Archives for category: Entertainment

Crystal Bridges in the Spring

April 26, 2013 //

This was my second trip to Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas. The first was in the fall and I promised myself to come back in the spring. If you are in the area ever, go there for a spectacular collection of American art and for the beautiful 3.5 miles of trails. I don’t need to say much about it…I’ll share some pictures.

First, there’s the art. I fell in love with this glass sculpture as I walked by…

There are so many treasures there. I love this little painting, “Haystacks,” by Martin Johnson Heade…

And this Mary Cassett…

And “Sun at the Wall” by Hans Hoffman…

So much American history through art…

I wanted to be at Crystal Bridges when the dogwoods and redbuds were still blooming. I was afraid I was too late, but it was a perfect day. It was sunny and then cloudy, but a beautiful day.

There were flowers blooming…

My time on the trails was shorter than I wanted, but you can see how refreshing it is to be even a few steps into this calming, ethereal, blessing of nature…

They even let you frame nature for your own work of art…

A beautiful place, a treasure for all America to see. Always free to the public, thanks to Alice Walton and the WalMart Foundation…

Next time, I promise to go back when I have the time to wander through all 3.5 miles of trails. And, visit the art along the way…

Tags art, Crystal Bridges, dogwoods, nature, redbuds

Categories Art, Entertainment, History, Places, Reflections, Seasons, Travel

Norman Rockwell

April 23, 2013 //

When I was growing up, my parents subscribed to lots of magazines, and I read all of them through and through. Many are gone today, but there was Look, Life, Readers Digest, Ladies Home Journal, Newsweek, McCall’s, men’s magazines, women’s magazines, kids’s magazines like Highlights for Children. One of our favorites was the Saturday Evening Post. The Norman Rockwell covers were something to look forward to, knowing they would be something we studied carefully for all the clever details. We were used to his work as an illustrator for ads for Colgate, Kellogg’s, and other companies, instantly recognizable.

In 1999, my son and I took a day trip to Mark Twain’s hometown, Hannibal, Missouri. We were fortunate to arrive during an exhibition of the original paintings for Norman Rockwell’s illustrations for Tom Sawyer. I remember they were large paintings and so much richer than the flat pictures we were so familiar with in our day to day life. They were amazing works and their beauty stayed with me.

Yesterday, I went to see the Norman Rockwell exhibition of over 50 of his paintings and 300+ of his Saturday Evening Post covers at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, AR. I’ve not a professional art critic, even though I studied art history in college and worked in an art museum for over 7 years, but I do know that Norman Rockwell is a great artist. As is typical for artists in their own era, his work was scoffed at in art circles as too sentimental, too idealistic, although I don’t see what’s wrong with that myself. There are many great artists who included humor and sentiment in their works throughout the ages. An artist in his own time, alas…

The gallery was packed yesterday, mostly with older people (and I have to include myself in that group, shockingly), but it was a Monday. I watched their faces as they listened to the audio guides, studied the paintings. There were tender smiles, chuckles, pensive thinking. The main thing is that everyone was relating to the paintings. What more can art do?

Here are some of my favorites and the reasons why…

This one just made me laugh. It was Rockwell’s take on the recent idea that small towns should use speed traps to raise revenue…

This one also made me laugh and smile and study the details…the grandmother in the back who never changed expressions, the tired parents, the kids in various stages. Who can’t make up a story with these images?

Saying Grace is so sweet that you are silent with them, you want to bow your head. Then you see the details in the curtains, the clothing, the grandmother’s rear sticking through the chair, the grandfather’s cane on the floor. Another story for us to all fill in the extra lines…

My love of Santa is well known and there were some lovely Santa portraits along with all the Christmas covers of the Post. This is still one of my favorites for all of us who keep believing even knowing the evidence…

A Day in the Life of a Girl is so fun, so sweet, with elements that all females will remember. The boy version wasn’t on display, but it’s just as great…

Rosie the Riveter is part of the museum’s collection and a whimsical look at the women who worked at home during World War II. This was a bonus after the travelling exhibition.

