding?”

I avoided illegal drugs and assured him that I was not.

It was midnight when we went through customs, and the place was nearly empty.

I emptied my pack onto a brightly lit, stainless steel table. The customs officer noted my tobacco pipe, which I smoked occasionally when I was waiting on a ride.

He too smoked a pipe, and he pulled out his pipe tool and reamed my bowl and tapped

SOMEWHERE IN VERMONT, A LOCAL PULLED OVER AND ASKED ME WHERE I WAS HEADED. I TOLD HIM AND HE SAID, “FINE, HOP IN. JUST SO LONG AS YOU DON’T PLAN TO STAY IN VERMONT.” it out onto the table.

To my horror, a small wad of half-burned marijuana fell out and seeds rolled across the stainless steel surface. Then it hit me: My housemates had used my pipe to smoke dope.

This was really bad. In 1974, a guy in Colorado went to prison for years after the police vacuumed up marijuana lint from the inside of his sport coat pocket. My dreams of an Arkansas magazine and all the work that had been done was about to go up in smoke. I might well be going to prison instead.

But the first victim of this mishap was my driver, who now clearly felt his paranoia was justified. I was put into a locked room, and they put his car up on a hydraulic lift and proceeded to take it apart: doors, fenders,

any place drugs could be sequestered. He looked at me as if to inform me that he meant to kill me at the first opportunity.

We were there until daylight, and nothing was found in the car. My pipe-smoking captor came into the room and told me we could go. He was not going to charge me.

But I wasn’t going anywhere. I politely declined the custom officer’s invitation to join my driver and waited until he was long gone before hitting the highway.

I was back in Little Rock at our office/ house on W. Second St. a few days later.

Charlie the Irish Carpenter eventually showed up on our porch and stayed a week, playing music at night and spreading his charm. (Then he was off to Mexico, embarking on a hitchhiking tour that nearly cost him his life — but that’s another story.)

That summer, we set to work on the first issue of what was then called The Union Station Times, because the little house where we lived and worked was right by the train station. David Glenn, fresh from New York City, stayed with me there. We found two hollow core doors with fist-sized holes in them on one side, flipped them over to the good side, raised them up on concrete blocks and had our first desks. We had several antique Underwood typewriters from somewhere and an early typesetting machine called a Justowriter, made by the Singer sewing machine company.

Crescent Dragonwagon, Rod Lorenzen, Fred Cowan, Vernon Tucker, Fran Fulton and Pat Johnson rounded out the first issue. We even had an astrology editor in Sally Williams. James Scudder — a Nieman Fellow, a gay, defrocked Methodist minister and one of the best writers to ever work at the Arkansas Democrat — wrote our first cover story, “White Flight of the Downtown Churches.” McKelvey illustrated the cover.

On Sept. 5, 1974, I drove up to the office in my mother’s hand-me-down 1960s blue Impala with 5,000 copies of the first issue, which we began promptly distributing throughout Little Rock. What followed was one of the toughest years of my life, trying to sustain a business on the $200 that Jim Bell at Publisher’s Bookshop had antedup as our only investor. Years later he told me he entered it into his checkbook as a “donation” instead of “investment.”

Our high expectations combined with inexperience and nonexistent resources were to severely try all of us during our first year. But we were doing it. We were publishing, we were young and there was nothing but daylight ahead.

ARKTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2024 11

THE FRONT FROM THE VAULT

1974 2024

LL COOL J

BRIAN CHILSON

YEARS

COOL, JAMES

Intrepid Arkansas Times photographer Brian Chilson certainly did not expect LL Cool J to ask to borrow his camera as the rapper rocked the Riverfest stage in May 2007. But “the king of crowd rockers” wanted to take a mid-show picture, so Chilson snapped a photo of LL asking, then handed him the camera. The result was this: a terrific picture of a massive, enthusiastic crowd enjoying the best of what Riverfest had to offer in its heyday and a reminder that, while Ladies may Love Cool James, everyone loves a cool photograph.

12 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

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ARKANSAS TIMES

THE FRONT Q&A

HAPPY CAMPER

SANFORD TOLLETTE’S LESSONS FROM THE WILDERNESS.

How did you figure out how to make a career of running around in the woods?

I was a teacher and was going to do the traditional path — be a principal, be a superintendent. But someone told me I could go to work with city kids for $50 a weekend. That was big money! And when I got out there, I was in the woods again, and I was like, “Aaaah.” So being in the woods with inner-city kids who have not been exposed to this? When a supervisor asked me, “How would you like to do this for a living?” I couldn’t believe you could get paid for this stuff.

BRIAN CHILSON

Outdoorsman Sanford Tollette spent his childhood traipsing around in the South Arkansas woods, and found the move to Little Rock when he was 11 a rude awakening. A Black kid from the country, Tollette preferred cowboy boots to sneakers and horseback riding to bicycles.

His preference for fresh air over city traffic and his prowess at the stern of a canoe led him to Joseph Pfeifer Kiwanis Camp 48 years ago. He never left.

Generations of Little Rock youth count themselves among the alumni of this shady oasis just beyond the western edge of town. Thanks to support from Kiwanis Club members and other supporters, more than 40,000 campers have paddled, hiked and swum on the camp’s 82 acres under Tollette’s watch.

After nearly half a century at the camp’s helm, Tollette said he’s considering next steps. Understandably, he’s feeling pretty tender about it.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Hope (Hempstead County)

Lots of kids who haven’t tried these outdoorsy things before get their first chance when they come here.

That’s the cornerstone of the camp, what we were set up for. This is a summer camp for needy, underprivileged, underserved children and youth of Pulaski County, to be able to come out here for free. We have 350 kids over the course of the summer, 70 kids per week.

FAMILY: Wife Binky Martin-Tollette, You’ve lived here and worked here for two sons, two daughters and two decades!

Until COVID-19, you had a school here grandchildren OK. Let me take a breath with you. I’m too, right? about to cry! Oh, Lord. This is my life We had an alternative learning FUN FACT: I was the first Black drum and, spiritually, what God gave me to environment for youth at risk and did a major at the University of Arkansas at do. So it’s been 48 years. boarding school for them. We did that for Fayetteville.

There are a lot of firsts in my life’s 32 years. Public school kids would stay journey. An opportunity to be the here for 30 days and 30 nights. only executive Black camp director in the history of the state There was this moment in the community where people were of Arkansas and one of only five or six in the United States of looking for something to make a difference, and I think we hit America. Because historically, minorities didn’t work in the at the right time. Instead of suspending the kids, they came out woods. here. They had fun. They had this whole place as a laboratory of learning. There was structure and discipline.

There’s an iconic picture of you on the camp website [dressed to the nines, and standing up in a canoe on the water], and And now there’s something new happening at the camp. you say it’s one of your favorites. Why is that?

What’s this construction?

Because it’s the essence of what I am and who I am. Because I’m That’s going to be the Jack and Lila Riggs Field House. They [the a camp director. But I’m also a great swimmer and a canoeist.

Riggs family] gave us a challenge grant, so we need to raise Also, rappelling, scuba diving, windsurfing, everything that another $150,000. We wanted the kids to have a place to play would not be what you would see traditionally for an African when it’s bad weather. So it’s covered, with basketball goals and American in the history of outdoor education. chairs and picnic tables, just a big, open-air space.

How did you come to love the outdoors so much?

I grew up with horses, so I wore cowboy boots. And then I came to Little Rock and I was just an oddball. I didn’t seem to fit anywhere growing up and I felt sad a lot. The only time I was happy was when I was in the woods by myself, running around, being feral.

If people are thinking of sending a child your way this summer, what should they know?

Pfeifer Camp is a microcosm of what society should be. Black, white, male, female, rich, poor. A common ground where it is time to care for people. I also pray for Pfeifer Kiwanis Camp to be a pulpit of goodwill. It’s all spiritual for me.

—Austin Bailey ARKTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2024 15

HINDSIGHT IS 20/24

LITTLE ROCK’S MASTER PLANNERS ARE MINING INSPIRATION FROM A MAP DESIGNED IN 1913.

THE FRONT BIG PIC

16 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

ARKTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2024 17

3. THE OLD STATE HOUSE The Old State House was important in 1913 and it is still important today. As the oldest standing statehouse west of the Mississippi, Nolen recommended enhancing the already lovely building with a garden and views of the Arkansas River.

“Here lies the possibility of developing fine outlooks over the water, for constructing possibly a terrace walk, for planting trees and shrubbery, and for securing in a few years at a comparatively small cost one of the most beautiful and characteristic gardens in the heart of a Southern city,” Nolen said.

2. CIVIC CENTER Instead of constructing public buildings separately, Nolen suggested in 1913 that Little Rock take care to group them together in a landscaped area he called a “Civic Center.” Nolen recommended surrounding City Hall with a post office, various government buildings, a hotel, restaurants, apartments, auditorium and theater. The whole proposed scheme encompassed two wide blocks.

“It boldly attempts to break up the monotonous check board system of uniform blocks and streets,” he said.

1. CAPITOL GROUNDS Though the Arkansas State Capitol wasn’t officially completed when Nolen penned his book, he recommended the city should capitalize on the statehouse’s proximity to Rose Creek. He floated ideas of trails and overlooks with water views. Rose Creek City Park was officially created in August 2023, though the railroad and brushy overgrowth don’t exactly invite scenic strolls and lazy picnic dates.

“The Capitol, in any case, should have dignified and adequate surroundings extending northward to the railroad,” Nolen said. “Whatever else is reserved will help to secure a beautiful entrance to the city, and may save from otherwise objectionable development.”

THE CRUX OF NOLEN’S RECOMMENDATIONS: EMPHASIZE LITTLE ROCK’S CITY PARKS.

Little Rock officials have been thinking up ways to revitalize downtown for ages, and the latest attempt is a contract with design firm Sasaki Associates, tasked by the city in June 2023 to produce a downtown master plan. The plan aims to amp up access to the Arkansas River, connect neighborhoods and invest in parks and recreation. Sasaki is still in the early stages, and attendees to a public forum on Dec. 4 pitched ideas for how to make the heart of Little Rock better.

During the presentation, Sasaki planners briefly flashed a Little Rock map from 1913

by Massachusetts landscape architect John Nolen (1869-1937). Nolen made a national name for himself in city planning, and in the early 1910s published a book titled “Report on a Park System for Little Rock, Arkansas.”

In it, he analyzed the city’s assets and recommended ways for future developments to prioritize green spaces.

That got us thinking: What was the city like more than a century ago? How closely does Nolen’s proposal match the public’s opinion today?

