Religion, Food, and Football

Chewing the Fat

...in which Rex and Paul chew the fat about Paul's Rotary Club talk at the Church of Christ in Wynne and how he had to change his talk when he realized it was going to be at the church, Paul's mother's elderberry jelly, the difficulties of picking elderberries, the need to go to the Mayhaw Festival in El Dorado and Chocolate Roll Festival in Searcy County, the boys' upcoming State Highway 7 expedition, Rex's opinion that the Old South Restaurant in Russellville has the best chicken-fried steak in Arkansas, Rex and Paul's recent Civil War foray based on the Camden Expedition, the fascinating and often obscure terminology regarding Civil War fights, a weird helicopter sighting, Mark Christ's great work in preservation of Civil War battlefields, a great lunch in Camden, fried green beans at Woods Place in Camden, how Paul got street cred in Wynne for knowing about Cypress Corner Bar-B-Q in Lexa, Rex's theory that the best barbecue places usually have signs featuring rusty pigs, the Arkansas State University football stadium, the view that ASU should play football in Little Rock, the view that Arkansas State Park gift shops should sell Rex's book Southern Fried, crazy weather, Rex and Paul's idea for a hall of fame for restaurants where they get to pick the winners and put their motto "We can be bribed!" into practice, Jewish and Chinese heritage in Southeast Arkansas, Rex's urgent desire to get a spot on the Mississippi River Commission so he can go on their great riverboat tours, a tour of Arkansas City with Kane Webb, Paul's confusion about bird-watching, the Squirrel Cook-off in Bentonville, how having to eat 24 cornbread samples at a contest almost killed Paul, an invitation to go back to Piggott for another Hemingway event, gambling history in Hot Springs, great po-boys at Mr. Whiskers between Malvern and Hot Springs, how the old bath houses are getting new life, the good news that the Lyon College football team doesn't wear kilts during games but that there are plenty of bagpipes, how Rex went to four Arkansas college football games in eight days, Rex's and Paul's recent birthdays, and how 66 is the new 65.