Words From The Editor - by Vivian Heyl |
0-1-Cover
Posted on 2025-01-07
January 1, 1997
Dear Family,
This cookbook was done as a labor of love. My two oldest daughters have grown up and left home. It was a great compliment to me that they would call home and request a recipe for something I cook. When Sarah said, "I wish you would just write them down and send them to me", I decided to start this project.
In this book you will find recipies not only from me but from many members of our combined family. A family's history is made up of a lot of different elements but one of these that endures is the food that we enjoyed with each other. Please help make this an ongoing family project and send recipies from your files and from your parents, grandparents, etc. Send stories about the food, the people who cooked it, and the time of fellowship where families gathered together to share it's nourishment.
Vivian Heyl
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Gary Performing At King Biscuit In 1996
Posted on 2024-08-21
Vivian posted this in the Delta Musicians section of Delta Boogie.
The discography is not complete. The prices are for historical reference only.
This is Vivian's post from back in the day. I will be updating Gary's page on Delta Musicians.
Gary "Alaska" Sloan
"Alaska Slim" Gary Sloan
Born June 28, 1945 Los Angeles California.
Currently living in Diamond City, Arkansas
BIO
Gary arrived in Alaska in 1964 and stayed until 1995. He had sung in church and school choir, so it wasn't much of a stretch to become the animated lead singer of a Top 40 band.
Gary Performing at King Biscuit in 1996
A year later, upon hearing the first Butterfield and Musselwhite albums, he picked up the harp and added blues to the mix. By the next year all other types of music was dropped and "Proof" became the only Alaskan blues band.
When Jimmy Reed died, Gary called JOHN LEE HOOKER at home and brought him up to tour the state. By this time (1971) Lindy Raines had been lead guitarist for several years. John told them a harmonica player was sleeping on his couch and needed work: CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE, who was the next to tour with the band. Word of mouth from those two spread and in the next 20 years Gary and Lindy would tour with BO DIDDLEY twice, HOOKER 2 more times as well as JIMMY ROGERS, PHILLIP WALKER, SLEEPY LaBEEF, ELVIN BISHOP, ANGELA STREHLI and many others. Some artists, such as MARIA MULDAR, ELVIN BISHOP and CHUCK BERRY would borrow the band (or members of it) from time to time as well.
Band & Musical History
HARVEY MANDEL and ABU TALIB (FREDDY ROBINSON) play guitar on two of Garys CDs ("BLUE SHOES" and "SKULL"). The band name changed to "Southside Blues" and Larry Raines would join or alternate with his brother on lead guitar. An out-of-print vinyl LP of that name was released in 1980. It was re-pressed and more cassettes made a year later. Two cassette only albums were released in 1984 and 1986.
In 1992 the first CD "Blue Shoes" was released, and in 1996 portions were rerecorded for the re-pressing, making it also the most recent addition. In 1994 the live "SKULL" was released, followed in 1995 by "Dedicated to Binky ", a collection of Alaskan blues songs. Garys first two albums (with "Proof" in 1969 and 1971) have fetched up to $400.00 from european collectors, as they were limited and long out-of-print.
Awards
In 1995 upon moving to Arkansas, he came to Jonesboro to see Blues Fest and ended up playing with AARON LOVE and HAIRY LARRY. When going to see the King Biscuit Festival he entered the blues competition and won first place (he asked the band on before him to stay and back him: only the drummer and guitarist did). He came back the following year and won first place again for the Sonny Boy Blues Society as well as in Little Rock: Three first place showings in less then a year got him spots on the King Biscuit Festival, Riverfest and the Eureka Springs Blues Festival.
Members of his current band are Bill Trumbauer, drums; Curt Rosy, electric & acoustic bass; Mike Elrod, electric & acoustic guitar.
Achievements
Gary has jammed with MUDDY WATERS, JOHN MAYALL, JORMA KAUOKENEN, JOHN CIPOLLINA, JAMES COTTON & band, LUTHER 'GUITAR JR' JOHNSON & band, WYNTON MARSALIS Band, REESE WYNANS, LEE OSKAR, NORTON BUFFALO, ELVIN BISHOP, BILLY PRESTON, JOHN WESTON, LAZY LESTER, BRODY BUSTER, KINGFISH (with DAVE TORBERT & BOB WIER) and N.R.P.S. (with JERRY GARCIA) among others. Gary organized two tours (with a horn section) for WOLFMAN JACK revues in 1989 and 1992, backing FREDDY CANNON, DEL SHANNON, COASTERS, DRIFTERS, PLATTERS, TOKENS, SHIRELLES, MARY WELLES, BO DIDDLEY and LITTLE ANTHONY as well as the WOLFMAN himself. He was featured in a Maxwell House coffee ad in 1994 playing, of all things, a harmonica player!