Daniel Church, a planner with Sasaki, said the company is using Nolen’s plan as a high-level concept for informing their 21st-century suggestions. While Nolen’s sketch is innovative, it lacks historic context, specifically toward racial segregation, Church said.

“In 1913, city parks in Little Rock were largely segregated,” Church said. “That led to serious differentials in investment by the city, at that time, in facilities and spaces, for communities of color versus white communities. Racial segregation policies (Jim Crow laws) and practices [like] redlining in the 1930-60s and freeway construction are all examples of policies that were racially motivated and have resulted in racial spatial segregation in the city today.”

6. SHADED STREETS The transportation needs of Little Rock’s 45,000 residents in 1913 were quite different from what they are more than a century later. A streetcar took travelers along Main Street and to the nearby Pulaski Heights development in the early 1900s, while others were still getting around with a horse and buggy.

Only about 3,500 cars were registered in all of Arkansas in 1913 — a stark contrast to the 3.5 million registered in 2023. Regardless of transportation method, Nolen advised keeping city streets shaded for protection from the sun and heat.

“Low hanging mulberries, euonymus, or myrtles, in this climate with comparatively little care, will overarch the walks, while larger trees more widely spaced will give practically unbroken shade for vehicles,” he wrote.

5. CITY PARKS The crux of Nolen’s recommendations: Emphasize Little Rock’s city parks. He recommended larger parks with a mix of activities and a trail system that connected the green spaces. He also said parks should be named after prolific Little Rock natives, rather than boring stuff like “Central Park.”

“The connection of these areas by means of a continuous parkway brings the series into a complete system very much more effective in serving the community than were each reservation isolated,” Nolen wrote.

4. THE ARKANSAS RIVER Protecting the Arkansas River, and allowing the public to access it, was critical for Nolen. He noted people had virtually no access to the water in 1913 and it was riddled with “unsanitary shacks of squatters.” He recommended a long park should extend along the river. One wonders how closely Julius Breckling Riverfront Park, which opened in 1983, echoes Nolen’s vision. “...The river front can be made far different from what it is, and a source of constant pride and enjoyment to the entire community. Acquisition of the entire river front is recommended, securing it for recreation and for public landings as the purposes of commerce may require,” Nolen said.

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SOCCER MOMMY

SATURDAY 1/13. THE MOMENTARY, BENTONVILLE. 8 P.M. $30-$50.

On “Still Clean,” the first track from her 2018 debut album, Sophie Allison — or Soccer Mommy, as she’s better known — introduced herself to the wider world with a biting critique: “In the summer / You said you loved me like an animal / Stayed beside me / Just enough to keep your belly full.” It’s venomous on paper, but that’s not how Allison plays it. Instead, she sings the words achingly, staged over nothing but a soft electric guitar, as if alone in her room late at night, trying not to wake her roommates. Allison is plenty capable of rocking vengefully — listen to “Your Dog” or “Shotgun” — but her strangely resigned comfort with sadness, and the way in which her voice effortlessly carries that devastation, is what makes her stand out. Her most recent release is “Karaoke Night,” a five-song EP of despondently reimagined covers by Pavement, Taylor Swift, Sheryl Crow, Slowdive and R.E.M. Get tickets at themomentary.org. DG

ARKTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2024 19

ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: PIAZZOLLA, BACH AND SAINT-SAËNS

JOSHUA BLACK WILKINS

SATURDAY 1/27-SUNDAY 1/28.

ROBINSON CENTER. 7:30 P.M. SAT.; 3 P.M. SUN. $19-$92.

OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW FRIDAY 1/19. THE HALL. 8 P.M. $40-$190.

It’s no stretch to say that Old Crow Medicine Show, the Grammy-winning Americana/bluegrass outfit based in Nashville, is best known for their 2004 platinum song “Wagon Wheel,” a tune so firmly entrenched in the zeitgeist that it’s been covered by everyone from Against Me! to Darius Rucker to your drunk friends around the campfire. While they haven’t had a song achieve the same level of success in the 19 years since, the band has continued to put out albums full of their blend of banjo- and fiddle-heavy melodies and acerbic wit. Their most recent release, “Jubilee,” is no different, from the Bob Dylan-esque “Nameless, TN” to the old-timey gospel of “One Drop,” which features the always amazing Mavis Staples.

For Arkansas audiences, though, the most enjoyable cut from the new album is likely to be the rollicking, fast-grass “Wolfman of the Ozarks,” in which Mike Harris whines: “Sooey baby, sooey pig / Huffin’ and a-puffin’ blowin’ bad and big / Beggin’ at your table like an old dirty dog / Wolfman of the Ozark Mountain callin’ the hogs.” Get tickets at littlerockhall.com. MC 20 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

Everything old is new again (and again), as must have been evident to the crowds in Washington, D.C., in 1970 when Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla premiered “Tangazo,” the opener to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s January concert at Robinson Center.

Piazzolla called his music “nuevo tango,” defining it as a blend of “tango + tragedy + comedy + whorehouse,” a dramatic range that “Tangazo” offers up in spades. Coincidentally, it was the music of J.S. Bach — the father of C.P.E. Bach, the second composer featured on this program — that Piazzolla played first when his father handed him a gift box containing a bandoneon, the accordionesque instrument that defines tango’s sound. (Piazzolla balked at first, thinking the box held the pair of skates he wanted.

Lucky for us, he got over it and went on to reinvent tango as we know it.) Bach’s Concerto for Flute in D minor, in this performance, shows off the virtuoso technique of the ASO’s own principal flute Carolyn Brown, the only woodwind candidate at the prestigious Eastman School of Music to be unanimously nominated by the faculty for the school’s Performer’s Certificate. The concert ends with one of the most euphoric things Camille Saint-Saëns ever wrote (and for Saint-Saëns, the ecstasy bar is high, OK?), his Symphony No. 3 in C featuring the grandeur of the organ, an instrument that rarely gets a chance to break free of its liturgical pigeonhole and, um, tango with a big ol’ symphony orchestra. Get tickets at arkansassymphony.org. SS

JOHN PAUL WHITE

FRIDAY 1/26-SATURDAY 1/27. WHITE WATER TAVERN. $40.

JOSEPH WYMAN

Singer-songwriter John Paul White has a way of hovering at the precipice of melodrama. His soulfully strained voice is the kind that could easily be pushed to a histrionic place, and yet he always stops just short of getting lost in the spectacle and vibrato, like he’s teasing the listener with breadcrumbs of emotion. The sly seduction of “Hate The Way You Love Me” is a perfect example. White’s meteoric musical partnership with Joy Williams — The Civil Wars — may have ended under tense circumstances, but it seems to have introduced to his work some beguiling restraint. Both of his back-to-back shows in Little Rock are seated, meaning the already small capacity of the White Water Tavern will be made even smaller, so expect tickets to sell out. Snag yours at whitewatertavern.com. DG

MISS GAY AMERICA PAGEANT

The fact that the Miss Gay America pageant has been hosted in Arkansas 10 times since its founding in 1972 is a remarkable testament to how multiple things can be true at once. Yes, Arkansas has an abysmal track record when it comes to the protection and celebration of queer people, but not even 2023’s legislative attacks on drag shows and trans people can stop “the world’s first, longest running, and most prestigious female impersonator competition” from taking Little Rock by storm yet again. The rigorous fournight event, which corrals contestants from dozens of regional and state preliminaries, will consist of a talent show, evening gown presentations, on-stage interviews and more.

Get yourself psyched by jumping on YouTube and watching Tatiyanna Voche’, crowned Miss Gay America 2023, tap and lip sync along to “42nd Street” at last year’s finals.

I’m betting it’s more elaborate than you’re expecting. Get tickets at ticketmaster.com. DG

JACKIE LEE YOUNG

TUESDAY 1/16-FRIDAY 1/19.

ROBINSON CENTER.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

SUNDAY 1/21. REV ROOM. 7 P.M. $45.

John Darnielle has put out so many records in his 30-year tenure as The Mountain Goats that I wouldn’t be surprised if another one gets released by the time this blurb makes it into print. As of our press deadline, his newest LP is “Jenny from Thebus,” a sequel to 2002’s tape hiss-heavy “All Hail West Texas” and a character study of a woman named Jenny who’s shown up at several points across The Mountain Goats’ discography. If you’re new to the band, though, don’t let their penchant for career-spanning lore scare you away. Just spend a minute luxuriating in Darnielle’s offbeat yet inviting voice and his writer’s eye for detail (Did I mention he’s also an acclaimed novelist?), and you’ll be pulled in all the same. Noisy pop rockers Bully as well as Craig Finn, the lead singer of cult favorite The Hold Steady, are set to open.

Get tickets at revroom.com. DG ARKTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2024 21

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHT METAL IV

SEIJIRO NISHIMI

FRIDAY 1/19. VINO’S. 7 P.M. $15-$20.

SMALL WORKS ON PAPER

THURSDAY 1/4-FRIDAY 1/26. MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER. FREE. Creativity has an oddly paradoxical relationship with constraints. Give an artist something they’re not allowed to do, and suddenly a world of possibilities opens up. Such is the logic behind Small Works on Paper, an annual touring art exhibition that features only two-dimensional pieces no larger than 18 inches by 24 inches. Sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council, each year’s selections are whittled down from hundreds of submissions. Now in its 37th year, Small Works on Paper continues to ask the evergreen question of what happens when you present a collection of artwork not united by form or content, but by the size of each piece. Do patterns emerge or do differences abound? This year’s exhibition starts its voyage around Arkansas at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, where an opening reception will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 4. No tickets or reservations are required. DG

22 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

If you missed last month’s annual Bangin’ In The Rock festival, fear not. Or, perhaps, fear in a different way, because the fest’s organizers — Stan Liszewski, Evan D. Grove, Ted Gilliam and Reid Hanna — have another fiercely brutal offering up their sleeves. Friday Night Fight Metal, a single-evening offshoot of BITR, popped up thrice in 2023 and sold out each time, so you could argue that it’s back by popular demand. Iteration number four will be headlined by Kruelty, a death metal band that labels themselves as “disgusting music from Tokyo, Japan.” Their screams alternate between English and Japanese, but I doubt you’ll be able to discern the difference from the pit at Vino’s. The rest of the bill includes Little Rock favorites Terminal Nation, Open Kasket, Death Rattle and Morbid Visionz, as well as Khasm, who’ll be in town from Las Vegas. Get tickets at tickettailor.com. DG

ARKANSAS SHORTS

FRIDAY 1/5-SUNDAY 1/7. HISTORIC MALCO THEATER, HOT SPRINGS. $25-$35 DAY PASS, $65 WEEKEND PASS. Talk about shrinking attention spans is everywhere, and yet the short film as a medium still feels like an underdog.

