MY DAY: AN AMERICAN MORNING WITH CAROLYN KING ARNOLD
Carolyn Arnold’s love affair with the community started decades ago with reoccurring blackouts in her neighborhood for no righteous reason. She did some research, gathered her neighbors, called the utility company responsible, the City of Dallas and everybody had a ‘come-to-Jesus-meetin’. The blackouts were due to archaic equipment that simply had to be replaced. From these humble beginnings she has remained a fierce advocate strongly addressing the tough issues.
Carolyn adores her Mother who at one time had to work two jobs. But sitting across from Carolyn, she is the typical older child. We all have matching DNA’s. Self assured, decisive and in charge. The oldest of seven and the mother of four, Carolyn calls herself a ‘new country girl’, to-wit I repeated, sitting in front of a well-dressed lady (that’s one with stockings on), “a new . . . country girl?”. She replied with emphasis , “Oh, Lord, yes”. Carolyn’s parents moved from the city back to sixty(60) acres in Buffalo, Texas, and quite frankly, she has fallen in love with the relaxation, blessed quietness, rabbits, chickens, but not the pocket gophers. Gophers eat root, bulbs, plants while underground, and are well equipped for digging. We had a big laugh about the gophers on the ranch. Of course, there are deer, the ones with the bright eyes that light up the night. To add to the glee, she is learning to drive a tractor and pick okra. No ranch is complete without a tank. A private “lake” for fishing. That is coming.
Of the thousand of human interest stories I have written along with our television shows, a teacher is always, always mentioned somewhere in the mix of answers. Carolyn was inspired by a teacher in Civics. Civics, an unlikely subject. Civics can be boring because it teaches the value of being an active citizen and how our form of government works. The word “civic” is based on an ancient Latin word meaning “citizen”. As I was listening to her, I thought this teacher was something special. He made the subject so visually interesting that imbedded in her core value system is civic mindedness and sharing with others the utter importance, duty and rights of citizenship.
Thoroughly qualified, Carolyn is entering a new chapter and her background a litany of caring, listening, adapting and orchestrating are key components for future success. Thanks for dropping by, Carolyn.
Ester Davis is an award winning writer and television talk show host. www.esterday or 214.376.9000
Reminder: 50th Anniversary of Davis Apparel Shop Monday, April 20, 2015. Early voting starts April 27, 2015