In November 1996 he went to Belgrade, Serbia to headline a blues festival (Jr. Wells headlined the first night, Gary the second), tour Yugoslavia and produce a CD by the band that backed him 'RAWHIDE". He returned in April 1997 to tour to support that CD. This took him to cities that no American had ever visited and happened in between the two wars. He still keeps in contact with his friends there via e-mail.
Discography
CDs $15, Cassettes $10 plus $1.50 per order ($3.00 international) for shipping and handling
CD only: "BLUE SHOES' (features HARVEY MANDEL, ABU TALIB and the RAINES BROTHERS)
CD only:"SKULL" (live) (features HARVEY, ABU, LINDY RAINES and RICK HOLMSTROM)
CD and cassette: "DEDICATED TO BINKY" (Alaska blues novelty songs)
cassette only: "ALASKA SLIM LIVE: ARKANSAS TO YUGOSLAVIA" (at King Biscuit with LINDY RAINES and Belgrade Bluesfest with RAWHIDE)
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Vivian
Posted on 2024-07-10
Heavy snowfalls could be effect of ‘global warming’
By Vivian Heyl
When scientists first began using the term “global warming” to describe the effects of greenhouse gases on the environment many interpreted this as strictly relating to how warm the air was going to be. One of the most frequently asked questions is “How can there be global warming when it’s this cold?”
Scientists now often refer to the effects of global warming with the more precise term “climate change,” which more aptly describes how greenhouse gases are affecting the planet. The melting of the polar ice caps are good indications for the warming of our planet. Even though most of the surface air has warmed by only a degree over the past century, surface air over the polar caps has warmed by almost four degrees.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the increase in temperature causes a rise in ocean levels as polar ice melts. The rising ocean levels increase the moisture in the air. More water vapor in the air has led to an increase in precipitation in the northern hemisphere, which has resulted in record rain and snow events.
Scientists predicted that warmer air holding larger amounts of water vapor would lead to more severe weather. The last decade has been marked by record-setting rainfall and snow events. Last year’s January ice storm was the result of waves of warm moisturebearing air moving up from the Gulf of Mexico encountering surface air chilled by an Arctic front. This led to one of the worst ice storms on record for Northeast Arkansas.
NOAA reports that the southern United States has had an 11.6 percent increase in precipitation since 1900. This is a significant increase according to the agency. The United States Environmental Protection Agency said on its website that NOAA’s report is consistent with the simulations that predict an increase in precipitation due to human-induced warming (the burning of fossil fuels and other practices which result in greenhouse gas emissions).
Dr. Jeff Masters, a meteorologist and co-founder of the website Weather Underground, said there are only two things needed for a record-setting snowstorm: a record amount of moisture in the air (or a very slow moving storm) and temperatures cold enough to produce snow. It doesn’t have to be record-setting cold temperatures to produce record-setting snow but the moisture has to be present.
This year’s winter storms continue to support the climate change stance of scientists and environmentalists. Record nationwide snowfall has been reported over the last two weeks with locally heavy amounts exceeding 10 inches in Lawrence County and a record one-day snowfall set in Craighead County.
With yet another possibility of frozen precipitation later in the week the predictions by meteorologic experts of an increasing number of snowstorm events caused by large amounts of moisture in the atmosphere may be proved to be dead on.
---
Originally published in The Times Dispatch on February 10, 2010.
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Vivian
Posted on 2024-07-10
What a year
By Vivian Heyl
What a year this has been. Looking back it seems to have been one earthshaking event following another with very little respite in between. Starting in January with “Arab Spring” which began with Egyptian citizens protesting in Tahir Square and the eventual ouster of President Hosni Mubarat, cries for freedom from tyranny spread rapidly to other countries as the year progressed.
In March Japan experienced a magnitude 9 earthquake, one of the most devastating and powerful earthquakes on record. The quake generated 133-feet-high tsunami waves that laid waste to most of the eastern coastal region. In addition the tsunami also caused meltdowns in three reactors, which resulted in contamination to surrounding land and sea areas. Nearly 16,000 people died in the disaster, thousands were injured and thousands are still missing.