Sure, it’s often the place that budding filmmakers start. But any real student of the form knows that concision isn’t the enemy of quality, and that short films aren’t just training grounds for their lengthier counterparts. Thanks to Low Key Arts’ 17th annual Arkansas Shorts — a packed weekend of screenings, workshops and after-parties — you won’t have to travel far to celebrate the best in brevity from Arkansan, North American and international filmmakers, some of which have been gleaned from the world’s most prestigious film festivals. Get tickets at arkansasshorts2024.eventive. org. DG

BENJAMIN HARDY

NEWS & POLITICS

HIGH-COST HIGH SCHOOL: The price for the campus in West Little Rock will be almost 60% more than what was expected.

WAY OUT WEST

DESPITE A BUDGETBUSTING PRICE HIKE, CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW LRSD HIGH SCHOOL IN WEST LITTLE ROCK IS A GO.

BY BENJAMIN HARDY AND JIM ROSS

26 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

W

hen voters within the Little Rock School District approved a millage extension in 2021, the district made a number of promises about how it would spend the resulting $300 million. Among them were a new K-8 campus in Southwest Little Rock, major updates at Central and Parkview high schools, window and lighting replacements in schools throughout the city, and a new $85-million high school in West Little Rock that would hold 1,200 students.

But in November, the construction company behind that “West” high school project, Baldwin & Shell, came back with a shocking new price tag: $153.6 million, almost double the original estimate.

Meanwhile, LRSD’s overall enrollment continues to decline, raising tough questions for the school board. Fewer students means less money. With possible operating budget cuts and school closures looming in the not-too-distant future,

should the district be building a brandnew campus that may or may not get filled with kids? Should a promise to finally build a high school for fast-growing West Little Rock outweigh obligations to campuses in the rest of the city?

Those questions came to a head at the Dec. 14 meeting of the LRSD board, when it voted 7-2 to commit to moving forward with the West high school at a revised price of $145,638,731. Baldwin & Shell arrived at the new number after making modest changes to the building plans.

The West high school will stand adjacent to Pinnacle View Middle School on Ranch Drive, just off Cantrell Road in far northwest Little Rock. When it opens in 2026, it will be the district’s fourth large high school, along with Central High School, Parkview Magnet High School and Southwest High School.

(The district also operates two small high schools with about 300 students each, the West School of Innovation and Hall STEAM

Magnet High School, which the LRSD board voted in November to combine into one campus at the Hall building.)

Given the growth patterns of the city, it makes sense to build a high school in West Little Rock. The demographic data does not lie. For the last decade, white, Black and Hispanic families all have been moving to the central and western part of the city. For the future development of both Little Rock and the LRSD, a case can be made that we need a high school on the eastern side of town (Central), a high school in the central part of town (Parkview), a high school on the southwest side of town and a high school on the northwest side of town.

Still, it is painful — and for some, infuriating — to see the Little Rock School District once again prioritizing the needs of more well-off neighborhoods above the needs of majority Black and Latino schools. And spending almost half of the 2021 millage money on a new high school entails a leap of faith that families in West Little Rock will enroll there, rather than in private school or other options.

If we build it, will they come? Not everyone is so sure. School board member Vicki Hatter, who was one of the two “no” votes on Dec. 14, noted that we don’t yet know how the state’s new school voucher program will impact public school enrollment. Arkansas LEARNS, the education overhaul championed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and a Republican supermajority legislature, leaches money from public education and gives it to families who want to send their children to private school or home school. The program is set to expand dramatically in two years, around the time the new West Little Rock high school is set to be completed.

Hatter said she suspects that with voucher money in play, many of the students we expected to attend the new high school will go private instead. She insisted that the district has a duty to first take care of the buildings it has now.

Hatter represents the zone that includes Parkview, and in early December she hosted a community meeting about the future of the school, which is in need of improvements. Despite winning the state’s high school 5A football championship two years in a row, Parkview doesn’t have a football field at its campus on John Barrow Road. They play their home games at War Memorial Stadium.

One idea floated in November was for Parkview to pull up stakes and move its 1,000-plus students to the new West high

school. But LRSD Superintendent Jermall Wright has said that idea is no longer on the table after pushback from parents and other stakeholders.

At the Dec. 14 meeting, the board heard from Stephen Helmick, the principal at Don Roberts Elementary in West Little Rock. He argued that building the new West high school would establish a K-12 feeder pattern in West Little Rock and bring thousands of families back to the district. The board also heard from the president of the homeowners association at The Ranch, a neighborhood north of the site of the new campus, who said that members were excited about the school but concerned about noise and the loss of green space.

Board member Greg Adams made the motion to build the school at the new $145.6 million price tag. Hatter moved to amend Adams’ motion to include more money for Parkview as well. But Adams and board member Leigh Ann Wilson spoke against Hatter’s motion, arguing that the district first needs a plan for improvements at Parkview that includes input from parents, students and staff. A task force is expected to come up with plans for Parkview next year. Adams’ motion passed 7-2; Hatter’s motion failed.

We can only hope the board will next commit to spending the rest of the millage money on Parkview and schools south of I-630. The biggest mistake we can make is to neglect the central part of the city, where census data from 2010 to 2020 show large numbers of Black families moving. While it is important to build the new school out west, it is even more important to provide the Black families who have stayed committed to our district a world-class school in the center of town.

The school board also voted to make a number of other changes on Dec. 14. A new “parent welcome center” will open on the Hall High School campus. Western Hills Elementary will become a PreK-5 autism center. New task forces will get to work to examine early childhood education, capital improvement projects, and magnet and specialty schools in the district.

The board signed off on a $3.6 million expenditure to switch to more efficient and environmentally friendly lighting at campuses around the city — a change expected to save the LRSD $286,000 in annual power bills. The board also approved an additional $7.4 million for athletic fields at the new Marian G. Lacey K-8 Academy, opening next school year in Southwest Little Rock.

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OPINION

WHY ‘LIFE’ OF THE MOTHER EXCEPTIONS AREN’T ENOUGH WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES A SINGLE WORD MAKE? IN A LAW RESTRICTING ABORTION ACCESS, QUITE A LOT.

BY SAM WATSON, FOR AR PEOPLE

28 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

A

rkansas law included plenty of abortion restrictions even before a near-total ban kicked in after the fall of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that had protected abortion access for nearly 50 years.

Since Roe fell in 2022, Arkansas politicians ensured that pregnant women will find no exceptions for rape or incest, nor for fatal fetal anomalies. The only current access to abortion care in Arkansas is to “save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.”

Two important notes: 1. The current law specifically excludes ectopic pregnancies, which is when a fertilized egg begins to grow outside of the uterus. Ending an ectopic pregnancy doesn’t count as an abortion. This is a rhetorical trick, because the treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is functionally an abortion; an embryo is removed from a woman’s body.

2. If the pregnancy has ended in a miscarriage, removing the fetus doesn’t count as an abortion under the law. Again, this is a rhetorical sleight of hand. Depending on when the miscarriage happens, the removal of the dead fetus is often the same or

RIGHTS WRONGED: Arkansas reproductive rights advocates bristle at the state’s near-total abortion ban, which leaves little room for protecting women’s mental and physical health.

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similar procedure as an abortion; the point is that the medical care in the situation is designed to protect a woman’s health.

If you’re opposed to abortion, you might think this covers it! Of course, women shouldn’t die to give birth, but why else would an abortion be necessary?

But there’s a problem here: Preserving just the “life” of a mother leaves a lot of things that can go wrong before doctors might be in the clear to perform an abortion.

A lot of medical damage — often permanent — can happen before someone’s life is in danger.

Sometimes doctors don’t realize a woman’s life is in danger in time; they’re stuck waiting for a magical line that’s so fuzzy it’s barely visible while a woman is desperate for medical care. It’s hard to overstate how quickly things can change in a “medical emergency” as defined by the Arkansas Legislature. One moment, a woman might be in pain, but not at risk of dying. In the next, she could have mere minutes until the damage is irreversible or fatal, but doctors’ hands would still be tied if they are unsure whether the woman’s condition is “life-threatening.”

Here’s the point: preserving the “life” of a woman does not equate to preserving her “health.”

Right now, a group of reproductive rights advocates — including For AR People — is trying to give Arkansans the chance to vote on a constitutional amendment next year that would allow abortions up to the 18th week of pregnancy, and in certain other situations. One of the exceptions would be to protect the health of a pregnant woman.

In 2018, Ireland held a referendum and overwhelmingly passed something very similar to the amendment being proposed

by Arkansans for Limited Government, a group that wants voters to weigh in on a plan to allow abortion access up to 18 weeks after conception and in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly and to protect a mother’s health. (Editor’s note: Arkansans for Limited Government includes For AR People, a content partner of the Arkansas Times.)

It’s commonly understood that the sixyear push in Ireland to enshrine the right to make these private health care decisions was, in large part, sparked by the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Irish-Indian dentist who died when her pregnancy went septic.

On Oct. 21, 2012, Halappanavar, at 17 weeks’ gestation, went to the hospital complaining of back pain. She was discharged without a diagnosis, but came back to the hospital

that same day complaining of more pain and uncomfortable sensations. She was admitted and doctors determined that a miscarriage was unavoidable, but she was denied an abortion because, at the time, a fetal heartbeat was detected. A week later, Halappanavar died of sepsis at the age of 31.

A governmental inquiry found an abortion would have saved her life. The fetus would never live, no matter what doctors did. But because doctors’ hands were tied, two lives were lost.

Relevant to Arkansas’s current abortion law is this fact: Ireland had an exception for the “life of the mother,” but it didn’t save Halappanavar’s life, nor that of her fetus. This is the risk with only “life” exceptions — a patient’s medical condition can deteriorate incredibly quickly, and by the time a legal consultant signs off on an abortion for a dying woman, it’s all too often too late.

For a more recent and closer-to-home example, let’s move over to Texas, where 22 women signed on to a lawsuit alleging that the state’s abortion laws have caused them grievous harm by forcing them to carry dangerous pregnancies. In some cases, the women faced long-term negative consequences to their health. All the pregnancies were dearly wanted, but because the women’s lives weren’t yet in danger, there was nothing doctors could do except recommend their patients go out of state.

