An Arkie’s Faith A hard rain

dence of the hard rain. It would be a day I wouldn’t forget for a long time.

All day the area had been under a Flood Warning, meaning that conditions were ripe for possible flooding. I thought about Job 12:15 (AMPC), which says, “He sends forth rains, and they overwhelm the land or transform it.” I had seen hard rain overwhelm and transform the landscape.

Most of us have had life experiences when it seems that troubles come in like a flood. It may be a health crisis, accident, job loss, or relationship breakdown. The truth is life is hard. It beats you down, wears you out, and disappoints you. One of the things you can be sure of in life is that, in the words of Bob Dylan, “A hard rain’s a-gonna fall.”

But just as sure as a hard rain falling are God’s promises. “When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”

Isaiah 59:19 (NKJV) be. Ponds were overflowing, and rivers of rushing water flowed down driveways. Occasionally we would drive through a section of road with water standing on it and had to slow down to prevent hydroplaning. The sound of hitting those patches of water and the feeling of losing control of the car was unnerving.

Our enemy is powerful. He is a roaring, rushing flood with the intent to destroy us. He rushes about with deceit, distraction, discouragement, and destruction. Like flood waters, he values nothing, nor does he play favorites or give anyone a break.

The rain was relentless as we drove on toward Hot Springs. Water rushed through the ditches like a mighty river, flowing over driveways as the culverts were overwhelmed with more water than they could channel away. My head hurt from the tension of straining to see in the onslaught of rain. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tight that I had to remind myself to relax. But then we would hit another patch of water on the road, and the stress would return.

A few miles from Hot Springs, the rain finally let up enough so that my windshield wipers no longer had to be on high, furiously trying to keep the windshield clear. I was thankful for the reprieve. The rain was heavy as we returned home, but nothing like the torrential rain we had experienced earlier. I was grateful when we made it back to Mena.

Because I had cleared my work schedule for the doctor’s appointment, I decided to drive to De Queen to pick up a load of glass. The rain was just a drizzle as I went south on Highway 71. But before long, another band of torrential rain came through. I was second-guessing my decision to drive to De Queen.

When I arrived at my storage unit, I had to carefully pick my way through the driveway because it had washed out, and there was a gaping channel that my little S-10 pickup could not cross. I loaded my truck in the pouring rain and was soaked to the bone by the time I finished. As if on cue, the rain let up as soon as I finished loading my truck. Thankful for the reprieve, I headed back to Mena. Everywhere I looked, I could see the evi-

But there is a way to withstand the enemy. When Satan tries to erode our faith with the brutal rains of trouble and discouragement, we can trust in God. When the spiritual flood waters come, God has promised us safety. But just like an earthly flood, recognizing the warnings and seeking shelter is critical.

Gentle Reader, you know that hard rains are a part of life. When the rains come, hold on to the promise that God has given us in Isaiah 43:2 (NLT); “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

A hard rain’s a-gonna fall, but “Be satisfied with your present circumstances and with what you have; for God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down.” Hebrews 13:5 (AMPC)

Stout

continued from page 9

This type of tube lays on top of the abdominal wall and is kept in place in the stomach by a water-filled balloon. A special extension tube is attached when administering medicines or feedings.

“That’s the way he knew food for the first two years of his life,” she said.

“He didn’t take anything by mouth,” Steven said. “He didn’t have pacifiers. Tasting was after he turned two before he really got to taste food. He hasn’t slowed down since,” he joked, with Angela and Matthew agreeing.

They laugh as they mention the lunch ladies in the school cafeteria because Matthew loves to eat. Sometimes they give him extra. They’ll see the Stouts in Walmart and ask Matthew how he is then say, “He’s such a good eater.” His parents state the lanky teen eats healthy.

Matthew was 9 months old for his first palate repair. They corrected the tonguetied problem. Then it was ear tubes, followed by a surgery in Shreveport, Louisiana, for “exotropia” of the eyes.

“That was from me driving around and looking in the mirror and noticing his eyes were looking outward,” Steven said.

Matthew had two palate repairs and multiple sets of tubes.

“Finally, a specialist at Children’s went in and cleaned up and repaired his ear bones,” Steven said.

“The first eardrum had perforated and was starting to form a cyst,” Angela said, “or so they thought, against his skull. So, we had to get that corrected. The other one followed suit later on.”

Steven said, “He’s had more procedures than I can count without looking back on notes. He still comes out with the best day ever and most positive attitude. He doesn’t let any of it slow him down.”

ASD diagnosis

The Stouts also realized there might be other issues.

“His good-natured personality…” Steven began, “We actually had a hard time getting doctors to listen to us. They wouldn’t believe he needed to be checked for autism. [Doctors said,] ‘No, no, he’s too loving and he talks, and he’ll look you in the eyes. He just doesn’t match any of our little red flags.’ I kept telling them, ‘I know, but I’m with him 24/7.’