Besides the fun, sweet portraits of America as we were at times and would always like to be, there were powerful portraits of Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, and two of Rockwell’s most important works during the Civil Rights Movement. The exhibition had preliminary drawings and different drafts of his painting of 3 Civil Rights workers for a powerful, haunting, not-so-pretty picture of a moment in America’s history…

The iconic The Problem We All Live With was so beautiful in person. It was so familiar, such a powerful statement. But, the thing that struck me so strongly was the beauty of the painting, of the work itself. Norman Rockwell was a fabulous painter. His work is so real, so detailed, so skilled. The concrete wall behind the girl felt like real concrete, making me want to reach out and touch it. I didn’t of course – I know my museum manners. But, I’ve been up close to many of the world’s great paintings and these were as good as any I’ve seen. That’s to my untrained eye, but I do know what I’m looking at and it’s honest, thought-provoking, greatness.

Rockwell’s self portrait is so famous that you almost go by it, having seen it reproduced so many times. Looking at the details, I was taken with not only the cleverness, the originality, the self-deprecating humor, but also the skill. On his easel, he has small paintings, homages to some of the greatest painters, all painted beautifully. That’s not easy to do either.

I recommend that you find the closest place to see this exhibition or go to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts to see more. It’s such a treat for those of us who grew up loving him and for those just discovering his incredible legacy. I think that future critics will be kinder and hopefully, recognize his important place in art, American history, and the American heart. I understand his personal life was not always as rosy as his portraits of life, but that’s what being a human is all about. We thank him for the vision of our country that he shared to make us think, feel, smile and laugh, remember, care. There should be more geniuses with a sense of humor, shouldn’t there?…

Tags 50s, 60s, art, children, civil rights, family, Norman Rockwell, nostalgia, reflections, trips

Categories Art, Entertainment, Events, History, Memories, Places, Reflections, Travel

The Mickey Mouse Club

April 12, 2013 //

A friend asked me to write a blog about Annette Funicello, who died earlier this week. We met her on TV when The Mickey Mouse Club first aired in 1955. It’s hard to describe to generations who always have had TV and have multiple 24/7 channels what this show meant to us back then. It was in black and white, or gray, as my kids used to call it, because we didn’t have color TV yet. Amazing, isn’t it?

The Mickey Mouse Club was on every day after school and we waited eagerly for it every day, like clockwork. If you missed it, you missed it. No videotape or DVR. Probably not even reruns. This was a variety show for kids in the days of Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle and numerous adult or family variety shows. This one was just for us. We also weren’t as sophisticated as 9 & 10 year olds today. Unless you had older brothers or sisters, you weren’t really exposed to the teenage things. By some odd coincidence, almost all of my friends were the oldest in their family, so we were pretty much kids. We didn’t hit puberty as early, we didn’t dress like small adults, and we didn’t talk about adult things very much.

The Mickey Mouse Club was part of the magic that was Walt Disney. It was a world of imagination and fantasy and innocence that we loved. I found this photo online of the Mouseketeers from those days.

It seems so silly today that these kids clowned around with mouse ears, singing and dancing for us. Annette was adorable, a sweetheart both inside and out. You always knew that. She stood out from the rest from the beginning.

One of my favorite things on the show were the serials, continuing “dramas” featuring Annette, Tim Considine, Tommy Kirk. We couldn’t miss an episode of “Spin & Marty,” “The Hardy Boys,” “Corky and White Shadow.” The serials were fun, starring kids our age or a little older. They were the perfect way for us to have star crushes. Who didn’t think Tim Considine was just way too cute and Tommy Kirk was so funny and fun. And then there was Annette. I’m sure there were boys our age who were still watching The Mickey Mouse Club long after they had outgrown it just to see her. This Mousketeer was blossoming and it wasn’t hard to see what the boys were watching. She graduated on to her Beach Party movies, where that fully developed body and her singing were on full display. But, before that, she was the Mouseketeer all the boys loved and all the girls wanted to be. Always sweet.

We all outgrew the show and moved on to the boys and girls in our real lives, but those days with The Mickey Mouse Club are special memories. Who doesn’t hear that music start up and begin to sing…M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. We really did have sweet childhoods way back then.