Adding “health of the mother” exceptions lets doctors protect women before their lives are in danger. Think of a “life only” exception like being in free fall and being told you can only have a parachute at the very last second. There’s not a lot of time to make a decision or to deal with any complexity or nuance. A “health of the mother” exception is like being given a parachute before you jump out of the plane.

These are essential exceptions to abortion bans. They protect women, families and doctors.

We can – and should! – discuss what “health” means in this context, but it cannot be that a woman must put her entire life at risk just to have a child. It cannot be that we force families to grieve over and over again for a child who will never live outside its mother’s womb because a doctor can’t legally let the family choose their own path through grief.

Sam Watson is a writer with For AR People, a group that advances a responsible democracy by educating the public about issues that impact our daily lives and holding politicians accountable.

ARKTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2024 31

RUBBER MEETS THE RINK: Skaters scrimmage on the parquet wooden track at Arkansas Skatium.

Hell on 32 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

Wheels

FLAT-TRACK ROLLER DERBY IS THE COOLEST SPORT YOU’VE BEEN IGNORING. BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON ARKTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2024 33

a a

cross the musculature of Daisy Fever’s calf, there’s an oval-shaped tattoo with the dimensions of a regulation roller derby track etched in black: 35.0, 26.5, 13.0. On its outer perimeter are comic book-style exclamations in orange and canary yellow: “POW!” and “BAM!” and “WHAAM!” It’s an apt way to illustrate the two-pronged spirit of roller derby — a sport that marries structure with chaos, athleticism with theater, and real-life athletes with their game-time alter egos.

Daisy — real name Bailey Fitzpatrick — is a retired skater who coaches for the Rock Town Roller Derby team, described on its website as an “all-female, flat-track roller derby league.”

The league meets and competes at Arkansas Skatium, an old-school roller rink on Bowman Road in West Little Rock built in 1979, before most of the Rock Town players were born.

Hallmarks of its vintage are everywhere: The track’s barriers are carpeted in a print befitting a Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper, disco balls hang from the ceiling and the giant neon letters that once spelled “ICE ARENA” outside the adjacent hockey rink have succumbed to time, now exclaiming “ICE ARE.” On a Wednesday night in October, the derby team was nearly halfway through a 12-week boot camp designed to introduce aspiring league skaters to the full-contact sport safely and gradually. After stretching their muscles around a handful of snack bar picnic tables, about 30 skaters suited up in shock-absorbing gear — helmets, wrist guards, knee guards and elbow pads — and made their way to the wooden rink. Eventually, the group split in half. New skaters warmed up at Daisy’s behest with laid-back loops around the rink’s perimeter, while the more experienced players formed into small “packs” in preparation for a series of scrimmage-esque exercises.

The newcomers were still negotiating the body’s center of gravity atop eight wheels, learning how to fall and how to get back up.

Ever seen a newborn horse take its first wobbly steps? Boot camp had advanced the newbies past the colt phase, but hesitance lingered.

Later in the practice session, when Daisy careened into the novice’s corner to demonstrate a move called the “watermelon,” it looked easy enough — an illusion that fell to pieces when the recruits attempted to do likewise.

Meanwhile, the expressions on the faces of the experienced skaters had tightened, their eyes narrowed, scanning to map out fellow players’ positions. When the whistle blew, a slow-motion struggle unfolded, with two socalled “jammers” attempting to elbow their way through a tight cluster of pro tem opponents.

Roller derby is not exactly roller skating, nor

34 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

is it hockey, though Google’s shopping links will steer you down one of those retail paths if you search for derby gear online. “My worst injuries have been concussions,” said Ally, one of the star-helmeted jammers in that practice session scrimmage. Aside from her skates, the most expensive piece of derby equipment she owns is a “really beautiful” $300-ish hockey helmet, complemented by a face shield to avoid direct hits to the nose and chin.

Ally’s real name is Alisha Macom. An Elko, Nevada, native who moved to Arkansas in the early ’90s, she’s been playing roller derby since 2012. At her day job, she works for a local financial services firm that manages retirement planning for individuals; after hours, she’s Rock Town’s athletic committee chair. Despite her protestations that she’s an introvert who struggles with anxiety, Macom was firm and motherly when delivering instructions to a huddle of skaters after practice, and is seemingly at ease when “showboating” around the rink as a jammer to rev up the crowd.

Macom grew up in a religious household, and derby was ”literally a replacement” for a church community she decided to leave behind, she said. “I was looking for people that were nonjudgmental and diverse. … I needed a community of people that would be physical with me, that would allow me to cry on the sidelines if I needed to take a moment, and who would also encourage me when I did something really great.” There’s a deep-seated respect that develops when two friends hug each other one moment and face off in battle the next, Macom said. “You will know if they had a bad day, and you still have to hit them hard.”

‘IS IT LIKE WRESTLING?’ Within the first few seconds of gameplay, any skepticism about roller derby’s athletic legitimacy evaporates. Rubber wheels squeak across the parquet-patterned wooden floor, shoulders jut out to block oncoming offense, and jammers barrel through linked sets of forearms like bulls in braids and tank tops. Occasionally, kneepads or tailbones hit the ground in a nosedive, most often followed by a player’s rapid return to an upright position, a quick smile flashed to her teammates to signal that all’s well.

The rules of play go like this: Each game is divided into two 30-minute halves, and each of those halves are broken up into consecutive “jams,” which can last up

to two minutes. At the beginning of a jam, each team sends out five players: four “blockers” and a jammer. The jammer’s goal is to break through the opposing team’s cluster of four blockers, then to skate laps around those blockers in order to score points — up to four points during each jam. Whichever jammer breaks through the opposing pack first is designated the “lead jammer” of that jam, and therefore earns the right to end the jam whenever it makes sense strategically, i.e., whenever the opponents’ jammer is about to score points.

To the uninitiated observer, the pace can feel chaotic, but your average football or soccer fan will feel an immediate spark of recognition in the overarching object of the game: barrel through the defensive line, break free and run like hell.

Contact and impact is vital to the game and is often brutal.

Yet, it’s also contained, meticulously monitored by referees on skates who can assign penalties for violations. “Skaters cannot use their heads, elbows, forearms, hands, knees, lower legs, or feet to make contact to opponents,” the rulebook of the Women’s Flat-Track Derby Association (WFTDA, for short) mandates.

“Skaters cannot make contact to opponents’ heads, backs, knees, lower legs, or feet.”

Modern-day roller derby only vaguely resembles its predecessors, and its origin story is circuitous. When roller skating became stylish in the 1880s, a sort of spectator sport took shape. Roller skating races for cash prizes became a popular form of entertainment, with crowds gathering at the New York Hippodrome and Chicago’s Broadway Armory Park hoping to witness headline-making mayhem — skaters elbowing each other off the track in mid-flight, massive multi-skater collisions, and marathon skaters collapsing from exhaustion.

Famously, skaters William

RULES OF PLAY: Skaters cannot use their “heads, elbows, forearms, hands, knees, lower legs, or feet to make contact to opponents,” the derby rulebook mandates.

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Donovan and Joseph Cohen died after competing for $500 in a six-day competition at Madison Square Garden in 1885. By 1935, a “Transcontinental Roller Derby” was on tour across the country’s major cities, charging 25 cents admission to watch two-person teams race around a portable track — in those days, a specialized concave “banked track,” as opposed to the modern-day flat-track — thousands of times.

Mid-century audiences craved something a bit less repetitive, and the current game’s rules of play began to take shape. An organizational infrastructure followed, with the establishment of professional salaried skaters, a skaters’ union and a six-team National Roller Derby League.

But it wasn’t until the turn of the next century that women became roller derby’s chief competitors. Following decades of dwindling popularity, roller derby got a big boost when an Austin, Texas, group called Bad Girl Good Woman Productions launched a league in 2001. A full-fledged revival ensued, as did a short-lived reality TV show on A&E based on the private lives of a team called the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls. By 2009, there were over 400 leagues in the U.S., the UK, Canada and Europe.

Derby is undeniably badass. So why does it struggle to be taken seriously? That question has plagued the sport throughout its boom-and-bust history, and is more alive than ever in modern-day “all-female” roller derby. Some argue the sport suffers from the use of subversive aliases in place of players’ real names — Rock Town’s lineup in recent years has included “Pound Puppy,” “Teacher A Lesson” and “Amelia Fearheart” — and sartorial debates rage around sexual agency and bodily autonomy.

On the one hand, the sport is fiercely athletic. When we interviewed Macom, she’d just come from the Sparkfit in Little Rock’s SoMa District, where a concurrent weightlifting boot camp for Rock Town skaters was happening every Tuesday evening. “You use every muscle,” skater Moss Burr told us. “When you start practice, you’re like, ‘Why am I hurting in all of these places?’

You’re like, ‘I didn’t know I had muscles there!’”

The degree of rigor can be surprising to the uninitiated. There’s a governing body, WFTDA, and an extensive network of “Non-Skating Officials” whose recordkeeping from sanctioned games ranks teams by region, sending the top 36 teams to a Division I Playoff Tournament every year. There are specifications for everything from the track, to the players’ protective gear, to the process for disputing a penalty. But the grassroots way in which modern roller derby developed means that it has resisted standardization and monetization. Unlike other sports in which women have a considerable presence — soccer, tennis, basketball, gymnastics — derby doesn’t structurally mimic a male-dominant counterpart. Nearly everyone involved is a volunteer, and leagues often find themselves playing on tracks intended for other sports, marking out derby track dimensions with temporary tape — or, if they’re lucky enough to find a venue as amenable as the Skatium rink, in paint.

The Rock Town team’s good enough to compete against fellow league teams in Memphis, Oklahoma and elsewhere, but they’re decidedly unobsessed with rankings or prestige.

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FLAT-TRACK: (Clockwise from left) Coach Daisy Fever, skater Lavender Menace, the sign outside Arkansas Skatium and the derby track tattoo on Daisy’s calf.

STEPHANIE SMITTLE

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where you have to go hard.”

Then there’s the theatricality of the whole enterprise. Gametalk can be brash. Fundraisers can be campy. Hot pants and fishnets can be both symbols of personal agency and legitimate uniform.

And spectatorship, often prone to oblige the heteronormative male gaze in pursuit of advertising dollars, can be lewd. Skaters can expect to dodge catcalls and misconceptions as often as a jammer dodges a hit.

“People are like, ‘Oh, is it like it was in the ’70s?’,” Macom said. “‘Is it fake? Is it like wrestling? Do you guys clothesline each other? Like, are there even any rules?’”