Navy Seals took the life of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May. Bin Laden’s death was pronounced a closure for all those who were affected by the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
In early August the debt ceiling crisis arrived. Though it had been knocking on our door for several years it still hit with a force that sent us reeling. From foreclosures to bailouts of those too big to fail corporations our economy tanked with such force that the reverberations traveled the globe and the resulting chaos is still sending shockwaves of economic distress around the world.
The Occupy Wall Street movement began quietly in September but as the movement grew those who were occupying and those who were against the occupation became more and more vocal.
The end of the Iraq War has been very quiet. Fears are great that Iraq will descend into civil warfare between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
In December as thousands of military personnel travel home there is both joy and fear. The anxiety of reentering a job market that is sluggish at best is yet another challenge these tired warriors must face.
The recent death of Kim Jong Il, who has ruled North Korea for the last 17 years, has brought more uncertainty to a world that seems to be forever teetering on an uncertain precipice. Governments wait anxiously to see how this latest turn of events plays out on the both economic and political fronts with hopes that tensions will not escalate once again.
Is there any good news then? Well yes, there is.
A lack of tolerance for inequality has become a dominant theme around the globe. There is a small burgeoning hope that oppression, tyranny, persecution and corruption can be conquered.
Global markets are showing signs of recovery. It’s too soon to shout from the rooftops, but there is some hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.
U.S. unemployment rates are falling with the sharpest decline reported in November when the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent.
Nine months after the devastating events in Japan the landscape looks barren along the eastern coastline. Much of the debris has been removed and there is a sense that recovery and progress is being made.
Our soldiers have taken down the U.S. flag in Iraq and brought it home. After nine years of war, it’s over. There has been no fanfare, no parades, no bands playing, yet even in the quietness there is a sense of joy in having them back.
This is a year many will not regret seeing end, though others will celebrate victories and newfound freedoms. How we measure it depends on the yardstick used.
December 31 will come and a new year will begin at midnight with all the hopes and fears of an unknown future. Let our hearts be glad that we have the chance to make it wonderful.
---
Originally published in The Times Dispatch on December 21, 2011.
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Vivian
Posted on 2024-07-09
Game teaches life lessons
Reported in The Times Dispatch on July 15, 2015 in a column titled, Times Dispatch wins awards.
Vivian Heyl won a first place in the (Arkansas Press Awards) General Interest Column category.
Vivian’s winning column was titled “Game teaches life lessons.”
Judges commented,
“Great analogy. Fantastic storyteller.”
---
Game teaches life lessons
By Vivian Heyl
I enjoy playing solitaire. It’s a complex game that has taught me a great deal about life. There’s something about moving those 52 cards round till they finally become a neatly organized stack that makes me happy.
I remember playing with cards when I was very young. Sitting at the kitchen table I would take the deck of jumbled cards and begin to rearrange them. I was rescuing them from chaos and I felt sure that once I could get them all back to their own families they would be happy. At that early age I was completely convinced that the heart, diamond, club and spade families should all be together and it was my responsibility to help them. As I grew older my parents began to teach me about the cards. The idea of a hierarchy was baffling at first, but I soon began to get the idea. I thought the kings, queens and jacks looked pretty spiffy but the aces weren’t too shabby either. I also learned cards have some pretty weird names. For instance a two is called a deuce, and a three is a trey and sometimes the five is also a fiver. There are one-eyed jacks and kings and painted ladies and a special card known as the joker. The joker is the odd man out in the deck. Disdained by many and coveted by some, the joker plays a complex role in the world of cards.
I was probably six before I began playing solitaire with any real understanding of how it all worked. I learned that I couldn’t just rearrange the cards however I saw fit. There were rules that had to be followed and even though I thought some of them were pretty iffy, I did my best.
My favorite game is sometimes called patience, but it is most commonly known as Russian solitaire. It is a game that is played by placing the cards by suit in downward columns from the king to the ace. The object, however, is to stack them on the pile from the ace to the king. There’s that hierarchy thing again.
There is still a sense of achievement all these years later when the cards all line up by family. Though it isn’t much to crow about it improves my mood each time it happens.
I said earlier that solitaire taught me a great deal about life. There is something about this game that clears my mind and helps me to think about my choices, what I should do to solve a problem or organize my day. Solitaire represents a lot of life’s experiences or at least that’s the way I see it. When the cards are first dealt they are willie-nillie, all over the place. When I was much younger I often indulged in a flurry of card moving, quickly rearranging them from one pile to another in an attempt to bring order to the deck. This often resulted in an abrupt end to the game. The truth is making decisions without thought usually leads to a dead end. Unless you are willing to cheat, no more moves means the game is over.