Here’s some Spin & Marty for you…

Tags 50s, children, nostalgia, reflections

Categories Entertainment, History, Memories

Dating in the old days

April 7, 2013 //

When you’re watching your grandchildren grow up, you can’t help but compare their lives to yours at the same age. It’s always jarring to look at a picture of yourself and realize you look as old fashioned to them as your grandparents did to you. You only hope that they can look past that and learn from your infinite wisdom, also hoping you have any.

When I was in 7th grade, junior high then, most of us started social dance classes. Other communities had similar places, but, in Tulsa, we had Skilly’s, where we first learned etiquette. They seated the boys on one side and the girls on the other and the boys had to learn how to walk, not run, across the room and politely ask a girl to dance. That was palm-sweating, nerve wracking, embarrassing and, yet, we all learned to be gracious. Not only did we learn to dance – fox trot, waltz, swing, cha cha – in the basic class, but they had dances for us to get real practice. This is me in 7th grade at one of the dances. Since I started junior high at 11, I must have turned 12 by this time, probably wearing my first heels, strapless dress and petticoats.

We had lots of dances in junior high and high school. It seems like there was always something going on. We also had social clubs in junior high and high school for both boys and girls. The clubs had dances, the school had dances, there were dances after football games, friends had dances in their homes where we played our stacks of 45s and 33 rpm records. And rock and roll was growing by leaps and bounds, so we had great music, lots of local bands, and plenty of opportunities to practice our skills. We danced fast and furiously and we danced a lot. At least I did back in the 50s and 60s. New dances came out all the time. The Twist was our new favorite my senior year.

As with most things, there was good and bad in the clubs, which excluded some kids and involved voting on members, not all of which was pretty, kind or fair. But, we learned to organize and plan events under the helpful eyes of our mothers, we learned to invite people out, and we started dating. Dating started with dance school, social club and school dances with your parents driving. There was the giggling with your friends at school while you eyed the boy you wanted to ask you out. There was the cringingly painful waiting by the phone, literally waiting by the phone since we didn’t have either portable or cell phones, and there was the horror when someone asked you out that you didn’t want to go with. And, finally, there was the joy of having the right boy call or ask you out, followed by the awkwardness of being together and getting to know each other. No wonder so many couples went steady, which was when you were supposed to be exclusively with that boy or girl. At least you didn’t have to wonder about the dance.

There weren’t just dances. We dated a lot. There were coke dates (casual dates to go get a coke and either get to know the person or just be together), movies, football games, basketball games, picnics, church events, and anything else we could come up with as an excuse to go out. Once you were going with someone, it wasn’t so much a date as deciding where you were going to tell your parents you were going. One time my future husband and I toured the Wonder Bread factory on a Friday night for a cheap date. I didn’t ever lie about where I was going, but I did end up other places, too. There was a lot of time until our Midnight curfew for most girls. I got to stay out until 1:00 when the dances ended at 12.

We hung out with our friends, too. I spent a lot of time cruising with my girlfriends and even groups of guys. Nobody seemed to ask where we were going on those nights, so we just cruised all over town, laughing, listening to the radio, and looking for whatever Friday night would bring. American Graffiti was the story of my high school days, music and all.

Anyway, I digress with lots of memories here. By the time we got to graduation, most of us had been on lots of dates of various kinds. Here I am at what was called the Southern Ball, a high school sponsored dance, my senior year. I had the dress and heels, had been to the beauty shop, because I know I could never have gotten my hair to do this on my own, and we were headed out. Rockin’ and rollin’ in the big heels and big hair. I think I still had my braces on – they came off right before my prom.

By the time we got to college, we were prepared as much as you can be to jump into the craziness of campus life. Here is a picture of my husband and me at a dance at Oklahoma State University a few months before we got married, my senior year. I love his high water pants – he had gotten out of the Navy that summer and grown a few more inches and his old civilian wardrobe needed some updating. But here we were, engaged and out on a date, going dancing as we had since we met.