“There are certain concepts he locks down on that we can’t get out. We finally got him seen at the Dennis Development Center through Children’s. They did their test with the speech pathologist, with the neurologist, with the behaviorist and they came back and said, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s on the spectrum. He’s very high functioning, but he’s definitely on the spectrum. Shouldn’t be a problem.’”

Special Olympics

“Except for a few key concepts, it’s not a problem. It doesn’t impede him in school. It doesn’t impede him competing in Special Olympics. He and I spoke to a roomful of police officers at the Law Enforcement Torch Run kick-off conference. He stood up there with me and spoke.”

The Law Enforcement Torch Run ® for Special Olympics is the largest public awareness vehicle and grassroots for Special Olympics, according to the specialolympicsarkansas.org website.

Matthew is also a member of the Special Olympics Arkansas Youth Activation Committee (YAC). He spoke at a youth summit during the fall games back in November.

Matthew will also be participating in the spring games at the Bob Carver Bearcat Stadium on April 12.

“I was going to do javelin and bocce, but bocce is not ready yet for Mena High

School,” Matthew said.

Steven said, “They’re going to do bocce. This [spring] event is what gets him registered for summer games. The bocce they offer at summer games is traditional and it’s 22 years and up. The bocce he has participated with is unified and is school age and up. He won a gold medal during fall games playing unified bocce, but because

Stout

continued from page 15 it’s not being offered for his age range, he’s going to do the javelin throw and probably the 100-yard-dash. Maybe a 4x100 relay if we get that offered.”

Matthew’s Special Olympics participation dates back to 2018. He’s stacking up the medals. “I had two silver medals the first year. Two gold and one bronze the second year. Then COVID. Then the winter games (2022), my father and I, and my teammates from Area 17 — I cannot leave them out. They did a big part, too. All won gold medals for each floorball game — from the first to the second to the championship.”

Matthew has quite a few medals, and Steven got a gold medal, as well, playing in the floorball event.

Matthew prefers the summer games, “… because it’s toasty nice instead of winter, which is harsh and cold.”

Hobbies and activities

Matthew also likes reading, which he is currently working through “The Chronicles of Narnia” series at the moment. He also enjoys reading mysteries.

He enjoys drawing sometimes, and watching TV, including YouTube LEGO® videos.

He loves building and playing with LEGOs. He said it is considered a mental activism for creativity and imagination. As a matter of fact, the entire family enjoys LEGOs, and they’ve been to the LEGOLAND® Discovery Center at Grapevine Mills Mall, not far from the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport.

“The twins are both LEGO fans. They were born into it,” Steven said. “I’m a huge LEGO nerd. Angela has her kits. She got a bonsai tree for Christmas. She and the boys got together and built her bonsai tree.”

“We need a LEGO room,” Angela said. Matthew immediately suggested, “Maybe when my brother Noah moves out, I can have his room.”

Comic books and the related movies and TV shows are another favorite, especially the original Batman TV show with Adam West and Burt Ward. “Batman is my favorite DC superhero. Yes, he can be very rude and naughty, sometimes. He can be very violent, sometimes. Still, he’s a very cool superhero character. My second favorite in the DC Universe is Superman.

“My favorite superhero in Marvel is Captain America, the First Avenger.” Matthew really gets into the comic book action, including the sound effects, which he imitates.

For the most part, Matthew likes spending time with his family. “I like playing video games with my dad. Over spring break, this week, we played a lot of Minecraft Dungeons. I don’t game as much as my brother Noah. He plays Call of Duty a lot.”

They also frequently watch one of Matthew’s favorite shows, “The Andy Griffith Show.” Matthew gives some interesting summaries about shows such as Andy Griffith, “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and other programs he finds entertaining.

He has a speech therapy tool that is part of the Speech Buddies Tools that goes inside the mouth.

Steven described it, “You know the deals you blow and it unrolls? It looks like that, but it goes in the opposite direction to make him use his tongue to unroll it while using his ‘r’ sounds. It’s a new tool his new speech therapist just came in with. He does like most kids. He has a dog. He comes in and feeds her. If he’s got homework, he gets on his homework. If he’s got a test to study for — unlike the twins — he’ll go in his room and study. He’ll take care of chores. He sees things and says, ‘I’m going to take care of this. It needs to be done.’”

Matthew is back and forth on whether or not he wants to attend college. His father said, “We’re willing to just ride along with him as he discovers who he is and what he wants to do.”

Matthew has considered becoming a teacher. “I’ve got something that makes me feel like I could do this one day.” He explains his process of assisting others in class, providing some direction then allowing them to process the information in their special way instead of constantly talking.