By the time I had reached my teens I’d decided to actually put some thought into the moves. I looked at where the move would take me and what options it opened up. I eventually learned to play the game forward in my mind weighing one option against another. Then I would decide which moves would result in the most chances for success. Even when I carefully planned my moves it didn’t mean I would win. Sometimes the dead end is there even though it isn’t visible yet. When there was nowhere else to go I had to start over once again.
Somewhere in there I began to learn what the game teaches. It teaches patience, that not every choice will be the right choice and it’s okay to reshuffle and start again.
I have won a few hands of solitaire in my life, but I have lost a whole lot more. Though I loved winning I found out the losses were more frequent. Playing solitaire taught me that in every loss there are some lucky moves and that every win takes more than a little bit of luck.
---
Originally published in The Times Dispatch on April 9, 2014.
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Posted on 2024-07-09
Taking chances
By Vivian Heyl
My husband, Larry, and I spent many years of our lives running a computer business. He has a degree in computer science and developed applications for businesses to meet their specific needs. He also helped them put procedures into place that would help each business get the most benefit from the applications he had written.
I have a degree in English. I helped with many aspects of the computer business including customer support and training. During the initial installation of any new software we would have a training class for the staff. He would explain how the new program worked and the procedures that were needed for it to run accurately. Then I would explain to them what he had just said.
Words are funny things. No matter how exact we think we have expressed something, someone will always misunderstand or misinterpret what we have said. Larry explains it this way. Tell the class when the opening screen comes up there will be two choices, yes or no, always press yes. Have them practice it more than once. The next day when the screen comes up half the class will press yes and half will press no. As human beings, rationalization is an important part of our intellectual process. If we don’t know or remember the answer we will try to rationalize what the correct response is. If there are only two responses offered, which one is the safest? It is my conjecture that those who hit no at the opening screen have determined that this is the safest answer. If we’re not sure what is going to happen if we hit yes then maybe it is not a good idea to choose it.
Choosing yes seems to be a challenge for many people. Life is full of missed opportunities because we pressed no when we should have pressed yes. If we never give yes a chance how will we learn what more life has to offer us?
Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” was standard fare for English classes as I traveled through my school years. This closing stanza explains choices the best.
“Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”
This poem speaks to me about my own difficulties with taking chances. When I have two choices I will most likely take the one that seems safest, with the most likelihood of succeeding, but I will never know what would have happened had I taken a chance on the other one.
I’ve made a few attempts at adventuring, but taking paths that have twists and turns and occasional obstructions is not comfortable for me. I like to know where I am going and how I’m getting there. Those few attempts, however, were enough to teach me that sometimes twists and turns can provide exciting opportunities that I would have otherwise missed out on and the occasional obstructions gave me a chance to learn and grow.
No matter what that old adage says, you are never too old to learn. Making choices is built into our everyday life. We can’t escape them so let’s embrace them. The next time the screen comes up and says, yes or no, press yes and let’s see what happens.
---
Originally published in The Times Dispatch on June 25, 2014.
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Vivian
Posted on 2024-07-09
Being a parent is a tough job
By Vivian Heyl
For over 40 years I have raised children, some were mine and some were the children of other people. Parenting is a tough job. Those who think it isn't aren't doing it right.
Recently I told a young mother who is a first-time parent that babies are like sponges, they absorb everything, even those things they are too young to understand.
She talks to her baby in a way that many parents have never tried. She has conversations with him. She explains what things are and what she is going to do with those things. Though her son doesn't comprehend all that she says, he knows she is talking to him and showing or giving him things to examine as she talks.
Recently she was shopping in a grocery store with her baby and as she shopped she told him about the objects she was adding to the shopping cart. She picked up an onion and allowed him to hold it. She told him it was called an onion, she talked about the onion's color and what the onion would be used for.
She suddenly realized that people were giving her strange looks. She has talked to him and explained things since he was born. At first she just shrugged it off but said she is beginning to feel intimidated by the stares when she talks to her child in public.
When I told her that it was perfectly fine and even good to talk to her child in this way, she asked how she should react to the strange looks she gets when she is out in the public.
I am a person who takes parenting very seriously. I believe it is the most important job anyone could ever have. I have been known to go on a rant when the subject comes up. In fact some might even say I get on a soapbox about it now and then.
The following was my response to her.
