BITS & PIECES: Looking up and down

Had it not been for a tip seen on Facebook, we wouldn’t have stood outside in the cold to look at the night sky in hopes for some meteor activity. The Spouse was on the telly with her mother, so Yours Truly stepped out for a gaze (and to avoid the yammering phone conversation inside). We very soon spotted something spectacular: not one, but at least eight meteor-like objects streaking, in tandem, in a northerly direction about 25 degrees above the eastern horizon. From our perspective it looked as though these “shooting stars” were directly over OBU’s campus. They moved slower than any meteor we’ve ever seen. Convinced we were the only ones looking up at this hour, in near-freezing temperatures, we retreated back indoors with a story we’d tell only a certain few. Sunday morning, however, our news feed was packed with images and details about Chinese satellites, defunct since 2023, that lit up the night sky as they descended over Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri (we later learned that they were across the Mississippi River when our own eyes saw them — not OBU or the Ouachita, as it appeared. It was a sight to behold, and one we’ll never forget. Our thanks goes to the Mother-In-Law for keeping us outside.

Looking up can pay off, but if you’re walking around Arkadelphia you’ll need to watch where you step — the utility work associated with the widening of Pine Street has left several vehicle-sized holes in the ground along the city’s main thoroughfare. It’s a temporary mess, and one we’re ready to see cleaned up. Progress is made daily on both the Pine Street and Arkadelphia Bypass projects. It’s starting to take shape.

EVENTS

Jeepers Creepers! By our count, Justin Long has starred in three Christmas movies. Is he Mariah’s king?

For the third consecutive year arkadelphian.com has surpassed its previous years’ website views and visitors statistics. We will end the year with more than 1.8 million views and 883,000 visitors. The site’s audience has grown since its launch in July of 2021, a year we ended with 148,500 views and 70,000 visitors. We’re now close to 9,400 Facebook followers.

Expect big news from the Humane Society in coming days.

Early next week we’ll publish an editor’s pick of 2024’s top local news stories. Seems like we did that just a couple months ago. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Made the mistake of divulging our occupation with a new hairdresser. Her boyfriend, it turns out, had his 15 minutes of shame in Dispatch Desk earlier this year. We’ll be wearing a hat until it’s time for another haircut.

Things we’ve grilled this week: pickles; Snickers; ramen.

Our favorite Christmas song: “Christmas All Over Again” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

While visiting with family, be it here in town or elsewhere, we hope you’ll tell your loved ones that you rely on arkadelphian.com to stay abreast of local news and happenings. Tell them to bookmark our page as they would Facebook, eBay or Amazon, and to visit regularly.

Most of all, Merry Christmas.

Joel Phelps is editor of arkadelphian.com. Assumptions about Justin Long’s aspirations of being the Christmas King are his own — that throne belongs to Billy Bob Thornton. Drop us a line at editor@arkadelphian.com.