This morning I woke up in the little town known as Camden, Arkansas. This town is roughly 1 1/2 hours from Arkansas biggest city, Little Rock. The drive to there alone had me questioning where my next host was living (haha). I drove about 2 hours or so through back roads in the woods that curved every quarter mile or so, littered with deer, sharp turns, no lights, and every car (mostly trucks) that drove by would blind me with their highbeams. Not to mention that I didn't see one store or gas station on the way, and I had no phone service, so yea, I was a bit freaked, but nothing prepared me for when I met my host.
(imagine this, but pitch black)
Lindsey lives in Camden, Arkansas, a tiny town that doesn't have much to offer a city slicker like myself. It has a local food store, a strip of locally own businesses and a hilly network of roads and houses. All of which were leading to her apartment towards the top of the hill. Now, I would of thought Lindsey was a small town girl with very different thoughts from me, judging on the city, but as we talked on my way there, we had a very similar sense of humor and charisma. She even called me to check up on me and to basically take my food order for when I arrive haha. I walked up to her door, and rang the door bell, and she opened the door with a huge smile and even helped me with my luggage. She was exactly who I thought she would be, a diamond in the rough.
Meet Lindsey and some of her students from the Middle East
Some yummy food she had for me
She was one of the kindest, understanding, and humble people I have ever met. We made a fresh meal for me and pampered me as her guest. As we spoke, her inner beauty became more apparent with every laugh. She has traveled all over but her favorite and I believe most admirable destination was the Middle East. Even amongst all the turmoil we hear on the t.v. she still went for her love of culture and for the children. She even showed me this awesome video of her children in Palastine singing a christmas song, which was really cute and funny. As I spoke to her, all I could think was how much I appreciate people like her in this world. She moved to the small town to teach high school and she runs into the realities of stereotypical small town minds on a daily basis but she manages to keep on smiling and being the amazing person she is. I must say, she inspires me, and I am happy to have met someone like her on my travels. She answered the question of "why" just like me, "why not?" Unfortunately she had to work early so we didn't get to hang the next day but she offered her home to me as if it were mine and I can't say thank you enough.
As I drove towards Arlington, TX I found myself in the city of Hope, Arkansas. If you didn't know, this is the birthplace of President Bill Clinton and Mike Huckaby. I stumbled into a local restaurant called Tailgaters and was able to sit and chat with some of the servers and the owner about #TheCommunityProject. They were all so nice and helped me understand how life is in Hope. From mudding, to their personal lives, and even expressing where their dream vacation would be (no matter how close or how far, inside joke). I even had time to show the owner how to dance a little bachata (now, if only I was a little older, haha). As I walked out to leave I also came across a member of the chamber of commerce for Hope County, Mark Kieth and he filled me in on what life is living in a small town as well as some true words of wisdom. I must say, even though these were small town folk, they were far from small minded ones, and I appreciated the chance to meet them.
The Tailgaters crew
Teaching bachata to some Hope locals
Wise words from chamber of commerce member, Mark Keith
Next stop will be Arlington, Texas and I sure didn't expect have the "Welcome to Texas" tour that I got. Check out the trailer to the video I am making below. Use the hashtag #TheCommunityMadeOfUs, repost the video on your pages, and remember, it doesn't take much to be part of The Community, and when someone helps you, make sure you pass it on.
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