What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1242624
10 WHAT'S UP! MAY 3-9, 2020 was New York City to me," he says. "We only went once a year maybe to Arkansas Travelers' games, when the Travelers were there at Ray Winder Field. I wrote in my book when I got to move to the city where Ned Perme was, I was like, 'what is happening'!" Bones often felt the embrace of warm Southern hospitality from caring adults in the area, part of the reason he always tries to help out when he can now. "As a kid I was given to a lot, as far as Christmas. Churches would come by and give us food and even toys because we didn't have toys. We didn't always have food. Just to use the analogy, I was given fish a lot, but I really wasn't taught how to fish… Everyone was trying to survive more than they were trying to learn how to invest in the future of anything. "But then as I got older I started to actually be around people that taught me things, and that's what I'm trying to do now. I'm not trying to survive anymore — I'm actually doing quite well — but my goal now is to take care of those that were me a few years ago. And to teach them how to take care of themselves long term," Bones says. One might think Bones would be bitter about his childhood. Mad at his mom. Mad at his dad. Mad at the world. That's not the case. It did, however, cause him to never touch alcohol or drugs. "The situation with my mom where I was a bit resentful when I was younger for what I didn't have, I'm actually quite proud of now because I can now empathize with people that are going through the same thing, and I don't think I would have had that skill set had I not gone through that," says Bones. Bones has even let go of the anger he had toward his father for walking out on the family. "I've only recently been back in touch with him. "After I'd written this whole book, I was like 'Man, I feel quite the hypocrite because I haven't really chased down what had been most bothersome to me and that was my biological father being gone.' But it was the first time we talked in 30 years, we had lunch, and it was very awkward, but it was supposed to be. It's not like you get together and have a bunch of hugs and kisses. When we sat and talked, it was the only time I ever had a conversation with a parent ever. He wasn't a villain to me after that. It was just a guy who made some bad decisions when he was a kid; I mean, he was 17," Bones says. Big Things Ahead Get to know Bobby Bones now or later, because someday he may be your leader. "Eventually, I do feel like I'll go back and be the governor of Arkansas, like that's the next goal," Bones says during a recent interview in a hotel lobby in downtown Nashville, just after he finished his live morning stint on the radio. "And if I'm so moved to do it, I could be comfortable stopping this and just going there. Something's calling me to go back and do that. When, I'm not sure. Maybe sooner, maybe later." Looking at Bones' rocket-fueled career trajectory, the governorship will have to wait. Every minute of every day is a schedule for the meticulously on-time celebrity. He famously sends his radio team members home if they arrive more than a couple of minutes later than the 4 a.m. clock-punching time. For this interview, two handlers came to watch over him. He pulled his dirty red Tesla into the parking garage right on time, looking fresher than someone who has been up since the wee hours should. It soon becomes clear that Bones is an open book. He's already talked about the painful stuff in his own book, so nothing is really off-limits. So excited to talk to a fellow Arkansan, Bones frequently brings up his beloved Razorbacks. "What's been the coolest about being somewhat cool recently, because I was never cool, but you get on radio or TV and people start taking your calls a little bit, is that the football program says, 'hey, we'd love to have you be an ambassador for us.' So, I got to know Coach [Bret] Bielema a little bit, Coach [Chad] Morris, I met Coach [Sam] Pittman. … At the basketball game Coach [Eric] Musselman had me into his office. For me, the coolest thing that I get to do is meet people that are involved with the Razorback program," Bones says, despite having met hundreds of high profile entertainers. "If you aren't around people that have done big things, you don't think you can do big things. I want to be that influence on people." COVER STORY Bobby Bones Continued From Page 9 Bobby Bones' favorite perk of stardom is meeting anyone involved with the Razorbacks. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)