There’s something about a skater choosing to play in a short skirt or donning a cheeky pun as a nickname that a patriarchally rooted sports world finds dubious.

It’d be easy to caricature the modern-day roller derby player as a card-carrying man-hater — a Riot Grrrl Barbie on skates, wearing her second-wave feminist counterculture cues on her sleeves.

But maybe that’s part of the appeal. The dovetailing of roller derby with all things punk rock is, for some, a satisfying mashup (and one we admittedly leaned into for a playlist accompanying this article; see arktimes.com for a Spotify link).

‘A WOMEN’S SPORT RUN BY WOMEN’ There’s something about that “all-female” tagline, though, that feels dissonant in 2024. Or, at minimum, incomplete.

In 2015, WFTDA made a statement on gender inclusivity saying that it would uphold “broad discrimination protections within the organization for individuals who identify as transgender, intersex or gender expansive.” WFTDA policy, the statement said, “definitively allows trans women, intersex women and gender expansive athletes to participate and compete within the WFTDA.” It was a revision of a 2011 statement which, though considered progressive at the time, referenced the hormone levels of trans athletes, making it a potential tool for exclusion and discrimination.

“The roller derby community has always been a space where people are allowed to just be themselves,” WFTDA Secretary Michelle Donnelly said in a press release in 2015. “Our members grew to feel that our 2011 policy did not accurately reflect our inclusive culture and our values. We also needed to thoughtfully develop new standards, respecting our identity and history as a women’s sport run by women.”

Burr came across that statement in 2022, looking to discover whether Rock Town Roller Derby would allow a nonbinary person to play in the “all-female” league. Burr, who’s nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, moved to Arkansas in 2021 from the Denver area with a group of friends they met while working at a Colorado summer camp. Burr had roller skated as a kid and was looking to connect with people in Little Rock beyond their circle of friends-turned-roommates, where decidedly less physical pursuits fill the leisure hours — Clue, Risk, Monopoly. “I genuinely didn’t know if I, as a trans masc individual, was allowed to play this sport. But I am. And I think that’s wonderful because the community is fantastic and no one, you know, bats an eye. I don’t get, like, singled out or anything.”

A counterpoint to Burr’s soft-spoken demeanor, their skate moniker is Lavender Menace — a reclaiming of the term activist Betty Friedan used in 1969 to describe the lesbian protestors who called bullshit on their exclusion from the women’s liberation movements of the day. In practice, it’s shortened to “Lav.” Coaching mini-jams in a taped-off area of the track near the end of practice, Daisy could be heard shouting “Get up there, Lav!,” equal parts praise and prod. As one of the newest among the experienced skaters, Burr was then mere ARKTIMES.COM

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pull qUOTE

TAKING THE TRACK: Above, Rock Town skaters AfroVenoMiss and OneChick Pony lap the floor at the Skatium. At right, skaters huddle and scrimmage during a weeknight practice session.

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days away from their first full-fledged derby game, a weekend match against the Northwest Arkansas-based Natural State Roller Derby team at the Jones Center in Springdale. They’re learning the ropes of being a jammer, if somewhat sheepishly. “Jammers are usually very fast and, like, agile,” Burr said. “I’m not. But I will be in practice if no one wants to, because I know that someone needs to when everyone else is tired.”

Macom chose the nickname Ally in part because it’s a homograph for the word “ally,” a role she said was an important part of her identity when she found roller derby. “I’m still trying to learn and figure out how to be an ally for the humans in my life,” Macom said. “That’s worth going for. That’s worth spending the rest of my life figuring out.”

Rather than policing the boundaries of terms like “woman” or “female,” Rock Town Roller Derby has more immediate concerns. Such as: Finding more rental venue owners like those at the Skatium, who understand that rubber wheels don’t damage wooden flooring. “The Skatium is a fantastic facility,” Macom said. “It’s air conditioned. They let us paint our track on their floor. But the amount of times that we can play a game in a year is very limited,” she said. It’s not like “a soccer season, where we’re like playing home games every Friday night or whatever,” she said. Add to that the architecture of the Skatium, where the carpeted perimeter around the rink is too narrow to place bleachers or seats for an audience. “If you can see the sport from up top,” Macom said, “it makes way more sense, but when you’re at eye level, it’s hard to tell what’s going on.”

‘TRUST YOURSELF’ The team will kick off its seventh year as a league at the Skatium on April 6 — eclipse-themed, as it falls two days before the total solar eclipse of 2024 — with a home game against Natural State Roller Derby. They hope to begin partnering with local community centers in Little Rock and other Central Arkansas towns for future matches; often, spaces designed for basketball can comfortably host a derby game.

For cities, derby can be a resource in “helping people stay healthy, helping them have a community to be involved in,” Macom said. Plus, Rock Town’s status as a nonprofit means they’re teaching younger skaters what it means to be on a board or a committee.

Another tattoo visible on the Rock Town team is on Macom’s arm. “Trust Yourself,” it says. Watching her fly across the Skatium track, it’s easy to see that mantra is as much physical as it is mental. In derby, trusting yourself means trusting in your sense of balance. Your depth perception, your senses, the way you hold your weight. Trusting in your choices about the company you’ve chosen — in this case, your teammates. It’s undoubtedly a sensibility she’ll try to foster in her daughter Cadence who, at 19, has decided she wants to skate. “My little mommy derby heart’s so happy about it,” Macom said. Cadence’s derby name, Macom reports, is “a deep cut” — Block Lobster, a nod to a crustacean-centric tune by the B-52’s. Derby, Macom said, “seems like it’s tapping into something in Little Rock that I think that our community really needs, which is inclusion of people and allowing them to find a space where they can get healthy in their body and they can get mentally strong … . And just be their own person, with whatever name they want to choose.”

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How a cold turkey salad turned a Heights deli into an institution.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND STORY BY DAVE ANDERSON

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ou’ll find no reference to a Schedule 1 drug on the Burge’s menu, but if you’ve had it, then you know what “turkey crack” is. It’s turkey salad, the dish with a decades-long cult following and thousands of happily dependent customers.

While some may bristle at the cultural connotation behind the unofficial moniker, we get it: Generations of Arkansans have been getting their fix at Burge’s Hickory Smoked Turkeys and Hams in Little Rock’s Heights neighborhood.

“Everyone thinks they came up with that,” owner Jeff Voyles says of the nickname. “They’re like, [whispers conspiratorially] ‘You know what we call it in our family? We call it ‘turkey crack’!”

Louise “Mama” Henderson deserves credit for turning a poultry-based salad into an Arkansas culinary mainstay. She began running the kitchen at Burge’s in Little Rock in 1985. The Heights location is a satellite of the original Lewisville (Lafayette County) shop.

Turkey salad was once almost an afterthought, selling only a gallon a week. With Henderson’s recipe adjustments, though, the dish was soon flying off the shelves ­— not just in sandwich form, but as a takeout item.

Using a special Italian mixer and a combination of ground turkey breast, hard-boiled eggs, relish, mayo and black pepper, Henderson, her daughter Audra and the kitchen team now mix up anywhere from 400800 pounds of turkey salad each week (that’s 20,000 pounds a year, for those counting at home).

“It has a cult following,” said Voyles, who bought the restaurant in 2009. “I’ve got customers in California that will spend $200 in overnight shipping to get four quarts sent to their house for a dinner party.”

And, of course, there are other things on the menu.

The turkey sandwich is the top seller, along with the

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turkey melt, which features smoked turkey slices on a toasted bun, with bacon, melted cheese and lettuce.

The cherry limeades, catfish and ham are also popular.

A group of longtime friends and political insiders dubbing itself “The Commission” has been meeting at Burge’s on Mondays for over three decades.

“We always have two tables reserved, and sometimes three,” well-known local Democratic politico Sheila Bronfman said. “Everybody knows what to do: They call in a to-go order so that it’s ready when we get here.

And then we just go pick it up and eat it here.”

Even COVID-19 couldn’t squash the group’s thirst for a weekly Burge’s fix. “We met on our back porch,” Bronfman recalled. “Yeah, we did that for a year. Everybody came and picked their Burge’s up and brought it to the house.”

Dining in is better, though, Bronfman said. “It’s a neighborhood. You see everybody that you know, and everybody visits.”

“It’s the comfort of this place,” Voyles said. “And not only do people feel comfortable here, they see their friends here. You see them run over to this person at this table, they’re waving at that person at that table.

Everybody knows everybody. And there’s a feeling of togetherness that they have.”

First opened in 1962 by Alden Burge, the Lewisville flagship remains open today, and is home to a restaurant and the robust mail-order business that ships thousands of smoked turkeys and hams across the country every year.

The Little Rock location opened in 1974 and expanded in 1979. Now beginning its 50th year in Central Arkansas, the Heights eatery is as popular as ever. Burge’s was inducted into the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame in 2019.

TOP TURKEY: Burge’s Smoked Turkey Sandwich is the top seller at the Heights restaurant.

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POULTRY IN MOTION: (Clockwise from top left) Burge’s owner Jeff Voyles and turkey salad innovator Louise “Mama” Henderson make a great team, a standard lunch crowd at the Heights shop and the signature Smoked Turkey Salad with crackers.

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“NOT ONLY DO PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE HERE, THEY SEE THEIR FRIENDS HERE. YOU SEE THEM RUN OVER TO THIS PERSON AT THIS TABLE, THEY’RE WAVING AT THAT PERSON AT THAT TABLE.” 44 JANUARY 2024

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WATTLE YOU HAVE?: (Clockwise from top left) A group called “The Commission” shows up at Burge’s every Monday, the quaint Heights storefront drips antique charm, Burge’s smoked ham.

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TURKEY SALAD WAS ONCE ALMOST AN AFTERTHOUGHT, SELLING ONLY A GALLON A WEEK.

AS AMERICAN AS FRIED PIE: You don’t have to get the turkey salad; Burge’s has other stuff, too. Their catfish and fried pies are decidedly Arkansan, their Arkansas Food Hall of Fame accolades well-deserved.

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Special Advertising Section of the Arkansas Times

CHANGEMAKERS Community Champions in Arkansas During the past five decades, we’ve reported on Arkansas and worked to propel it forward. To celebrate 50 years of publishing, we’re highlighting those local changemakers who continue to push the needle toward progress. To our community champions — this one’s for you.

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STAR JACKSON American Indian Center of Arkansas | Executive Director

S

“THESE PROGRAMS ARE SAVING LIVES.”