Circus and rodeo fun

He and his parents also went to the circus during spring break. It was a first for both Matthew and Steven. “That was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.,” Matthew said. His favorite part was Leo, the clown. “He had a little clown car that looked like a muscle car. I’m not sure how clowns can fit in there.”

“He really enjoyed Leo,” Steven said, “and that’s a step up because clowns have been an issue in the past, because of scary clowns in shows.”

“Creepy faces on them,” Matthew added.

“For him to get excited about [Leo]… ” Steven said, “He’s okay with rodeo clowns because he’s done the handi-capable rodeo for years. He’s cool with the rodeo clowns. For him to be excited and happy about [Leo] the clown, for him, I wasn’t sure how it was going to be. That was really cool. Of course, anything that’s got to do with animals. And the funny stuff.”

“He really enjoyed the aerialist — things he’s seen on TV but never in person,” Angela said.

Beyond the comical routines and death-defying acts, Matthew added that peanuts were also traditional at circuses, and he ate his fair share.

At the end of the night, they got to speak with some of the performers, who the Stouts said were very nice. Matthew and Angela also had their photo taken with the ringmaster, Simone.

Stout

continued from page 16

As for the rodeo, Matthew believes his experience gets better every year. “I like riding the horses. I also like the hayrides, the roping and the barrel bucking.”

Worship

He also enjoys spending time with the Lord. The family attends Dallas Avenue Baptist Church in Mena. He enjoys the worshiping and the hymns. He said he doesn’t sing but hums the hymns. He likes the preaching, which he said, “… is storytelling from the Bible’s point of view.” He and his mother enjoy listening to gospel music.

YAC vlogs

When Matthew first began doing his monthly vlog for the Youth Activation group, he wasn’t certain what he should talk about after being given a list of topics. Steven had Matthew scoot over and started interviewing him on camera.

“We did a back-and-forth color commentary and submitted it. I told Angela I didn’t know if he was going to get the points for this, because they’re on a point system. The ones that participate the most get to go to things a little more. It came back and they said, ‘Wow, this was so great. The interplay between you and your son… .‘

“The woman who was over it, Jennifer Edwards, went to D.C. and that was one of the things they put on for YAC. All the kids in YAC wanted a copy of the video. We were the first ones on-screen. It was a lot of fun.”

Angela told them they needed their own show. “It sounds a lot like a show most of the times.”

Matthew tends to take on all roles of production and post-production, in addition to co-starring with his dad.

“It’s been a blast getting to do it with him,” Steven said.

After making several videos of the most recent vlog, Angela went through them, bloopers and all, and asked Steven, “How are you not worn out?” He replied with a laugh, “I’m exhausted. It’s the least physical thing I’ve had to do and I’m exhausted.”

Autism Awareness

Month

“Autism Awareness is understanding we’re all different and we all have something spe- cial to offer each other, if we’d just learn to listen.”

Angela said, “It’s also a sense of community. There’s a large number of people here affected by this one way or the other. This gives them a chance to realize they’re not alone. There are more people here, whether they’re caregivers or loved ones or the people who are on the spectrum, that they can learn from, communicate with and find out more information. We have a group, BASE of the Ouachitas, here locally that really helps to get a lot of that information out there.”

Customers she’s met the first time at the bank will realize Matthew is her son and they might know someone in their family on the spectrum. That opens doors. “They feel comfortable talking to me or to Steven and asking a few questions. We can steer them to resources and just be there for them, so to speak.”

Steven said that at one time when he noticed “Baby on Board” signs, he is now seeing “Autism” signs. “I met a gentleman, and became good friends with him, at the Louise Durham drop-off, because he had an autism plate. We got to talking. His son is on the spectrum. We chatted it up. We’re both dads in the service industry. We’re dealing with this and we’re not alone. I’ve seen stickers at the schools that say ‘autistic child.’ Sometimes they have more information [such as] non-verbal.

“We have a resource with Special Olympics Arkansas that I would like to see grow. It’s training that’s available. They also have laminated cards that are not quite as big as that poster are for trying to communicate with someone who is non-verbal.”

Matthew described Autism Awareness Month thus so, “It’s people with disabilities that also have extraordinary abilities that people might not know in the future. But Special Olympics provides inclusion for a lot of those people with disabilities other than myself.

“Even those who are different than you, they are also equal because of their extraordinary abilities live in this community.”

Steven said, “Being in law enforcement, I’ve been blessed that raising a child that’s on the spectrum has given me an insight and an awareness of working and interacting with people that either have intellectual disabilities or delays in my job and in the community. We have a lot of people in our community that are ID or IDD, and that includes Down syndrome, that includes autism, Asperger’s which they’re kind of getting away from.

