[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by hotair2

Of course, who can forget Toad Suck, Arkansas

The people in Frog Jump, Tennessee!

[hotair2]

Originally Posted by Dr. Foosball

1: They have abandoned about four areas for a new strip mall. It is called America; that is what we do. FWIW, Garrison is not only survivng, but thriving and has some great stores, restaurants, and bars there. I am doing something on Garrison at least once a week. The new and improved Neumeier's Rib Room is wonderful.

2: I don't kow where you saw that at. I find it hard to believe that anyone in Fort Smith would vote that chain as the best Italian restaurant in Fort Smith. I would probably go with Talianos.

I know people here who would vote Olive Garden No. 1 Italian resturaunt. This is not the most sophisticated town.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by hotair2

I know people here who would vote Olive Garden No. 1 Italian resturaunt. This is not the most sophisticated town.

I know some people from out west.

They recently drove 150 miles to Little Rock to eat at a "Red Lobster" for their wedding anniversary.

Maybe they had "All you can eat crab legs" special that day or something.

I dunno.

[Dr. Foosball]

Originally Posted by RogMar

I know some people from out west.

They recently drove 150 miles to Little Rock to eat at a "Red Lobster" for their wedding anniversary.

Maybe they had "All you can eat crab legs" special that day or something.

I dunno.

There are probably 10 Red Lobsters between Fort Smith and Little Rock.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by Dr. Foosball

There are probably 10 Red Lobsters between Fort Smith and Little Rock.

Well..........great.

I'm thinking that Ft. Smith is farther from us than LR.

One trip site says 135 miles to LR.......

To Ft. Smith...255.

But hey, thanks for the tip, I'll let them know in case they want to see a different Red Lobster next year, and want more road time.

[Dr. Foosball]

Originally Posted by RogMar

Well..........great.

I'm thinking that Ft. Smith is farther from us than LR.

One trip site says 135 miles to LR.......

To Ft. Smith...255.

But hey, thanks for the tip, I'll let them know in case they want to see a different Red Lobster next year, and want more road time.

Well, you said they traveled 150 miles from "out west" to Little Rock. Fort Smith is 150 miles west of Little Rock. Being that this is a thread about Fort Smith, I just assumed you were saying they were coming from here.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by hotair2

I know people here who would vote Olive Garden No. 1 Italian resturaunt. This is not the most sophisticated town.

Hey, a few years ago people in Las Vegas voted Olive Garden, even though Vegas has some of the best dining places in the country now. That didn't used to be the case back in the 50s to 80s, but Vegas has changed. Yet people still think Olive Garden. this would probably hold true in almost any city other than maybe San Francisco where 1/2 the population are foodies. One thing so many forget, the average American is just that "average" they eat simple foods, live a simple life and do not know the difference between Ragu and home made sause or the difference between a Gyro made with lamb and one made with something else. I know people who think a true Sub comes from Subway.. Food is 1-very subjective and 2-the majority of the population doesn't care, in fact they probably would not enjoy true quality, top of the line dining.

Nita

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by RogMar

I know some people from out west.

They recently drove 150 miles to Little Rock to eat at a "Red Lobster" for their wedding anniversary.

Maybe they had "All you can eat crab legs" special that day or something.

I dunno.

that's about right. We just visited our good friends in NM this week. They are wonderful people, the best friends you could find but their life style is different from ours, especially the husbands. Anyway they just celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary and he wanted to take her out for dinner, his choice? A little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant with the average dinner costing $7.50 plus they have no bar. I can't understand why she decided to cook at home. He doesn't even care for Outback steak cause he thinks they are too expensive. (I will add money is something they have plenty of) I wonder why?

Nita

[msd3075]

My wife and I just recently moved to Fort Smith from Houston and have been living here about 8 months. We are both in our mid 20's, and it was my job that brought us to town. Here are a few of our "observations" since living here:

- Downtown Fort Smith does have a nice, old feel to it and it's a shame more isn't done to bring it back to life. When I first drove into town, I had high hopes seeing Downtown from across the river, but it was very disappointing when you see it up close.

- One of the first things that struck me was that it seems like styles and trends are about 5-10 years behind the rest of the country. I hadn't seen anyone dressed in goth clothes since I was in high school, yet it seems like half the youth here in Fort Smith it dressed in black.

- Outside of a few exceptions, there are no noteworthy restaurants in Fort Smith. Part of it might be that we were spoiled by all the choices we had in Houston, but outside of a few places (Doe's, Rolando's, 21 Westend, etc.) there really isn't anything that great here.

- If there is anything you need that you can't find in Fort Smith (which seems to be a lot more than you'd think), NW Arkansas is only an hour drive away. It reminds me a lot of the suburban areas of Houston in that everything is new and that people there seem to have a chip on their shoulder thinking that their area is "better".

- Most people that we've run into here in town are originally from here and have never really lived anywhere else. There aren't many people that move here or move away from here.

- There are two distinct type of people here; hillybilly, white trash people with washing machines on their front lawn, or stuck up, wanna-be "rich" people that think they are extremely great and don't have the time of day for people "below" them.

- I know this is kinda trivial, but people here do not know how to drive. If I'm the first car in line at a stoplight, I literally have to count to count to three before I go because more times than not people blatantly run red lights well after it has turned red. It's like the only time anyone here ever used the gas pedal is if they see a yellow or red light. Also, the flow of traffic always seems to be 5-10 mph below the post limit. It seems like everytime I drive down Rogers there are two cars driving side-by-side going 25 mph.

I can keep going, but I should probably get back to work.

**EDIT**

I completely forgot one big thing that seems strikes me as very odd but seems to be the norm for everyone else.

- People here are extremely outward with their religious beliefs. With probably half the people I meet for the first time, the first question that comes out of their mouth is, "What church do you go to?". I guess it was just the way I was brought up, but that is something you do not discuss with people you do not know. Not only that but if I try to change the subject or they somehow later find out I play golf on Sunday mornings, they then won't talk to me. It's not a "run away scared" type of situation but one where you can tell they no longer want to be in my presense. Another example are all the yard signs around my neighborhood about the upcoming event at the "Evangal Temple" and how I've never really ever seen anything like that.

[Dr. Foosball]

Originally Posted by msd3075

- There are two distinct type of people here; hillybilly, white trash people with washing machines on their front lawn, or stuck up, wanna-be "rich" people that think they are extremely great and don't have the time of day for people "below" them.

ouch.

You actually described Fort Smith pretty well. I hope you are just generalizing because there are regular people around here.

I, too, am in my 20's and live in Fort Smith. Most of the things you described are things that also annoy the hell out of me. Maybe it is because my wife and I moved away for a few years?

I think Fort Smith is a nice town, but it is culturally behind about ten years, just like a lot of small towns in middle-America are. It is not a city, and it is definitely not Houston.