Special Advertising Section of the Arkansas Times

tar Jackson – executive director of the American Indian Center of Arkansas – didn’t always have advocacy and service on her roadmap. Originally from Arkansas – she found herself burnt out working as an accountant for the state’s Department of Education.

A job search eventually led her to the world of case management at the American Indian Center of Arkansas (AICA). In operation since 1977, the nonprofit serves the American Indian community in Arkansas through a variety of important initiatives.

“I took a pay cut to have my heart completely fulfilled,” she said. She focused on learning everything she could to work her way up at the AICA and took over as the executive director a year ago.

“The AICA seeks to empower the American Indian community, preserve its rich cultural legacy, and ensure its members have access to the opportunities and resources needed to thrive,” Jackson explained.

Over the past year the AICA has grown exponentially in both personnel and programming. Additions include a mental health program complete with a suicide hotline as well as resources aimed at helping seniors garner employment.

“These programs are saving lives,” Jackson said.

“My role at the AICA is more than a professional obligation; it is a heartfelt endeavor to contribute meaningfully to the preservation and flourishing of American Indian communities, ensuring their voices are heard and their rights are upheld.”

Jackson and the team at AICA are looking forward to more momentum in 2024.

“The AICA staff is a group of leaders driven by a very special service heart. None of these successes are mine alone. The AICA family is a force,” Jackson said. “I invite everyone to come to our office to see our displays, and to meet these amazing leaders in community service.”

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MELISSA DAWSON

MICHAEL ORNDORFF

The Centers | CEO

Orndorff Construction | Owner & Operator

M

A

elissa Dawson, The Centers CEO, is leading the charge to transform healthcare delivery and provide Arkansans with integrated services that address both body and mind.

As part of its commitment to meeting the unique and evolving needs of the community, The Centers now offers a full continuum of care. To treat clients holistically, The Centers has opened an adjacent primary care medical clinic and operates a full-service pharmacy.

“The Centers Medical Clinic and pharmacy are access points to primary care for the clients we serve and the community at large,” Dawson said. “We now provide behavioral and physical healthcare, which means our clinical and medical staff work together to improve client outcomes.”

The Centers has long been a trusted provider of outpatient counseling, child and adolescent residential treatment, adult disability residential programming and therapeutic foster care. It also houses a nationally recognized human trafficking treatment program, among other innovative and high-quality services.

“The Centers is committed to eliminating barriers to care,” Dawson said. “I am proud of the steps we are taking to meet our community’s growing needs — physically, mentally and emotionally.”

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ccording to Michael Orndorff, owner and operator of Orndorff Construction, success shouldn’t look the same for each generation.

Although he’s lived all over, Orndorff lays claim to the Natural State and its potential to provide a stellar quality of life – especially from a community standpoint.

A champion in the development space – Orndorff flipped the script on what the American Dream can look like in Central Arkansas. Enter Pettaway Square in the Pettaway Neighborhood.

Spearheaded by Orndorff, the community is a successful showcase in placemaking – complete with smaller, but desirable houses linked by walkways and funky, eclectic shops. “Steps are missing on the ladder and we’re replacing them,” he explained. Building smaller and intentionally – from both a residential and commercial standpoint – lowers the point of entry as well as the price of admission for home ownership and owning a business.

Orndorff plans to continue creating community via this mindset.

“The old way of living is becoming cool again,” Orndorff said. “We’re leaning back into that more walkable, dense, urban-style living.”

Special Advertising Section of the Arkansas Times

ARKANSAS ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK

DOUG NORWOOD

(from left)

Norwood & Norwood | Champion of Justice

Karen Musick, Shelle Stormoe, Sarah Samuels and Saige Anderson

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ounded in 2016, the Arkansas Abortion Support Network (AASN) aims to reduce barriers to abortion access in Arkansas. Initially the AASN provided escorts to those looking to receive an abortion.

However, when legislation changed at the federal level, the team began working hard on their next project – opening the Y.O.U. Center.

In operation for a little over a year, the Y.O.U. Center provides emergency resources to those who can’t afford to leave the state should they need reproductive healthcare. It’s open on Fridays and Saturdays and provides information on all the parenting options available as well as access to free emergency contraception.

AASN founding member and treasurer Karen Musick said, “We have an amazing team that makes it all possible.” Those needing support can find out more about AASN and the Y.O.U. Center at arabortionsupport.org.

Until things change, the AASN and Y.O.U. Center will continue to improve access to reproductive freedom.

N

orwood & Norwood is a criminal defense firm based in Northwest Arkansas. Founding partner and lead litigation attorney Doug Norwood has practiced for over 30 years with one goal: to level the playing field for the common man. Doug has been awarded by his peers the “Champion of Justice” for Arkansas designation twice in his career.

Originally a transplant from Florida – he said, “Moving to Arkansas is the best decision I ever made.” He met his wife here and was able to start a successful law practice. As a younger man, Norwood worked as a prison guard. This formative experience was the catalyst for his drive to take up for the little guys – as he saw the system letting them down.

Norwood has won numerous federal civil rights cases that have resulted in millions of dollars for families, shut down a city jail, and is currently fighting for the rights of indigent defendants in bond hearings.

He believes justice delayed is justice denied and plans to continue to advocate for an adequately funded, fair criminal justice system. Champion of justice indeed.

Special Advertising Section of the Arkansas Times

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SAVVY SUMMER CAMP (WITH POWER TOOLS): Catherine Brown (at left) and Bailey Faulkner stand on the ramp Ozark Mission Project built at the Benton home of Johnna Ford.

MISSION POSSIBLE

A GROUP’S COMMITMENT TO BUILDING ACCESSIBLE COMMUNITIES.

BY TRICIA LARSON

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BRIAN CHILSON

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rmed with power tools and a desire to help, Ozark Mission Project’s teen volunteers are helping more people live safely and comfortably in their homes.

According to 2023 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 16% of adults in Arkansas have a disability that impacts their mobility.

Many struggle to live in homes that are not fully accessible, often facing the dual challenge of overcoming mobility issues while experiencing financial or personal hardship. Whether because of age, illness or accident, many Arkansans find themselves in need of wheelchair ramps, handrails or assistance with home maintenance.

That’s where the Ozark Mission Project steps in, completing home renovations, repairs and beautification projects at no cost.

“Our main purpose is just to help others — whoever that is,” said Bailey Faulkner, Ozark Mission Project’s executive director. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a child or a senior. Accessibility issues face everyone regardless of age.”

Catherine Brown, 16, has volunteered with OMP for three summers.

“I first heard about Ozark Mission Project through my mom, because she volunteered with them when she was in high school,” Brown said. “I was excited to give back to my community in this way.”

OMP’s summer camp sessions are fully immersive experiences. Volunteer builders work with the same team for a week. In addition to providing the project plans and materials, OMP offers safety and skills training and project support at each site.

“The work environments are extremely safe,”

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Brown said. Before they begin, volunteers are given a chance to get “familiar with most of the tools we use and what to do in case of an emergency. The staff members and supervisors of the projects also make sure everyone is safe.”

Brown said they take frequent breaks to drink water and apply sunscreen, and volunteers are instructed to wear appropriate safety gear like gloves and glasses when working with tools.

Faulkner says they are one of the few organizations in the state that complete accessibility and beautification projects at no cost. “OMP does not ask for financial information or any sort of sweat equity to qualify,” Faulkner said.

“We hope to serve as many neighbors as possible without any barrier to receiving assistance.”

The organization’s use of the term “neighbor” to refer to the homeowners they serve is rooted in its Christian foundation. Its website references the scripture in which Jesus instructs followers to “love our neighbors as ourselves.”

OMP began in 1986 when 35 people from local service-minded congregations traveled to the Northeast Arkansas town of Imboden on a mission project. The organization was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1995 and was run entirely by volunteers until 2004. Today, it has two full-time and seven part-time staff members, and about 1,500 youth, young adults and families work on projects each year. The organization dispatches volunteer work crews across nearly 30 counties.

OMP does most of its work in June and July, when groups of adolescent and college-aged volunteers commit one week of their summer vacations to improve the lives of others.

The builders rise daily, pack their lunches, which are typically shared and eaten with the project’s homeowner, and return to the lodging site — often an area church — for food, fun and fellowship in the evening.

OMP stresses relationship building, including with the homeowners they’re serving.

“This last year, we actually played Uno with our neighbors, and it was so fun,” Brown said.

“We made jokes, and it was really a nice experience to bond with our neighbors, too — not just the people in our group.”

Sometimes, Faulkner said, in addition to a repair or build, the need the group is meeting is loneliness. “Our kids really realize that they’re there to provide companionship, too, so they’ll play games and talk to the person,” Faulkner said. “Sure, they’ll be power washing or mowing their lawn, but the active service they’re giving is an actual connection.”

Faulkner says the program teaches the kids the importance of making eye contact, how to be gracious and say “thank you” to someone face-to-face, and how to write a proper thankyou note once the project is done. She says mission trips are a lesson in communication and a way to develop important soft skills.

1&2

A project doesn’t always have to be safety- or accessibility-related to be approved by OMP. Brown said one of her most memorable builds was helping a homeowner reclaim an outdoor shed. The woman, who enjoyed gardening, could not access the structure due to overgrown vegetation, and garden tools and supplies were piling up inside her house because she could not properly store them.

Brown’s team cleared the pathway to the shed, cleaned up the surrounding yard, fixed the building’s exterior doors and replaced interior shelving. They then moved items from the home and stocked and organized the reclaimed space.

“She was so overjoyed seeing the work that we had done for her that she was in tears,” Brown said.

Ryan Lewis, an occupational therapist for Elite Home Health, knows firsthand the difference OMP makes for project recipients. As a therapist who works with patients in their homes, he’s witnessed how challenging it is for individuals and their families to make homes accessible — and how detrimental it is to care when patients cannot move around their homes freely or come and go when needed. “For years, I’ve been searching for ways that I can help get people connected to resources,” Lewis said. He was connected to OMP through his network of social workers, and as he learned more about the organization, he became one of OMP’s project referral sources.

Lewis submits applications for patients with the “highest needs and lowest means and resources at their disposal.” His latest referral was for a woman in need of a wheelchair ramp who was unable to access critical medical appointments and cancer treatments. “She was at a standstill medically and unable to leave her house,” Lewis said.

While projects typically occur in the summer, OMP focuses on urgent and emergency needs in the off months. “It was a godsend for them to be able to come out and do that pick-up project in the fall,” Lewis said. “I was so ecstatic that it was able to be completed.”

