Enjoy Yourself Before You Join Them, Visit Little Rock's Mount Holly Cemetery

The Dibrell family plot at Mount Holly Cemetery,

The Jenny and I were out and about last weekend gathering many blogable experiences. Like thousands of others after the storm Sept. 7, the electricity in our home was out. The black out lasted almost 48 hours. Despite the inconvenience and some spoiled food, there was a bright side. We found things to do.

On Saturday, we resolved to have a good breakfast at Root Cafe but got there about 30 minutes before the 9 a.m. opening time. So, we drove around Quapaw and looked all the beautiful, late Victorian homes. While cruising down the blocks of Broadway south of Interstate 630, I noticed the gates of Mount Holly Cemetery were open. We decided to pay a visit to the dead.

Of course, I was somewhat aware of the graveyard's historicity, but I guess I had forgotten just how storied the antebellum necropolis is — 11 Arkansas governors, four U.S. senators, 21 Little Rock mayors and four Confederate generals. Wow. As long as the participants are respectful and discrete inside the grounds of the cemetery, I could see that being a great daytime Halloween scavenger hunt. Find the most graves, take photos and upload them to the party's Facebook page.

That aside, it's just an interesting, different place to walk around on a sunny day. The funerary sculpture is wonderful — some of the best specimens of the Victorian period that I have seen. Graves are well maintained, and walkable. Remember to walk along the foot of each grave in such a way that you're behind the headstones of the next row. This isn't always possible in a really old cemetery like Mount Holly because of some irregular plot sizes and other oddities of layout, but if you make a good faith effort, then I'm sure the residents won't mind.

I particularly enjoyed (Is that ghoulish of me?) finding the grave of Dr. James A. Dibrell. I worked with the late Jim Dibrell, his great-great-grandson at the Times Record. Little Rock's James Dibrell was from Crawford County, as was Jim. Mount Holly's James Dibrell relocated to Little Rock and became one of the first deans of the medical school, today's University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. I recently went to work there and found James Dibrell's portrait near the office suite where I occupy a cubicle. A few minutes after the discovery of the grave, I stumbled on a large, brick Victorian manse that I told Jenny was one of my favorites in the Quapaw Quarter. On closer examination, we discovered it is the Dibrell house. It was a very Dibrell weekend.

If you're looking for a zero-dollars way to while away a few minutes or more, saunter through Mount Holly some bright, fall day. You might surprise yourself by having an interesting time. Enjoy it now. You won't get much of a chance after you're in a cemetery full-time.

Rating: Mount Holly — A.

The Catfish Hole Offers Down-Home Charm, Great Catfish To Little Rock/NLR Area

Before we get down to the nitty-gritty here, I need to clear off some other business. First, you won't find any photos here of the Catfish Hole experience the Jenny and I had. That's because we've been without power all weekend and both our phones were at Jenny's parents house charging up so neither one of us had our cameras. Second, I am not a big catfish fan.

The Jenny and I had set out to eat at the newish restaurant in North Little Rock, Newk's, but got a little sideways looking for the back way there from my in-laws' house. We drove past the turn for the Hole before dead-ending at a gate to Camp Robinson. I'll have to draw you a word picture of it. The Hole is in the middle of BFI Pulaski County, six blocks off a backroad in a residential area. I don't know the history of the structure, but I'd guess it once was a country home that got added on to over the years. Some stray cats were loitering about the parking lot, doubtless waiting for catfish scraps. It was a pretty slow Saturday night at the Hole, and we grabbed a seat near one of the interior walls. Imagine walls that are carpeted (beige and brown shag, thank you very much) and a scuffed hardwood floor. (How do you vacuum a wall anyway? Handheld dustbuster?)

Our waitress was cute, young woman with a big pregnant belly. She had pushed her apron to below her baby bump. Here's the exchange:

Me: Slow night?
Her (with a sweet, slow drawl): Yeah, there's the game (Razorbacks) and the air show (at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville). I guess everybody is doin' that.
Me: Well, I guess it's good to have a night like that now and then to get caught up on things.
Her: Yeah, get caught up on tal-kin'.

She went on to explain a half-order is three pieces of catfish and a full order is five pieces. They also have a combo which is two of any of the six or so items on dinner list — frog legs, chicken, catfish steak, catfish fillets et cetera. The Jenny and I each got the half-order dinner of fillets. It comes with fries and hush puppies but you can substitute a veggie side for the fries at no extra cost. Jenny got the pinto beans and I order okra. We shared.

