How to Recognize an Arkansas Delegate: Arkansas is the birthplace of Wal-Mart, and the huge discount retailer plays an important role in Razorback chic. Wal-Mart is where Arkansans go to buy their new T-shirts and camouflage pants for life's special occasions, such as graduations, weddings and funerals. Everyday fashion needs are met at the plethora of yard sales that range from the massive "Bargains Galore on 64" (a 160-mile-long yard sale held each August along U.S. 64 from Fort Smith to Beebe) to the single-house yard sales favored by Democratic senator "Yard Sale Blanche" Lincoln and her camera crew. Due to their love of locally based TCBY yogurt, Arkansans are always growing into their clothes. But as soon as the fit gets a little snug, the old clothes go back to the yard sale, and the cycle continues. This ability to move freely into the clothes of other people plays a significant role in Arkansan psychology. Like hermit crabs moving into abandoned shells, Arkansas Democrats easily adopt the issues and values of Republicans when their survival is essential.
Famous Arkansans: Maya Angelou, Billy Bob Thornton, Scottie Pippen, Helen Gurley Brown, Harry Thomason, Daniel "Niles the Butler" Davis, Sam Walton, Johnny Cash, Al Green, John Grisham and Glen Campbell
Famous Arkansas Democrats: President Bill Clinton, J. William Fulbright (scholarship), Dale Bumpers and Orval Faubus
Famous Arkansans With Denver Connections: Denver Broncos Rod Smith and Cedric Cobbs; former Denver Convention & Visitors Bureau president and CEO Eugene Dilbeck
State Motto: The People Rule (official) The Natural State, The Razorback State (unofficial) Population: 2,810,872 Racial Distribution: 78% white, 15% black, 1% Native American, 1% Asian, 5% Hispanic Per Capita Personal Income: $24,289 (minus Sam Walton's paycheck: $16,904)
Recommendations for the Arkansas Delegation:
Most Arkansan Denver Neighborhood: Virginia Vale
Most Arkansan Bar: Choppers Sports Bar 80 South Madison Street The most football-watchingest bar for the residents of the home state of Paul "Bear" Bryant, the winningest coach in NCAA history.
Most Arkansan Restaurant: Joe's West of Memphis BBQ 6901 East Colfax Avenue Razorbacks will think they've found a little slice of home in South Park Hill as they eat their smoked bologna sandwiches with sides of cole slaw.
Best Day Trip: The Arkansas River View larger image. Best Day Trip: The tie that binds the state of Arkansas to the state of Colorado is the Arkansas River. At 1,469 miles, it is the sixth-longest river in the United States. A pilgrimage to the headwaters is a must for Arkansans. While the residents of both states may use the river for boating and fishing, the rafts and brown trout in Colorado will bear no resemblance to the barges and catfish of Arkansas. Even though August is not prime rafting season in Colorado, sufficient water is available at that time for a whitewater experience in the Royal Gorge. The river falls an average of 65 feet per mile through this steep-walled granite canyon, and provides as much in scenery as it does in sensation. Overhead, the Royal Gorge bridge, the world's highest suspension bridge, spans the gorge fully two times higher than the Metropolitan National Bank Tower, the tallest building in Arkansas.-- Kenny Be