Bailey said she would love to expand operations, but the organization receives “triple the amount of requests than we do the number of volunteer groups that can meet the need.”

“We’d love to be able to do projects throughout the year,” Faulkner said. “What’s keeping us from that is we need more people to volunteer and be willing to come and serve — a work team, an office, a Girl Scout troop, whatever it might be.”

“You don’t have to be a carpenter; just be willing to help,” Lewis said.

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JANUARY 2024 57

CULTURE

MAKING LIGHT OF HISTORY A Q&A WITH BRAD NEELY.

BY DANIEL GREAR

W

SLANTED STORYTELLING: “You, Me, and Ulysses S. Grant,” the forthcoming book from Fort Smith native Brad Neely, imbues the sacred topic of American history with horny, scatalogical and glaringly anachronistic details.

58 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

hen I found out that Brad Neely grew up in Fort Smith, I kind of freaked out. He’s not a public-facing celebrity by any means, but among my group of friends he’s something of a god.

The reason we’re so smitten with Neely is “Wizard People, Dear Reader,” his wickedly funny voiceover dub of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” It’s like the audio commentary you might find on the special features of a DVD, except instead of hearing from a director, you get hyper verbose narration from a breathlessly unhinged nerd spewing a never-ending supply of crass, absurd and frequently poetic observations about what he sees on screen. Vice magazine speculated, only half-ironically, that it “may be the greatest postmodern text of the 21st century.”

In the roughly 20 years since recording “Wizard People, Dear Reader,” Neely, 47, has gone on to have a quietly impressive career of writing, producing, voice acting and cartooning for adult-oriented animated TV shows on Comedy Central, Adult Swim and Paramount+. Lucky for me, though, he’s still quite fond of the Harry Potter project. “I don’t want to toot my own horn, but, yeah, I love that thing. I love everything about it,” he told me recently from Burbank, California, where he now lives. Even luckier for me, his forthcoming book is written in the voice of the same freakishly confident narrator.

“You, Me, and Ulysses S. Grant: A Farcical Biography” — out on Jan. 23 — is, you guessed it, a slanted telling of Grant’s life story, starting at his birth in 1822 and ending 43 years later, after he led the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy. As with “Wizard People, Dear Reader,” Neely’s approach is one of decadent irresponsibility, imbuing the sacred topic of American history with horny, scatalogical and glaringly anachronistic details and conjectures, all dictated by the whims of the narrator rather than an allegiance to fact. Many moments, though, manage to sidestep questions of accuracy by leaning into what’s unverifiable.

Take, for example, this early description of Grant as a teenager: “Ulysses had an uncommon

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He couldn’t explain it; his body just knew, and he allowed this to become his most important way of knowing. Grant was the dog whisperer, but for horses. No one in the history of man and beast has been better with a beast than this man.” It’s hilariously specific and probably false, but how exactly could you dispute it?

“You, Me, and Ulysses S. Grant” can easily and fulfillingly be read as purely a comedy, but if my conversation with Neely indicates anything, it’s that he intended the book to spark conversations about the nature of history. Are the kind of liberties taken by Neely’s narrator all that dissimilar from the leaps required to make any kind of coherent narrative out of our past?

Of all the possible subjects in the world, why did you choose Ulysses S. Grant?

I started this book in 2005ish, on the heels of doing the “Harry Potter’’ project and the Washington short [“George Washington rap”; Google it — you won’t regret it] which I was surprised to find an audience for on the then-very-nascent YouTube. It was just me and cat videos, so I kind of got lucky with the timing. But after the “Wizard People” thing, I really enjoyed the idea of a flawed narrator, someone kind of ruining something by loving it, getting it all wrong and seeing themselves too much in the subject, making it about themselves, unconsciously or consciously. And I thought that it would be a good way to segue into writing books, which was always in the back of my mind. I was always a reader and interested in books and entertained notions of being able to enter that world without the proper on-ramp.

So I started the book thinking, “OK, I did one president in a funny way, maybe I could find another one.” Friends of mine and I had watched the Ken Burns “Civil War” series together as something to do while drinking, and little grace notes of his life sounded fun. Grant was somebody who seemed hugely pivotal to the story of America, but hadn’t had a spotlight really put on him in a certain way. And I felt like I could fuck that up real nice. [laughs]

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Despite the book having a lot of, well, factual flexibility, it offers a pretty thorough overview of Grant’s life from his birth until the end of the Civil War. How much research did you do?

I read his personal memoirs first, just getting it straight from the horse’s mouth. And he pretty much does everything that I would end up needing. There are other biographies that exist for him and you do what you can, but this was a parody. I saw it as sort of like Monty Python. I think a strict scholar of Grant’s would probably really want to beat me up or call me to task on a lot of things, but they’ll have to admit that I’m playing within the confines of the facts.

More often than not, the book is super irreverent. That said, I was really surprised and moved by how much time you spend tenderly describing the courtship story between Grant and his eventual wife, Julia Dent. For example: “She truly saw the roughshod, outof-place pissed-off horseman, drunk and mean and sad and sweet with an uneven freckly face. And he really saw this giantess, a frown in a gown, with crazy eyes, and sane honesty.” Why dwell on romance like this?

I think it’s one of the best things to dwell on that we have as a species. Love is one of those things that evolution has had us develop that’s precious and fragile and special. It’s the thing we should shine the biggest light on. We can get cynical and get irony poisoning about it, but the

things that matter are love and family and compassion. Everything else can be damned. I saw in Grant a person with not a whole lot of money, not a whole lot of opportunity, not a whole lot of means. He was better off than a lot of people in America at the time, but he was always up against the dilemma of “OK, the best thing for me to do for my family and my wife is to leave them and go make money, or leave them and fight for the country for the sake of the greater good.” I thought it was good for the dramatic core of the story to have somebody have to decide between love and power.

Is that based on what you read about Grant or more of an invention?

A little bit of both. There’s that old classic, “Who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb?” and the funny answer is that he and his wife are both in that tomb in New York. They stayed together. It’s just a fact. I was definitely adding everything that I wanted to for the sake of my own themes and story structure, but I don’t think I was doing anything that was contrary to the facts. I think the book is trying to make a point about what biographies ultimately do. The narrator calls himself a “biographer” and “historian” and I think it’s funny that in all biographies, even the most legitimate ones, there’s always a bit of editorial subjectivity that has to come into play. I don’t think there’s a perfect, 100% objective history or biography. I don’t think that all biography is false, but I did want to do a really false one to

highlight this philosophical issue about history being ultimately subjective.

I definitely don’t want to be somebody who’s like, “We can’t trust journalists” and “We can’t trust nonfiction writers.” That’s not my point.

My point is that you can’t know people unless you’re in the room with them, unless you really spend time with them. I think we have a tendency to think that we know a lot more than we do just because we have these timelines or little bits of facts. There’s no way that I could ever know what it was like to be Ulysses S. Grant. To imagine that empathy is that powerful is dangerous.

Another unexpected element of the book is that Grant is portrayed as having a lot of quick and clear moral revelations throughout his life. For example, pretty much as soon as he’s sent to the Mexican-American War in the earlier part of his career, he recognizes the foreigners as “people looking for ease, looking for love, wanting what’s best for their kids and old folks” rather than the enemies he’s been told they are.

Actually, some facts are there. Grant talks about the Mexican War in his personal memoirs and he says it was a bad idea. It was a land grab, pure and simple. But those portrayals are also based on a major thesis of the book — that we see things through our time. It’s so difficult to try to see things how it would have been then.

But in this book, I’m failing on purpose by seeing everything through the lens of 2018 or 2019 or January 6th. Historians and biographers do that without realizing it. It’s an unconscious thing where we’re kind of predicting the past.

It’s an interpretation of the scant facts we have through our contemporary consciousness that knows everything that happened in between.

That gives me reason to believe that Grant was genuinely wrestling with those questions, but you’re also inviting skepticism by writing it in such an unambiguous way.

Exactly. That’s kind of the comedy of it, like, “What does this fucking writer think he’s doing with history? How dare he put our ideals in the mouths of these 1800s minds!” But the truth is, the seeds were there. Grant’s dad was an abolitionist. And Grant’s dad was a bunkmate of John Brown. There have been really wise people all through history who were compassionate and knew that slavery was wrong. It’s easy to see history as black and white, but there were people who saw things as black and white. And I think this book tries to force the black and whiteness of the issue. I definitely didn’t want to get into the gray issues of why the Civil War happened, states’ rights and all that shit people like to discuss. This is just good and evil storytelling.

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JANUARY 2024 61

CANNABIZ

THIS BUD’S FOR YOU IF THE BREWER BEHIND BUDWEISER CAN RUN ADS FOR BEER, SHOULD MARIJUANA CULTIVATORS BE ALLOWED TO MARKET PRODUCTS TO CONSUMERS?

BRIAN CHILSON

BY GRIFFIN COOP

CASE PENDING: Ad firm owner Elizabeth Michaels said an upcoming ruling could be a “total game-changer.”

A

new advertising landscape could await the state cannabis industry in 2024 if a Pulaski County judge rules in favor of a Pine Bluff cultivator arguing that the state’s limitations on medical marijuana ads are unconstitutional.

At a Dec. 7 hearing, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chip Welch said he planned to issue a ruling by the end of 2023 in a case brought nearly two years earlier by Good Day Farm.

“It would be a total game-changer,” said Elizabeth Michael, an owner of a Little Rock cannabis advertising firm.

Good Day Farm has argued that cannabis advertising is commercial speech concerning a lawful activity, since medical marijuana is legal in Arkansas and effectively lawful under federal law. State regulations prohibiting cultivators from advertising to the public violate First Amendment protections on free speech, they say.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office, representing state agencies that regulate the industry, has argued that cannabis is still

62 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

illegal federally. That means Arkansas cultivators and dispensaries are not due the commercial speech protections they are seeking, Griffin claims.

Welch ruled on part of the case earlier this year when he said the state legislature lacked the authority to make changes to the constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2016 that authorized medical marijuana in Arkansas. The judge struck down 27 modifications to the law made by state lawmakers in the years since. Griffin quickly announced his intention to appeal, but he’s been prevented from doing so until the court rules on the advertising issue as well.

The case hinges on the “Central Hudson” test, a standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court and adopted by the state Supreme Court regarding the government regulation of commercial speech. First, the test says the speech must concern lawful activity. If it does, there must be a substantial government interest in regulating the speech, the regulations must advance the

government’s interest, and the regulations must be no more extensive than necessary.