Maybe it was the first time they had ever seen a parent who actually parents. Parenting is not easy. It's the most important job in your life. There are no job descriptions, no paid vacations, the hours are long, and there is no retirement. The pay, however, is outstanding and it has job benefits beyond your wildest dreams. There are smiles, hugs, sticky kisses, endless questions, hastily plucked bouquets, and much more. Your child's complete faith in your ability to make everything that's wrong right may give you anxiety over being a superhero, but aren't you? So don't worry about strange looks. What you are doing is a positive example for others on how to be a parent. Carry on being a shining example.
She said thanks.
---
Originally published in The Times Dispatch on May 21, 2014.
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Posted on 2024-07-08
Character Name Brunhilda Jotan
Height 5' 10” Weight 200 lbs
Butcher
She has blond hair plaited in a single braid down her back tied with leather and blue eyes.
She wears a long blue tunic and leather leggings that are a little shabby. When she is working she wears a heavy leather apron that covers her from her chest to just below her knees. She wears boots with leather soles and made of a tanned leather and knitted wool knotted with leather laces.
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by Vivian Heyl 1950-2024
Vivian Running Sound At Blues Fest
Vivian was editor at Delta Boogie since we started the site in 1996. She wrote almost all of our Delta Musicians section, the most popular area on Delta Boogie. She also wrote anything else on Delta Boogie that doesn't have a byline.
She also worked for the Times Dispatch in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, where she contributed many features and some reporting. Her work at the Times Dispatch regularly won awards from the Arkansas Press Association.
Writing was her passion. She wrote for her whole life. Much of it we still have in computer files. I am posting her work here as I find it.
by Larry Heyl
Links
Delta Boogie
Gamer+
Related To Geeks
Gretchen says:
Today we celebrate Vivian Heyl. Mom, Grandma, Viv. Whatever name you knew her by, I'm sure at some point in time she used her gift of nurturing on you. She was indeed a nurturer - of the mind, body and spirit. Her words of encouragement could only be outdone by her quick wit and, when needed, sharp tongue. She loved unconditionally, but she had no problem calling you on your crap. She welcomed ALL to her family - and about the only thing that would get you unwelcome was making someone else feel that way. Today we celebrate the life she lived, the example she set and the love she shared.
Many have asked what they can do for the family or in memory of Mom - I offer these suggestions:
Play a game with your family. There is nothing that would be a better gift than to share joy with your family and in memory of Mom.
Read a book (it can have pictures). Mom loved to go on adventures in books and she led us kids down the same path.
Encourage a kid (preferably one who no else even seems to notice). I promise that is the one Mom would spot first and immediately bring into the fold.
We would also love to hear your stories about Mom. We would love anyone who would like to share stories or memories to do so in the comment thread. Maybe you have a story where you realized, possibly even years later, that you had been molded by a momma's love in the form of Vivian Heyl.
If you would like to make a memorial gift, please consider the children and youth fund at Brookland UMC or the friends of the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library, the Lawrence County Library or your local library.
Lastly, just keep loving us! We are sad, but we are blessed.
Add your words to the comments thread:
Words and Comments
Delta Boogie Newsletter/Gamer+ News - May 2024 - This One's For Vivian
https://gamerplus.org/@hairylarry/pages/1714661546292
My wife Vivian was the editor of Delta Boogie and a regular contributor to Gamer+. She helped me with everything I did including Blues Fest for 25 years, The Bandshell Project, Jonesboro Computer Services, The Jonesboro User Group, and so much more. I don't know what I'll do without her.
On April 18, 2024, Vivian passed on.
She was a writer all her life and I am collecting her writings here.
https://deltaboogie.net/words
She worked at The Times Dispatch in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, for years. Her features regularly won Awards from the Arkansas Press Association.
She wrote almost all of Delta Musicians, the most popular section on Delta Boogie, where she provided Delta Bluesmen with a place on the internet back in the nineties. She also wrote all of the articles on Delta Boogie that do not have a byline.
She played and ran fantasy RPGs with dice and miniatures at ASU Beebe in the early seventies before D&D was published.
We home schooled our children and she saw their love of D&D as an educational opportunity for reading, writing, history, the arts, and, of course, math.
She loved music and games and she raised a family of musicians and gamers.
We have five children and seven grandchildren. I had two boys before we married and she loved them like her own.
She saved my life and she gave me a good life. I love her still and always.
For her, I thank you all, for your continued support of Delta Boogie, Gamer+, Delta music, NEA gaming and whatever else it is that you do to make the world a little bit better.
Please take a minute and say a prayer.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://gamerplus.org/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Comment thread here.