Forgive me this week if I don't rail on about what is going on down in Little Rock at the 91st General Assembly.
You see, a very good, good man, my friend State Senator Joe Yates, has left this earth.
Not long ago, I ran into Sen. Yates in the local Supercenter of the world's largest retailer. He was astride one of those little shopping scooters, as his legs and lungs, he said, "wouldn't hold up for tromping around," the big box store.
We stopped to talk and remembered several past political battles. When the conversation turned to some others we have known, who has left this earth sphere, Yates, delivered one of his classic country-boy lines.
"We've had more yesterdays, than we will have tomorrows, you know that?" Yates asked.
We both silently nodded our collective heads.
Never did I dream, I would be writing his farewell piece so soon.
Once you knew Sen. Yates, you had a friend -- forever. He was the same in a outfit of his often ill-fitting suit he wore when down in the marble halls of Little Rock, as he was in a pair of blue denim overhauls or an ugly print Hawaiian-style shirt and cargo shorts.
He was one of the smartest academically -- yes, a bachelor's, master's and even Ph.D. work done at three different universities -- and common sense men, I have every known.
I would always start out calling him "Senator," but Joe wouldn't have that moniker plied on him long. "Just call me Joe," he would say in a whisper. "Somebody is going to hear you call me Senator and ask me to do something for them," he would snicker and we both would laugh.
I'll finish out this tribute calling him, "Joe," as he always directed me to do.
He served as the first elected Republican state senator from western Benton County. He was a proud product of Cherokee City, Ark., -- "that's just five miles east of Oklahoma and four miles south of Missouri, in the (northwest) corner of Arkansas," he would brag to those not recognizing his home community.
He fought hard to win that race and he was a relentless campaigner for himself and for others of the GOP brand, a new and emerging genre in Arkansas.
From 1983, he served in the 74th, 75th, 76th, 77th and 78th General Assemblies. When first elected he was one of only three GOP officials elected in the 135-member Legislature.
When he left politics in 1994, there were more, many more GOP folks walking those marble staircases.
Today, there are only 35 Democrats among the 135 at the state Capitol and not a single Constitutional state official from the Democratic Party.
Joe, as a state Senator, thrived in a Democrat controlled Legislature. He knew how to take the fight to the other party, for his district and his constituents. He was a smart, but controlled and well liked state Senator.
Everyone, including a murder's row of Senators controlling the Senate, like Pine Bluff's legendary Knox Nelson, Pulaski County's eternal Max Howell, mean and diabolical Nick Wilson of Pocahontas, and the affable but powerful Bud Canada of Hot Springs often felt the sting from Yates' sharp tongue, his incessant prodding them to take better care of "the taxpayers' money."
Others also knew him well. I asked Rex Nelson, a long-time observer of the political scene with a bent towards the GOP, to comment on Joe.
"Joe was one of a kind. His accent made some people think he was straight off the farm, and Joe used that to his advantage. He was one of the smartest men I ever met," Nelson said in a written statement to me.
"When Governor Huckabee first took office, Joe didn't want a desk. He said he could do the governor more good roaming the Capitol halls by day and showing up at the watering holes where legislators gathered at night."
Nelson, my friend, did not disappoint in his assessment.
Joe knew how to get things done.
In life, Joe was many things, a businessman, a three-term Benton County assessor, and a consultant and confidant to many.
Joe enjoyed those long ago yesterdays.
My tomorrows will continue with fond memories of Joe and those yesterday's now gone.
MAYLON RICE, AN AWARD-WINNING COLUMNIST, HAS WRITTEN BOTH NEWS AND COLUMNS FOR SEVERAL NWA PUBLICATIONS AND HAS BEEN WRITING FOR THE ENTERPRISE-LEADER FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.
Editorial on 02/15/2017