During oral arguments in December, Noah Watson of the state attorney general’s office argued that cannabis businesses are not engaged in lawful activity because marijuana remains illegal federally. Thus, the businesses’ speech would not be constitutionally protected and the state can regulate their advertising.

Watson said cultivators are not allowed to market their products to the general public because the public is not allowed to purchase products directly from them. Cultivators are allowed to market their products to dispensaries, which purchase products from cultivators, Watson said.

Dispensaries also face restrictions upon marketing their products to the general public, which Watson argued furthers the state’s interest in protecting children. Dispensaries are prohibited from advertising on television, on radio, in print media or on the internet unless they have reliable evidence that no more than 30% of the audience viewing the ads will be under the age of 18, according to rules established by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division.

Gary Marts, an attorney for Good Day Farm, said the state’s position on marijuana is conflicted because it opposes cannabis in one sense but also regulates the industry and has received more than $100 million in tax revenue related to medical marijuana.

Marts said cannabis businesses’ speech is protected because cannabis is legal on the state level and is effectively lawful federally as well.

Since 2014, Congress has prohibited the U.S. Department of Justice from using funds to enforce federal cannabis laws in states where cannabis is legal on the state level, Marts said.

Marts disputed Watson’s argument that advertising should be restricted for cultivators because cultivators don’t sell to the general public. Marts said the brewer that makes Budweiser advertises its beer in Arkansas, although it is not a licensed retailer in Arkansas. The brewer’s ads for Budweiser are meant to tell consumers to purchase the products at retail outlets, Marts said.

Marts also argued the case would need to

enter the discovery phase to understand how restricting marijuana advertising impacts the state’s interest in protecting children.

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Michael, an owner of Little Rock-based cannabis advertising firm Bud Agency, said the industry faces a variety of limitations on advertising, from state and federal regulations to rules set by social media companies.

From Michael’s perspective, medical marijuana patients are disadvantaged by the state’s rules, particularly when cultivators are prohibited from educating the public about their products.

“That poses a big problem for the industry as a whole since the cultivators have a lot of the knowledge about the actual products that they are producing and no one will speak more passionately than the person who is making it,” she said.

Dispensaries are allowed to advertise to the public but must keep in mind the rule about ad audience composition. Many digital platforms can verify that more than 70% of their users are adults and can accept dispensary ads.

It’s harder to nail down the demographics on who is viewing outdoor advertising or print media. If a dispensary were to place an ad on a billboard, it would also have to contend with restrictions against advertising within 1,000 feet of certain places like schools, Michael said.

Beyond the state restrictions, Michael said cannabis businesses must also deal with public perceptions. Some companies view cannabis as “risky” and don’t want to accept what they believe to be “dirty cannabis money” because it is still technically prohibited under federal law.

Michael said the number of businesses in that category is shrinking.

Alan Leveritt, publisher of the Arkansas Times, which Michael described as a “cannabis-friendly” media outlet, echoed the Good Day argument that breweries market beer to consumers without selling to them directly.

“Why shouldn’t a cultivator be allowed to promote its brand to medical marijuana cardholders even though the customer buys the product from a dispensary?” he said.

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DON’T MISS THIS!

GREEN LIGHT FOR WELLNESS Yoga, public policy panels, cooking classes and more at the Cannabis & Wellness Expo 2024.

BRIAN CHILSON

BY ARKANSAS TIMES STAFF

Time to weed out misconceptions and grow your knowledge of medical marijuana at the upcoming Cannabis and Wellness Expo. Hosted by the Arkansas Times and the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association, this premier event takes place on Friday, Jan. 19 (Industry Day), and Saturday, Jan. 20 (Consumer Day), with programming from 10 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. both days.

Sponsored by Good Day Farm, the symposium takes place at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock and does not require a medical marijuana card to enter.

Friday offers a variety of educational programming opportunities for those in the cannabis industry or those looking to break into the business. Representatives from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) will be on-site to discuss recent legislation changes and how they may impact the state’s cannabis business.

Saturday is for both medical marijuana patients and the general public. Booths, vendors, live demonstrations and patient panels will transform the arena into a cannabis wellness wonder with something for everyone.

Participants include mental health therapists, health clinics, dispensaries, CBD vendors, skincare, clothing, massage therapists, glass shops, acupuncturists, vape shops, artists and much more. Don’t miss Saturday’s cooking sessions featuring delectable recipes from Trevor Swedenburg, vice president of culinary operations at Natural State Medicinals. Expo-goers can explore programming focused on microdosing, the entourage effect, and a deep dive into the 18 state-approved qualifying conditions. Explore veteran’s health via a

patient panel led by Angela Campagna of Face 2 Face Therapy. Learn more about the qualifying conditions via a diverse patient panel featuring current cardholders and sit in on the women in cannabis panel sponsored by Wright Lindsey Jennings and spearheaded by Erika Gee. Doctors will be available on-site to offer certifications, including Dr. Lee Nayles of Nayles Medical, Dr. Brian Nichol of Interventional Pain Consultants, Dr. Thomas Tvedten of the Healing Clinic, Dr. Kimberly Whicker of Sugar Magnolia Compassionate Health Clinic, Dr. Chizoba Usuwa of Remedy Health & Wellness Clinic and Dr. Willard Howard. Alongside the educational programming, expect giveaways and live wellness performances featuring myriad professionals including yoga and more.

Exhibitors and expo participants include: Berner’s by Good Day Farm, Good Day Farm Dispensaries, Custom Cannabis, The Source, Natural Relief Dispensary, Osage Creek Dispensary, Harvest Cannabis Arkansas, Buffalo Co, Smokiez Edibles, The Clear Vape, AA Analytics, The Healing Clinic, Greenlight Dispensaries, Z Cannabis Company, Healing Hemp of Arkansas, Natural State CannaMoms, Now and Zen Massage Therapy, Vibes Papers, Liberty Defense Group, Steep Hill, Chef Pete The Canna Chef, Cannabis By Women™ by SHAKE, and CBD&ME® by SHAKE. This year’s sponsors include: Custom Cannabis, AA Analytics, Wright Lindsey Jennings, Dark Horse Medicinals, Natural State Medicinals, Leafology, Wana, Smokiez Edibles, The Clear, Keef Cola, and Mary’s Medicinals.

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JANUARY 2024 65

THE OBSERVER

THE ARM I GOT AT WALMART

J

anuary signals the start of an undoubtedly terrifying new year in an America so screwed up that The Observer has considered whether this timeline is the result of time travel gone wrong. It also means it’s been two trips around the sun since Yours Truly broke an arm.

The Observer is normally terrible at remembering anniversaries like that, even letting Valentine’s Day sneak up on us like a candy-pink velociraptor a time or two. The arm, however, we remember to the date and hour, because it happened on New Year’s Eve. There wasn’t even liquor involved. We swear.

Our story begins as many broken limb stories do: Up until then, it had been a beautiful day.

Junior, Spouse and the Pater Familias had been out and about, including to the Arkansas River, where we photographed the pillars underpinning the 430 bridge curving moodily north into the fog. From there, we were gonna stop at the Walmart way out Highway 10 to pick up a few things for the New Year’s Eve countdown.

We’d run the gauntlet, cleared the registers and we were on the way out when it happened.

It was, The Observer freely admits, all our fault. We’re sure that admission comes as a great disappointment to the vast platoon of Walmart lawyers, who probably experience four-hour erections or equivalent when they imagine dragging scruffy old deadbeats like The Observer over the bar and verbally deboning them on cross examination.

But, as we said: The Observer never had a case. Here’s the facts, ladies and gentlemen of the jury: since Junior was born, his very protective mother and father have walked with him in what can only be called Combat Formation. The Observer in the rear, Junior 66 JANUARY 2024

ARKANSAS TIMES

in the middle and Spouse leading the way. It worked when Junior was 6. Now that he’s 6-feet3 and 280, with a chest you could fold towels on, walking as a family unit in public looks like Spouse is a VIP being escorted by her former Mossad Agent bodyguard and the portly old fart he’s training to replace.

So there we were, walking single file, headed for the doors. Spouse was in front, pushing the cart full of various shit we definitely didn’t need.

But something caused her to stop. That caused Junior to stop. Which should have caused The Observer, as the caboose, to also rattle to a stop.

But you see, in that moment, we were looking away, scanning for a display of those Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg bowl lighters.

In another probable blow to our credibility as a personal injury plaintiff, that’s the kind of celebrity endorsement that really speaks to The Observer and our interests. We’ve got a looootttta candles to light around here, Martha.

Momentarily enthralled by commerce, The Observer looked ahead just as we were about to run into Junior. The most probable consequence of that would have been The Observer rebounding off Junior’s trapezoid-shaped back like a 9-ball bank shot. But the baby must be protected. So we tried a spectacularly unsuccessful feint around him, which only managed to catch The Observer’s toe on Junior’s heel, planted as firmly as Pinnacle Mountain.

The Observer, we’re sure, screamed like Luke Skywalker being shat down the airshaft in the George Lucas cut. When The Observer’s palms hit the deck, our full-contact planking skills failed us and we dropped both elbows simultaneously on the polished concrete floor under our considerable weight.

And that’s how we spent most of the rest of New Year’s Eve in the ER.

The break in the left humerus was not bad enough for surgery, and too close to the shoulder to put a cast on it. So in the end, after some X-rays, they sent us home with a sling and a sensible, post-opioid-epidemic number of pain pills. Once that meager handful of Don’t Care was gone, it was grin and bear it. While the fingers still worked, the Observer’s arm might as well have been a summer sausage. Trying to lift it felt like a locomotive was parked on the back of our left hand.

You learn a lot about yourself and the people that care for you after breaking an arm, and they learn more about you than they ever wanted to know once you can no longer easily unbutton your pants. It was an especially problematic injury for someone who types for a living. But The Observer made Work work somehow, forearm propped on a strategically placed pillow for months and every left hand keyboard reach feeling like playing the lowest note on hell’s pipe organ. Thankfully, The Observer was still working at home full time then. The cussing might have alarmed our officemates.

So that’s how it happened, followed by physical therapy, not being able to use a drivethru for most of 2022, and the ordeal of breaking the grip of frozen shoulder, gritting it out turn by turn on the arm bike at Jim Dailey Fitness Center.

If whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, The Observer oughta be the strongest sumbitch you know by now, because we definitely wished for death a time or two. That said, whatever 2024’s got in store for us, we figure the kickoff and first quarter can’t possibly go any worse than the 2022 version. No matter what the future brings, or how many more years we get, we’ll never fail to take a little solace in that come New Year’s Day.

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