Now, like I said before, I am not a big catfish fan. Bottom feeders generally repulse me. That does not mean I am not willing to give it a try now and then. If it is really done well, then I MIGHT like it OK.

Well, folks, I loved it.

My experience of catfish is not wide for obvious reasons, but the Hole gave me the best possible catfish of my life. That's to say nothing of the hush puppies, and I do have a wide experience of them. The hush puppies were out of this world. They fall apart in your mouth because they were fried just the right amount of time, with a thick, crumbly crust. It's tough getting them fried enough on the outside without drying out the hush puppy but they did it at the Hole. Oh, and they didn't try to spice it up with jalapeno bits like some other folks foolishly try to do. I always think they're trying to get something by me when they do that to make up for an inferior product. The fried okra was very good and the pinto beans were even better.

Between servings, the waitresses plop down at a big table back near the kitchen entrance and eat. (I'm pretty sure they are not called 'servers' here). Between bites, our waitress even hollered over, "Y'all need any more Dr. Pepper?"

The clientele was a mix of white and black folks. One older, white woman well into her eighties shambled in with a large black man in a white doo-rag. She introduced him to the waitress as her best  friend. The Catfish Hole is the sort of place you might find a beat-up, rusted-out Malibu parked next to a new Mercedes. Apparently, the black patrons are okay with the TWO autographed photos of Orval Faubus on the wall. Actress and North Little Rock native Mary Steenburgen must be okay with them, too. Her photos also are up behind the counter, one of which shows here dining at the Catfish Hole. My cashier told me she hasn't come in in a couple of years but usually shows up with Ted Danson when she does. Also there last night, a burly, redneck farmer in bib overalls and a tractor cap.

If you're looking for a true Southern dining experience without pretense, then journey on over to the Hole. As my brother says, "your tongue will slap your brain to death" with delight.

Rating: The Catfish Hole — A+.

From the business card:
"The Catfish Hole Restaurant, Family Owned & Operated Since 1976.
603 Spriggs Road, North Little Rock, AR 72118
Strictly Fresh Pond Raised
Open Tues.-Thurs. 4:30 till 9:00
Fri. & Sat. 4:30 till 9:30
...
For Group Reservations Call 758-3516"

Closed Sunday and Monday

Short Subjects Bring Long Fun At Little Rock's 48 Hour Film Festival

A shot of the screen at 48 Hour Film Festival on Aug. 30
at the Argenta Community Theatre in downtown
North Little Rock.

Would-be filmmakers in Little Rock recently got the chance again to prove their creative mettle by trying to produce a 7-minute movie that was entertaining or made some kind of sense.

I've heard about this contest for years from Fort Smith, but only recently got the chance to attend.  It's one of the things our recent move to the Rock has made possible. Before I proceed further in describing that experience, I want to declare loudly and clearly that my brother-in-law Michael Armstrong along with his friends Jim Patterson and Brad McLelland entered the competition with "Fire Engine Red." I'll return to that, but let's move on.

There were about 30 entries altogether and they were screened for the public over three nights. Judges and folks like me got a chance to see all of them. (Actually, the Jenny saw all of them. I went on the last night). Ten finalists, voted the best by the audience, made it to a final screening Aug. 30. Prizes were awarded in several categories — Best Film, Best Music, Best Use of a Prop. Every movie had to include some kind of melon, the line "What have we here?" and a singer character named Tommy or Tammy Shuttles.

Some rose to the challenge and some did not. Hey, I'll cut anyone some slack though for just trying. The deadline is tight to say the least. Although it will be another year before there's another such contest, I would recommend attending all or some of the nights. It's fun. If you encounter some less than stellar material from time to time — well, hey, it'll be over in 7 minutes. You get to hear short talks with each filmmaker, most of which are entertaining too, and learn exactly what they were up against besides a short production timeline.

My favorite was FER because it broke form. Instead of hipster cynicism, it rebellious went for genuine sentiment and poignancy. "La Petite Morte" was the winner, narrowly beating out FER for the top prize. It is very, very good. Everyone said the music in it would get in my head. "Ha!" I said. "That will not happen." It didn't ... until Saturday morning. They should call it "La Petite More, More More."

What were the movies like? The genres ranged from time travel to holiday to romance. A few were incoherent, at least to me. Others were tight little gems. Many were funny, and even many of the sub-par ones were entertaining on some level. Check it out in 2013. You'll be supporting local artists and enjoying some movies you definitely will not see anywhere else.

Rating: Little Rock 48 Hour Film Festival — A.

Watch "Fire Engine Red" here.