My grandkids don’t date as much. They have a few dances, which they hate because there are so many drugs and the dancing isn’t as much fun. At least we knew how to do close dancing as well as do the newest ones and anyone drinking was thrown out. Movies are expensive so that isn’t an every weekend option. There don’t seem to be places for all the kids to hang out and they don’t attend the school sporting events like we did. It’s a new world. I don’t blame their parents for sheltering them more, for keeping them home where there are movies and video games to entertain them. I don’t blame parents for anything. We all do our best to protect and raise our children and who am I to say what I would be doing today. I’m just an observer, looking through the lens of what was and what is.

The word dating has a new generation meaning. Parents go on Date Nights, where we used to just go out with our husbands. The word dating is almost a euphemism these days. I never know for sure what they mean when adults say they are “dating.” It has shaded differences, for sure.

I’m being nostalgic as I remember the fun we had, blocking out the bad dates that also came with the experience. I hope my grandkids date with more than texts and emails, explore meeting different people and falling in love in the best of ways, not matter what they call the process. It’s all about learning to be in relationships where we feel the most comfortable and loved and have the most fun life can offer us. I wish everyone finds that, at least once in their lives.

Tags 50s, 60s, dating, nostalgia, reflections

Categories Entertainment, Family, Memories, Music, Reflections

Good Manners

March 29, 2013 //

Today I was in the check-out line at Sam’s Club and watched a man holding a little boy talking to the elderly woman behind him. Then he had the boy give her a high five, which was cute. It also made me think of something my mother said when high fives were first getting started, “what will happen to shaking hands?” She wasn’t against high fives, but she saw the writing on the wall as to the next generation of greetings. Little boys were taught to politely shake hands when they met adults in the old days.

Then, the line being slow, my mind went to her lessons in manners. And the music started in my head. She had a record, a 78 rpm, called Manners Can Be Fun by Frank Luther. I looked him up and he was a country singer, songwriter, etc, who gained a lot of fame with children’s records way back when. The record was based on the book of the same title by Munro Leaf. Anyway, this was one of my mother’s favorites and we sang it all the time. She laughingly swore later that she played it for us in our sleep. And I can still remember all the words the minute the music starts.

When I had my own children, I found the new version on 33 rpm, and played it for them. I hope it sank in – I’m sure it did. They all have good manners, although I’m not sure the parts about picking up their rooms was so effective as they grew up.

One of the most fun things I ever did for my mother was to dig out the record and send it off to have it made into a CD. It must have been the original 78 because i couldn’t find anyone in town to do it at the time. The man in California who transferred it for me was so entranced that he wrote me that he had made a copy for his kids. I gave copies to my children for my grandchildren in hopes…

I played it for my 3 year old granddaughter in the car the other day and she seemed fascinated as I watched her in the rearview mirror. Maybe it was the fact that I was singing along and knew all the words. If I ever want her to know her great-grandmother, this is the perfect way to start.

Hope this link works so you can enjoy it, too.

Thank you!

01 Manners Can Be Fun

Tags children, family, manners, music

Categories Entertainment, Family, Memories, Music

Shine

March 25, 2013 //

Shine is a term I learned in Hollywood last year, probably from one of the ever present celebrity news shows in L.A. It basically means what people get when they rub up against the stars. Writing about it is a little strange because I sound like I’m dropping names myself, which is not my intention. I was reminded of the meaning of Shine today when an actor friend was telling another friend about his first trip to an autograph show. People lined up for two hours to get his autograph, a new thing for someone who has been a serious actor for almost 50 years and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a popular show. He’s old enough to get a kick out of it, even though he is amazed by it.

I’ve met many famous people through the years, famous for everything from sports to acting to art, cooking, politics, music, whatever. It’s fun to see them in person, and, yes, some of them are larger than life, but I’m always amazed at the reaction of everyone around them, including myself sometimes. I’m not a big autograph person, although I do have some autographed books. I usually have authors sign their name rather than signing it to me, which seems so awkward since I don’t really know them. There were a couple of exceptions with chefs I worked with for several months. I’m also not one for jumping into pictures with the stars, even though I love pictures. I do have a picture of me with Dorothy Hamill, taken years ago. She was sitting on my desk at work, waiting to perform, and I got a picture mainly because I had worn her hair style for years. I don’t remember any other photos of me with anyone. I think I had an autographed picture of Hopalong Cassidy when I was a little girl and met him at a horse show. It also comes from not wanting to bother them while they are trying to be normal people, which is where I usually meet people of fame.

