Larry Arnold. I am a 1959 graduate. I have lived in North Little Rock for the past 28 years. My next wedding anniversary will be May 20th when Betty and I will have been married for 43 years. We have one son, Brian, who lives across the street from us–no grandchildren.
My favorite high school memory is graduation. At times I doubted if I would ever make it that far. I rode a bus from Punkin Center, about 12 miles, and did not get to take part in many extra curricular activities at the school
My favorite teacher was my 10th grade English teacher. I’m sorry that I can’t remember her name. This lady took a special interest in me and spent extra time to make sure I succeeded.
I will admit to being somewhat lazy when it came to studies. I had a study hall with this same teacher. If I failed to complete my assignments, she would have been justified in giving me a zero grade. Instead, she stood over me in study hall and made sure I understood and completed the assignment. When we were assigned literary passages to commit to memory, my favorite teacher let me recite in private instead of before the rest of the class. I had a quick short-term memory, but was too bashful to recite in public.
My parents, who didn’t graduate from high school, instilled in me the importance of education, and most of the teachers at Dora reinforced that value. I didn’t take my first college class for ten years, but passed the entrance exams with no problems.
I worked a few months for the L&N Railroad after graduation. When we had a work slowdown, I joined the Air Force. My first assignment out of boot camp was at Little Rock AFB.
While stationed there, I met my wife, and we were married five months later. Three months after our wedding, I was assigned to Goose AFB in Labrador for fifteen months, then spent my last year in the military at McCoy AFB near Orlando, Florida.
On leaving the military, Betty and I moved to California where our two children were born. I apprenticed in a truck repair shop and worked as a mechanic for 28 years. At the same time I was learning to rebuild truck engines and transmissions, I completed a junior college degree in math and transferred to California State, Long Beach. I completed thirty hours there, then dropped out before graduating.
In 1975, we sold hour California home and moved back to North Little Rock. In 1990 I decided to go back to my interrupted educational pursuits. I graduated at UALR in 1995 and immediately enrolled in graduate the UALR graduate school, earning a Master’s Degree in Technical and Expository Writing in 2000. I teach Composition at UALR now while working full time as an Account Representative for Nuvell Financial Services.
My two heroes are my dad and my father in law, both now deceased. My dad gave me a good set of values to live by and taught me by example. My father in law became my second father, and he taught me how to age in style. He was killed in an auto accident at age ninety one, on his way home from a date with his lady friend. He had outlived two wives, still kept his own home and garden and I miss him very much.
What do I want to do when I grow up? My pastor told me one day that no matter how our bodies may age, we can never be any older than about forty-five in our minds and hearts. I’ve still got a million things I want to try–haven’t settled on one thing yet.
My hobbies include reading, especially SF, music–I love all kinds including classical but play guitar and mandolin-gardening, and traveling with my wife and son.