I like to say "Half my DNA came out of Dardanelle, Arkansas," because both my maternal grandmother, Floye Gleason (Mama Floye), and my maternal grandfather, Erbie Tilmon (GrandDaddy), grew up in Dardanelle. By the time I was born in 1968, all of my grandparents were living in Texarkana, Arkansas. When I was a child, Mama Floye and GrandDaddy would take me and my three siblings on trips to Dardanelle to visit our Gleason and Tilmon relatives. When visiting Dardanelle, we would usually drive to the top of Mount Nebo. I did not know it then, but these experiences of Mount Nebo deepened my love for Mount Nebo's type of terrain - steep roads switchbacking up the side of a forest-covered mountain. I had not been back to Mount Nebo in at least 30 years, but when I want back on August 7, 2023, a flood of emotions and memories came back, especially when driving up the steep section of 9 swtichbacks. I call this section of road, "The Snake". It felt ominous to me as a child and still feels ominous to me now.
After viewing the Arkansas's nuclear power plant and while driving down Mount Nebo, I had an idea for a fictional short story about a giant mutated razorback named "Switchback" who terrorizes people on Mount Nebo. I imagined myself trying to escape an encounter with Switchback while driving too fast down "The Snake". (I actually drove at a safe speed, but I sped up this video 4X for the fun of it.) I hope you enjoy the video.
16 окт 2024