This isn’t to say I don’t understand all of this. I have tons of pictures of people and it’s fun to see fans line up for someone. I love that the “stars” get to meet their fans and feel appreciated, which probably makes the star shine even more. I’m reading yet another book about Joan of Arc, who was a superstar in her time. Even her opponents described the glow that came from within her. If all is true, her shine came from her sacred mission and her purity, although she was as human as the rest of us with her bad temper and stubborn ways.

The “stars” we think of are normal people doing their job, some enormously talented in their field, and a few who are just good people. I’m not going to become a star by meeting famous people or hanging around with them. The reason I’m writing about Shine is to remind myself that I should be getting my Shine from rubbing up against people who are caring and loving and making a difference in the world. These people are all around us. We don’t ask them for autographs or have our picture made with them. They don’t get a concrete star in Hollywood or their name in lights or get mentioned on television every day. I want to shine because I’ve surrounded myself with family and friends who make me better for knowing them.

I do love the term Shine though. It’ll be around as long as there are stars in the sky!

Tags celebrities, Entertainment, Hollywood

Categories Entertainment, Friends, Reflections

Lincoln

January 26, 2013 //

I watched the movie, “Lincoln,” for the second time last night. I’m not much of a movie reviewer, but I’ll recommend this one as a must see for thinking people or fans who appreciate good film making.

I grew up with actors like Raymond Massey and Henry Fonda playing Lincoln…they didn’t even come close to Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance. It’s a fact of Hollywood that they love English actors and it’s too bad that there isn’t an American actor who can play an American, but that’s a pet peeve since I learned that it used to be or may still be that American actors can’t play a character in England if there is an English actor available and it seems like every character I see in America turns out to be English, Canadian, Australian or not American, although they play us well. Anyway, it doesn’t matter in this case, because Day-Lewis is one of the great actors of our time and nobody else could have or would have gone to the depths of learning and becoming Lincoln as he has. I looked up Lincoln’s walk and voice and read descriptions by the people who met and knew him. Day-Lewis just morphs into a living Lincoln.

When I watch a movie at home, I have my iPad in my lap looking up questions I have about production, plot, actors, directors, or historical facts. I can excuse some distortion or interpretation of facts for art’s sake, but not all. It’s good when a film makes you want to know more. That’s also what’s nice about having DVDs and DVRs so that you can stop and answer your question right when it hits you, if you want to. I think this one is pretty close to accurate, at least on the questions I had. Tad really did run rampant in the White House and Thaddeus Stevens really did have a relationship with his housekeeper, although there are different stories on that.

A funny side note was that I read a review of the movie where the reviewer said he was surprised at Lincoln’s humor. I guess I thought everyone knew what a renowned storyteller Abe Lincoln was. I grew up with a book that belonged to my great-grandmother, “Abe Lincoln’s Yarns and Stories,” published in 1901. The copy we have is missing all the even numbered pages so she must have gotten a deal on a printer mess-up. You still get some of the stories, the funny drawings and photos of all of the people who were around Lincoln. And I learned at a young age what a beloved and complex person he was.

Anyway, this is just a great film. The performances are terrific, especially Sally Field, David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones, Tim Blake Nelson, James Spader, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook…and the list goes on. I should look up every name to give them all credit. And the direction by Steven Spielberg, the cinematography, lighting, costumes…just the best.

You really feel like you are in that time and place, you feel like you are watching history unfold. It’s entertaining, but, mostly, it’s enlightening. Not fast paced action…just a disclaimer if that’s what you want to see. Besides, you already know the ending…or should.

As movie reviews go, this was just my thoughts after being wowed by this film for the second time. I can’t use stars or thumbs up since I’m not really a reviewer, so I’ll just give it a standing ovation! Bravo!

