Best of Siloam Springs

20 • Best of Siloam Springs Wednesday, November 9, 2022 Siloam Springs Herald-Leader Thank you Siloam Springs! 3370 Hwy 412 E Siloam Springs,AR 72761 Liquor Store 1005 S Mount Olive St. • Siloam Springs, AR www.BCIRENTS.COM 479-238-8440 "e Bargain Center would like to thank the community and all our customers for voting us the Best Appliance Store" No place like home By Gene Linzey W e weren't expecting another trip yet, and we can't just git-up-n-go when pulling a trailer: it takes planning. But our daugh-ter called and told us that her baby might be born earlier than expected, so, we packed our bags and headed toward the oven — Texas. e aernoon temperatures are forecast for the next ten days to be from 95 to 103 degrees. e forecast for Siloam Springs for the same 10 days is 84 to 100 degrees. We'd rather stay home, but our next grandson will want to see us. Driving through the Dal-las metroplex was less than relaxing. You all real-ize that we travel quite a bit, so what's the problem with Dallas? Well, for start-ers, according to the 2020 census the population of the Dallas-Fort Worth me-troplex is over 7,630,000. e second factor is that several hundred of the more aggressive drivers seem to like driving on the freeways at the same time that I'm coming through. at's what makes it not so relaxing. I've been taught to drive defensively, and I have great opportunity to practice my driving skills here. However, it's worth it to be with our daughter, Rebecca, and her family during this time in their lives. e birth of a baby is one of the world's greatest displays of the magnifi-cence of God. If you folks don't know it, let me tell you: We communicate with babies for a month or more prior to birth. ey are alive, cognizant human beings, and learn to recognize voices while still in the womb. Even the music they hear before birth is the music they like aer birth. As I write this, I'm in the library in town waiting for word that little Jordan has been born. I think I'll get my second cup of coffee —with cream and sugar. But no matter how much we want to be here for the birth of our 37th grand- baby, I've got to tell you, I miss our home. Why? I've been gone — this time — for only two days, so why would I miss home already? Events and celebrations in town, whatever they are, do not make it home for me. It's the people who are great. It's the laid-back, gentle atmosphere that we like. Siloam Springs is not a high-strung society — at least, not that we experi-ence. For example, when we go into a restaurant in Siloam Springs, the own-ers and employees are glad to see us. ey go out of their way to show their gratitude that we are there. But even this morning in a Braum's restaurant here in the Dallas area, some of the workers were apathetic to our presence. ey milled around waiting to see who would give in and wait on us, and the person who finally waited on us acted like we were bothering her. So, we don't have to bother them anymore with our business. Although problems can develop anywhere, from my observations in our travels we have much fewer problems in Siloam Springs than in a great many other places. If you remember, back in 2012 the Smith-sonian magazine named Siloam Springs in their list of the 20 best small towns in America. I agreed with Smithsonian then, and I still agree. It is peaceful here. For the most part, people in our town want to get along with others. Our citizens are intelligent. Our police department is staffed with upstanding, trustworthy, caring men and women who strive to keep us safe. People are willing to help others. One of the most important benefits of living here is the serenity that we experience. Perhaps not everyone feels it, but Carol and I do. Siloam Springs is in an ideal setting. We have safety, security, serenity, and solitude when we de-sire it. We don't have the crush of humanity pressing in on us from all sides, yet we're close to several busy and bustling towns such as Rogers, Bentonville, Fayetteville, and not too far from Tulsa. When we need to satisfy our desire for the Big Town Feel, those towns are available. Oen, as we cross the Arkansas border in Si-loam Springs, Carol and I surprise each other by spontaneously erupting in unison: "HOME! WE ARE HOME!" Why? We ARE home in several contexts: We have the peace of God in our hearts, and the peace of Siloam Springs all around us. We enjoy living in Siloam Springs, and there's no place like HOME. S. Eugene Linzey is author of "Charter of the Christian Faith." Send comments and questions to masters.ser-vant@cox.net. Visit his web site at www.genelinzey.com. e opinions expressed are those of the author.

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