NOTE: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas isn’t a town at all. I’m using the term “town” in the most general sense possible and not in the technical, municipality, or incorporated sense. 
Dennis and I joke that Hot Springs Village Inside Out is him being inside and me being outside. That’s not exactly why we titled the show as we did. “Inside Out” means there’s some awesomeness inside the Village and there’s some awesomeness outside, too. Truth is, there’s quite a bit of awesomeness in the entire state of Arkansas. And I’m saying that as a guy who, prior to our visit to Hot Springs Village in 2018, hadn’t spent that much time in the state.

I was born in Ada, Oklahoma, a place now most known for being the birthplace of Blake Shelton (an event that happened long after I had moved away). Both sets of grandparents lived there. My parents were from there. My family left shortly after I started 3rd grade. So my earliest years experienced small-town America, but after that, it was more city life than anything, except when I visited grandparents. I could never quite relate to friends who lived in the country. Even those early years in Ada weren’t country living. There’s rural, agricultural living, there’s small-town living and there’s city living. I know there are variations in all three of those. I live in DFW currently (and have for over 30 years), but DFW ain’t New York City. Or Los Angeles. And living near downtown Dallas isn’t the same as where I live, in the suburbs. So I know experiences are very different.
Rhonda and I spent a week in Hot Springs Village about a week ago. While there I had an epiphany. Okay, maybe that’s too strong. Maybe it was just a feeling or an insight. Something I hadn’t really felt before. Ever.
I looked at Rhonda on our first full day there, Monday, and said, “I get the value of living in a small town where you know lots of folks, and where they know you.”
Truth. I didn’t learn that until starting this podcast. How could I have known? I’ve lived most of my life – all of my adult life – in cities. Places like Baton Rouge, Oklahoma City, and DFW. I did grow up an avid fan of The Andy Griffith Show. When the VCR entered the scene in the mid-70s my first batch of blank VHS tapes was used to capture episodes that aired daily on TBS. I recorded every episode. No telling how many times I’ve seen each episode. And I know I’m in good company loving the fictional town of Mayberry, but I had some concept of it being a little boy in Ada. Christmas parades down Main Street. Main Street businesses painting their windows to cheer on the Ada High Cougars football team. JD’s Café. Bob’s BBQ. The Huddle. Hollering at the TV watching Bud Wilkinson’s OU Sooners. I had enough of a taste during those early years to have some sense of living in a small town. But what I missed was the scope of knowing people and being known by people. That old, “Everybody knows everybody” feeling wasn’t one I experienced as a little kid. But I’m beginning – mind you, just beginning – to know the feeling thanks to this podcast and all the fine folks I’ve met inside Hot Springs Village.
We recorded a show with Mike Nicolosi this week. It’ll come out the first Friday of November. Mike isn’t a shy guy, but like me, he’s more comfortable being in the background of it all. An introvert who looks like an extrovert. Well, during our conversation he said Clara, his wife (and head of