Tags arts, Entertainment, history, Lincoln, Lincoln's stories, movie

Categories Books, Entertainment

College, President Kennedy and The Beatles

December 3, 2012 //

The Beatles are forever linked in my memory with my freshman year in college. I was 17 when I left for Oklahoma State University with very little preconception of what the experience would be. I picked that school on my own, probably because of friends going there, and was adjusting to all the freedoms and adventures that go with it. I had never lived anywhere like the dorm with a stranger for a roommate, community bathroom, little privacy, and a whole lot of new and old friends. In that time, there was a phone in the hall and pay phones on the first floor. We did have a sink in our room, but no big technology or major appliances other than a lamp, hairdryer, popcorn popper, clock-radio and record player. Yes, record player.

In November, just as we were settling in, President Kennedy was assassinated. I can’t tell you what a shock that was to kids away from home who had never felt unsafe before. I heard about it in badminton class and we sat in shock. Don’t laugh at the badminton class. We had to have four gym credits for our well rounded education. I did quite well in badminton. Anyway, the assassination made us call home to check in with our parents, stay up late discussing it with our very new friends, and watch it over and over on the television set in the basement of the dorm. Our world had changed forever. Looking back, everything changed that day in ways that became more pronounced every year since. From a life of innocence and tranquility (at least to us), every year brought more violence, more disruption. Nothing was ever the same.

After the holidays, we heard about a new musical group that was going to be on Ed Sullivan. I think I read in the paper about The Beatles and the uproar they were causing in England. The only thing close in our lifetime was Elvis, but we had been younger when he was starting out. The boys we knew had crew cuts, the Twist had been popular the year before, and we had embraced folk music, listening to the Kingston Trio, Peter Paul & Mary, Joan Baez. We went from coffee shop to rock and roll. The Beatles came at a good time. We needed a pick me up after the darkness of fall.

On the Sunday of that Ed Sullivan show in February, someone brought a portable TV from home. The closest station was out of Oklahoma City, so we balanced the set on the window sill of a fourth floor dormer window and wrapped the antenna with foil for better reception on that tiny screen. All the girls who could cram in that dorm room, girls from towns of a few hundred to girls from the cities, were waiting to see. Our first view brought exclamations. Their hair was long! I remember commenting it looked cute. We all thought they were cute…wonder what the guys who were watching thought that night? And there was the music and the girls in the audience screaming and the boys singing to that seemingly simple beat. We loved it. We somehow knew that this was another historic night, another milestone we would talk about in terms of where we were when we first heard them.

Could two events be so different and so important in such different ways? That was the year I went from being 17 to 18. That was a year to remember and learn from. My freshman year in college was an education of a different kind it turned out. I remember it well.

Tags Beatles, college, history, President John F. Kennedy

Categories Entertainment, History, Memories

Mary Poppins

November 19, 2012 //

When I was a little girl, I read all the time. I read stacks of books from the library…fairy tales, mythology, mysteries, the OZ books (yes, there is an entire series). If you’re old enough to remember the little orange bound biographies for kids in the library, you’ll remember checking those out to read the stories of Davy Crockett, George Washington, Paul Revere, Betsy Ross, et al. We had the My Book House set, and I read those over and over and over. I lived in a magical world of make-believe.

Among my favorites were the Mary Poppins books. The Disney movie was released when I was in high school and I absolutely adored it. Last night, I took my 11 year old granddaughter, Caroline, to see the musical based on the book and the movie. It was charming, but it made me think. I related to the story from the books and then the movie. My granddaughter had only seen the movie. I’m going to get her the books because she needs to know those stories, but what a difference in our lives and our reading.

When I was doing all my reading as a child, we had movies and very little television at first. Today’s kids have so many ways to get a story with 24/7 television, 3D movies, iPads and, yes, books, electronic and paper. I’m not against the new ways, I love my iBooks, but there is something so innocent about children with books. Actually, I guess that Harry Potter and the Hunger Games series aren’t any more frightening than the things I read, especially with the other things kids see on the news. I’d like to think it would be nicer if we didn’t have to subject them to the real world at such early ages, but I’m not sure it did us much good to be so protected.