“There are so many aspects of autism that if you don’t look at it from that point of view, it may look like someone is on drugs or someone is self-stimming. They won’t look you in the eye sometimes, or won’t speak, or won’t stop,” he said emphatically, “and they continue walking away. It’s important to me that law enforcement learn more about dealing more with people with intellectual disabilities and delays, so they can fully serve the community and protect the community.

“My son’s going to be out there, and even though he’s high on the spectrum and interacts with law enforcement on a regular basis, there are some they don’t. Something that can be misconstrued as a belligerent behavior may be them just trying to process. Like Matthew said about giving a person time to learn something is giving them time to process. We all process things dif- continued on page 18

STOUT continued from page 18 ferently. Some people on the spectrum, it takes a little bit longer to process and it may come from a different direction than what we think of as normal.

“The neurodiversity, we have to understand that that’s not new. It seems to advance in this day and age because they’re discovering more about it. We have to be aware as a society, as law enforcement, as first responders — EMS and fire going somewhere. It’s important to know how to interact with someone who may not be able to sit here like you and I and understand everything that’s going on, especially in a stressful situation. Sometimes Matthew will shut down if it’s too stressful. Everybody’s just got to back off and give him time for that processing to catch up. For Autism Awareness Month, we don’t hide the fact that our son is on the autism spectrum. We talk to people. People have questions, we answer the questions. It’s not something that we see to be ashamed of, but it gives us an opportunity as a family to spread the message of inclusion… of neurodiversity… to help people like our son. We’re not all the same.”

Matthew, Angela and Steven Stout having the best day ever.

Best day ever

With much joking and laughing between

(Ethan Nahté/Pulse) the three of them, Matthew told each of his parents he loved them, followed by, “It’s a good day. Actually, it’s the best day every single day. The Lord makes a new day every day.”

Steven related, “One day I had a bad day. We were walking down our street and he’s holding my hand. He looks at me and said, ‘Dad, it’s the best day ever.’

“I’m thinking to myself you’ve got good, better and best. You’ve got tenses. You can’t have the ‘best’ everything.

“I asked him, ‘How is it the best day ever?’ He said, ‘Because God made you and he made today and that’s pretty special.’ Argument done. When he says, ‘Best day ever,’ I don’t correct him. He’s right. I’m the one who had to look at it from a different direction. He had it straight-forward the whole time.

Matthew concluded the interview and having his picture taken with a hug. He said, “You looked as if you needed one. Best day ever.”

Clet and Bob head for the hills

By Bob Simpson

I started writing in high school in Tampa, Florida, spending two hours of a study hall period every day in my senior year writing jokes, instead of studying. During that time, I sent off many submissions to magazines, but never heard from any except Mad Magazine. Their letter said, “Thank you for your submission. You have been rejected. Please don’t feel bad, though. Please continue to submit articles, so that we can continue to send more of these rejection letters.”

In 2007, the original owner of the Polk County News was Michael Reisig, award-winning writer. He’s a friend of mine from Tampa and Key West days. He suggested that I write a spoof column from a fictitious Arkansas town for his paper. I was communicating with him from Largo, Florida. One of my emails led him to offer to try the column. I had written to him earlier to show how much I liked “The Wizard of Oz” movie. “Sometimes, I’ll put on a blue and white dress and chase my Cairn Terrier around the apartment with a leaf blower.” During high school in Tampa, I played saxophone in a band with Michael Reisig. I was born in Morrilton, Arkansas. My family moved to Florida before I was two years old. I’ve only met three people from Arkansas, so I always supposed that most folks liked it and never left. That’s not based on any real science, but nowadays, so what!

I admired the L’il Abner comic strip, with the writer’s ability to keep coming up with ideas and adding new characters over the years. Mark Twain and Josh Billings are favorites of mine. The one writer that put me on this path in my early teens was Jack Douglas, of “Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver,” and My Brother Was an Only Child.” Thank you, Gerald Smith, for loaning me those two books. I’ve read every Jack Douglas book several times.

I have copyrighted songs from my musician days playing saxophone, bass guitar, guitar, harmonica, and singing. I have a short unpublished book copyrighted in 1980 called “Insp. Inspector.” It’s wildly politically incorrect now and would have to be sanitized.

The column was published in the My Pulse News in Mena, Arkansas, and in the Columbus News-Report in Kansas. My goal was to keep it going until I was asked to leave. No one has asked me to leave yet, but now, I’ll write a book or two … unless you’ve heard something.

The unexpected bonus was to be able to read about the daily life of two smaller American towns that valued family, friends, and freedom. At least twice a year, I daydream of moving to either one of them.

Bobsimpson2007@AOL.com