My visit to Little Rock's new William J. Clinton Presidential LibraryWritten by Will Robertson
Today, Wednesday, January 12, 2005, I visited Clinton Library. It’s not my favorite architecture, glass and steel, but it’s nice, and it works with site and message that it gives. In fact I had a wonderful, informative, even inspired experience.I went with a good friend, Craig. We met in lobby. He showed me Cabinet Room replica, and then we ran to catch next viewing of 20 minute introductory film about Clinton, his presidency, and library/museum. The film was well worth time. It’s well done and informative – at least to me. Afterward, we strolled through museum displays. Well, I strolled; my companion had done an internship in Washington and was immediately glued to first exhibit. I moved on and made a quick brush. In 45 minutes Craig had only gotten to third exhibit out of 16. We were both hungry and went down to restaurant on lowest level overlooking river. It looked pretty busy, so we walked to River Market, only five minutes away. At Farmer’s Market I had a big ole salad and Craig had a Turkish Stew. We sat at a picnic table in front of amphitheater overlooking Arkansas River. After lunch we stopped at Clinton Museum Store. It had a bunch of interesting and silly Clinton souvenirs and other stuff. This is place to go for a Clinton bobble-head. Remember to keep your ticket handy if you leave Clinton Library like we did. The ticket has date on it and you can come and go all you like that day. The crowds both at Clinton Library and River Market were diverse and lively, but not dense or annoying. There were several high school and college groups (20-30 people). A few small groups of Seniors (6-10 people) milled around here and there. The staff at Clinton Library was really helpful and sweet, though not fully up to speed on details. In fact I saw one staff member in museum section reading up on some of same brochures I had just gotten in lobby. Oh well, they’ll get hang of it. One staff member shared a few facts she had memorized about Clinton papers, “library.” Apparently ones in museum represented only 1% of actual amount. The other papers are stored in archives on site and will be made available to public soon. The ones in museum were in boxes, on shelves, secured by metal bars, so you couldn’t read those either.
| | The Cast of Culture in South AfricaWritten by Gregory Hudson
Drive along one of South Africa's scenic strips and you will notice a landscape composed of a backdrop of wide open spaces, blue mountains and blood-red sunsets. These scenes abound, but given nature of culture in South Africa, your attention could swiftly switch to a small boy gallantly escorting herds of cattle, end to end, over a rainbow-like walkway crossing one of largest and busiest highways in South Africa. Culture makes Africa special and aside from beautiful landscapes, this kind of exuberant and contrasting culture in South Africa is what you really should experience.Imagine this scenario for a moment: You are hopelessly stranded deep inside African interior, without a spare tyre and waiting for help. You prepare to flag down first car that passes by. “When will that be?” you think to yourself. Time wears on. You picture yourself dragging your dehydrated self over many kilometres of parched semi-arid terrain towards nearest town, while hordes of hungry vultures looming overhead contemplate you for lunch. Thankfully, a small, dust-battered truck pulls up and this nightmarish vision quickly dissolves. Tough looking men gaze out of back of truck, peering at you with hardened looks acquired through labouring this tough, untamed land. The uncertainty and tension is broken by their sympathetic smiles and they drive you, happily and with good cheer, to nearest service station and back to your car where you are kindly helped to fit your newly repaired tyre. Now that you're safely back on road you begin to realize meaning of genuine hospitality, known within culture in South Africa as 'geselligheid'. Thankful that you have just had actual experience (a certain something you felt) you now have a connection, whole-heartedly, with people and culture in South Africa. This is not a heat-induced delusion or an isolated event. It is actual story of one of our clients, who broke down while driving across arid West Coast diamond fields of Namibia. Travellers have confirmed many of these kind-hearted acts that have occurred during their experimental African odysseys. Perhaps it has to do with land itself or its unrestricted nature. The reason why people help each other, whether a stranger or a friend. This doesn’t mean South Africa is a nation of altruistic saints. Leave your camera in your car on a downtown side-street and chances of it being there after lunch are less than great.
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