Life is life and we are all nostalgic for what we think was the innocence of our childhood. Actually, there were bad things happening back then, too. We try to shelter our children as much as we can from the harsher aspects of life, but there will always be ugliness and evil as long as there are people. Reading is one way to escape and/or prepare yourself for dealing with the dragons and ogres in the real world.

But, oh my, wouldn’t it be nice if we all had a Mary Poppins to come bring order to our lives? Spit, spot!

Tags books, childhood reading, Mary Poppins

Categories Books, Entertainment, Memories, Reflections

Crystal Bridges

November 8, 2012 //

Sometimes I feel like getting out of the city and driving around the countryside. I get that from my mother. And my father. And my husband.

Yesterday was one of those days that I couldn’t sit inside and I’d already walked and it was probably the last day of fall color with the windy & rainy weekend predicted. All the beautiful leaves will be in piles on the ground in a few days. So, I took off looking for the hills of color. I sat a a stop light deciding which way to go and headed east, towards Arkansas, navigating the horrible construction on I-244 to get to Hwy 412, one of the nicest drives anywhere. At first I thought I’d missed the color, but then I hit the hills and all the colors shining in the glorious sunshine. Looking at the map, I realized it wasn’t that much further to Bentonville and Crystal Bridges, so I headed that way. I’d been wanting to do this anyway.

There is something about driving on a beautiful day that clears everything out of your head and floods your brain with fresh thoughts. That’s easier now that I’m retired and don’t have to push all the work responsibilities aside in order to enjoy what I’m seeing. Hwy 412 meanders around hills in a leisurely way, even on the turnpike route.

I had seen the pictures of Crystal Bridges, but it still doesn’t prepare you for the first view. It’s in a neighborhood, a lovely neighborhood built up by the WalMart influence on the community. It doesn’t have a big entrance and you could miss it if you weren’t looking for it. You’re in town and in the woods at the same time on this 140 acre gift to the people. On another note, after doing fundraising for a museum for the past 7 years, it’s a dream to start out with an $800 million endowment. Admission is free, thanks to WalMart.

I’ll summarize my views quickly with photos, but you can get details at http://www.crystalbridges.org.

Coming up to the main entrance, I was stunned by the silver tree, “Yield,” shining in the sun. Incredibly mesmerizing…

I was on the top level, so my first view of the museum was looking down and I wasn’t prepared for how beautifully it is situated in the location, down in the valley. The building itself is a work of art that is appreciated from every angle.

The collection is a fabulous selection of American art from Revolutionary times through today. I found works by many of my favorites and some new ones that I will be glad to revisit at any time. You’re sure to love many, many pieces and find your own favorites. Moran, Norman Rockwell, Mary Cassatt, Calder, Warhol, Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Hart Benton, Bierstadt, John Singer Sargent, George Innes, Rothko, and so many others.

I loved the little reading rooms sprinkled in the galleries with stacks and shelves of books so you could sit down and read more as your curiosity made you want to learn more now!

The restaurant is lovely and bar area is beautiful and a nice place to take a rest. The museum shop is a gem…spoken by someone who owned a gift shop and worked around a museum shop.

But, I was there to enjoy the fall day and took to the Rock Ledge Trail that wound above the museum and the lawn. There are six trails for over 3 miles. I didn’t get as far as I would have like because I was losing daylight to get home, but it is stunning. I would walk there every day if I lived in the area. You could do a different trail and see something new all the time. I can’t wait to see it in the other seasons. Lovely…

My favorite thing was the frame on the trail. Isn’t this a simple, great idea? I bet a million people have posed in that frame, but I love the scene itself. You feel like you are a painter…or a real photographer…beautiful!

I didn’t get enough time for all I wanted to do, but I’ll be back many times for sure. Thank you, Alice Walton! What an incredible gift you have given for all to enjoy.

Tags Arkansas, art, Crystal Bridges, nature, travel

Categories Art, Entertainment, Places, Travel

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