The Commencement

When I began the Arkansan Abroad blog I wasn't prepared for the path my life would take. Over the past year I have somehow been able to hold back the tides of reality and live my own upside down version of the “Summer of George.” Though silent for several months, when I resurrected it at the tail end of December it became my outlet and obsession while in France. Once again on my return to the states this blog has fallen silent—partly out of confusion at my new and “normal” life and partly from my qualms with running a travel blog while no longer abroad.

To remedy this (and to satisfy all five of my “readers”) I've decided to start an “Arkansan at Home” blog. The purpose is largely to satisfy myself—retaining the outlet and obsession while at home. Since reality has burst the levies of my life the frequency with which I'll be able to post shall be limited. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance my life...how to balance “reality” but my aim is once a week.

While the Arkansan Abroad had an overarching theme it never had a day to day thread connecting each post other than what was in my head. Warm Evenings will be roughly the same with minor tweaks. Unfortunately Arkansas might prove to be a harder sell than Paris (instead of a post about visiting the Louvre you'll get one about visiting the snow cone stand).

I selected the title from a Gram Parsons song of the same name and my personal favorite Parsons tune. For me the phrase itself also hearkens back to innocent summers, a place in the haze of memory. Perhaps it's just my own fancy but since I'm back in the place of my birth and since summer is now upon us I figured it worked. I can't promise what will come but I can promise the honesty of the words that will follow. Hopefully the header quote from Walker Percy proves itself true for me.