My Redacted Life: Chapter Six (Cont._4)

The winter of 1971 was nearing a close and there was no discontent on my part. I even bought a couple of new shirts. Jimmie was in tall cotton, as they say.

I had expanded the project check list to include a list of key accomplishments that had to be made on each. Since we knew which steps were time-consuming, we could avoid getting caught unawares. If all proceeded according to plans, we felt, as John Agar used to say in the monster movies of the 1950s, “It just might work.”

Since I now had some free time while the drafters were preparing maps, the bosses sent me to Hot Springs for several days. We had been hired by a bank to research the market for office space in the downtown area. All I had to do was contact the owners of existing office space, lie that my firm was considering a move to the city, and take notes on the existing inventory. Since lying was pretty much second-nature to me, the assignment posed no problems.

The thing I remember most about this venture was lunchtime. There was a deli in downtown Hot Springs called Mollie's and there they made what was probably the best corned beef sandwich ever produced on American soil. Their pastries were even better. It was a small treasure added to a city that was already, and still is, a treasure for our state, one of its finest.

There was an atmosphere and an ambiance that combined with the food in this hallowed venue. Family owned and operated, it had pleased customers for years. The air inside fairly crackled with the spirit of history. It was a magic place. Sadly, it burned years later and the family moved it into former house just outside the downtown area.

Know what? The food never tasted the same there. There were the same cooks, same waitresses, same owners, but not the same taste. You can’t replicate the value-adding blessings and atmosphere of history.

The same is true in a way of urban planning. We tore down, or allowed to deteriorate, burn, or collapse many old buildings, only to see them replaced by monstrosities that appeared to be made from the same plastic used in Mattel shipbuilding kits. A little of our national pride is scraped away each time this happens.

Fortunately, Hot Springs has held on to most of their old structures. It is a peaceful city. Ancient Native-Americans from different tribes used to put aside their differences and trade there in harmony. Gangster declared it a neutral zone, and famous figures such as Al Capone gathered for the baths and for rest. At the time, I lacked the experience and background to appreciate how fortunate I was to be assigned to such a wonderful place. In fact, I didn’t know much about anything urban, least of all what I was doing.

I only knew that I didn’t have to carry a rifle to do it and that those corned beef sandwiches were damn good.

Could life get any better?

Hot Springs National Park , Arkansas
Still one of our greatest treasures.