"Something About Where I'm From"

This morning my heart is heavy for my family in El Dorado, Arkansas where I’m from. Many people ask why I write so much about Pine Hill Road. They ask what is Pine Hill Road? I usual tell them, it’s where I’m from, but when I got this message this morning, I realized, it’s much more. Yeah… Pine Hill Road is where I grew up, but it’s also the nucleus of everything I’m made of and could ever hope to be.

Pine Hill Road is a dead end road off of Mount Holly Road, which runs from El Dorado through Union County into Columbia County and probably through the southern part of Arkansas. When you turn on to Pine Hill and pass by the small private pond to the north of the road, you realize you’re not in 'Kansas' anymore, To-To. The thick tree limbs hung heavy with weighing leafs and even heavier branches above the graved roadway. It seemed as though you were traveling through an organic tunnel. There weren’t many houses on Pine Hill Road; three on the south side and three on the north.

One of the things about Pine Hill Road, for me, were the men who lived there. Other than my father and great-grandfather, Pine Hill had its share of good men. Great men who believed in family and community. It was the best place for a young man to find his models of what ‘real’ men are like. There were men like James Sanders, Mr. Blake, Mr. Robinson and Billy Cook. Along with my father and great-grandfather, these men made sure I was accountable for being the best man I could be.

Billy Cook owned the house next door to us. Now, you have to understand, I’m from the south. So, my idea of next door is a tad different than what next door means in Milwaukee or any larger city. Next door was comfortable. Houses weren’t sitting on top of one another; we had some breathing room between residence. Billy was Rose and they had a house full of kids, =D. The most memorable thing I got from Billy was his work ethic. Now you know people who work hard, but not like this. Billy was the hardest working man, I’d even known. His children respected him and his wife supported him. I knew, I wanted to work and be a man like him.

This morning, I found out that Billy is in need of our prayers. Not getting into it, he deserves the respect of everyone reading this. He is an example of what ‘real’ men are and what these young men need to aspire to become.