Eureka Springs Independent

06/06/2026

Sunbeams, Light Beams, the Light of Interplay – Gemini

We remain under the light of Gemini. Gemini’s Light is the “light of interplay.” Gemini is a line of light or sunbeams. They reveal to humanity choices, duality, polarities opposites occurring on Earth. The basic duality being spirit and matter, the two, personified in Gemini’s icon of the twins, the two brothers, Castor & Pollux, one light waxing (light of the Soul) the other waning (personality). We each have a personality and a Soul. Some of us live primarily in the personality (triangle of matter – physical body, emotions, lower rational mind) which we are building to be strong and courageous. When the personality and Soul are blended, the Soul directs the personality, we feel joyful, free and timeless.

Sunbeams, Light Beams, the Light of Interplay – Gemini We remain under the light of Gemini. Gemini’s Light is the “light of interplay.” Gemini is a line of light or sunbeams. They reveal to humanit…

06/06/2026

Pictured is Busch Mountain Fishing Guide Austin Kennedy with this very nice Beaver Lake smallmouth bass.

The Beaver tailwaters have continued to produce good fishing this week, but conditions across the system have definitely been changing. Over the past several weeks, limited generation schedules created warmer than normal water temperatures throughout the river, which had trout scattered out and less concentrated in the typical deeper runs and shoals anglers are used to targeting this time of year.

The good news is that the Corps of Engineers has once again started releasing colder water through the conduit system while continuing to work alongside Arkansas Game&Fish biologists to closely monitor conditions throughout the tailwaters. Over the last couple of days, those colder releases have already started bringing river temperatures back down into a much healthier range for the fishery.

Pictured is Busch Mountain Fishing Guide Austin Kennedy with this very nice Beaver Lake smallmouth bass. The Beaver tailwaters have continued to produce good fishing this week, but conditions acro…

06/06/2026

The Profitability of Radical Kindness

I’ve been encountering “nonprofit” organizations that make me bristle. Like the one that will charge me to dump my kitchen scraps into a communal bin, and then, after a time, sell me some fresh compost. Annoyed with their pleading emails, I sent a response suggesting if they were really interested in being green, they would teach folks how to compost at home.

And then I unsubscribed.

Recently, I went to a tiny street party that had a stage with some fine local musicians playing at one end of the block, and vendor tents lining both sides of the street selling mostly “vintage” items—second-hand stuff at higher prices than thrift stores. One of the booths declared that 100% of their proceeds went to a charity of some kind. I didn’t buy anything, but I took home a business card from their table. The card claims these folks create “…temporary spaces to uplift and support our local communities… fueled by donations and the desire to spread radical kindness.”

The Profitability of Radical Kindness I’ve been encountering “nonprofit” organizations that make me bristle. Like the one that will charge me to dump my kitchen scraps into a communal bin, and then…

06/05/2026

Trying to make plans for weekends in June? Check out these amazing advertisers! Shop the sales at Sunfest Market and head out to see the Barflies this weekend. Next weekend is free fishing at the Holiday Island Marina, with Eureka Springs Pride packing town with vendors, drag performers, a parade, and more!

Lastly, rounding out the month is the beginning of Opera in the Ozarks at Inspiration Point's season and fireworks at The Barn & Rec Center in Holiday Island.

For more events all month long, visit http://eureka.news/fun-guide/

06/05/2026

We probably all know a fisherman and we probably all know an artist. But how many people are both?

The Japanese were early birds in figuring out how to document their worthy catches. (No iPhones in the 1800s.)

Fishermen smeared their fish with sumi ink – solid sticks made from vegetable soot and animal glue – then ground it against an ink stone. They pressed that onto washi paper handcrafted from inner bark fiber of the mulberry tree, and voila! A fish print.

The method is called gyotaku and is now an international art phenomenon.

All you have to do is catch a fish, remove the slime, plug its openings, dry the fish, layer on the ink, rub it on washi paper and do it all accurately and quickly.

Who seems to prefer gyotaku to other art forms?

Children. To them, it’s unusual and quite personal. Children not only learn something their parents don’t know how to do, they’re captivated by the life cycle and its awkward, creative permanence.

We probably all know a fisherman and we probably all know an artist. But how many people are both? The Japanese were early birds in figuring out how to document their worthy catches. (No iPhones in…

06/05/2026

Plant hunters

Back when we made long treks from Asia to the Fertile Crescent without GPS or Rand-McNally atlases, we got hungry along the way, so we learned about local food plants. On our way home, we brought along peas, dates, lettuce, wheat, pomegranates, figs and barley because no one in our neighborhood knew about them. Everybody loved us for it and fixed our supper.

We also brought back daffodils, tulips, roses and herbs such as coriander and dill. Also aloe vera. We also brought back knowledge because we wanted to be useful.

Nowadays, plants from around the world can be found around the world, which is not always a good thing but not always a nuisance either. I acknowledge certain introduced plants can become invasive, but I appreciate learning about vegetables and herbs from Africa and Asia, which are easy to obtain because intrepid plant hunters in days of yore gyrated their way through brambles, trudged through marshes, survived mountain pathways into unexplored terrains, and not just for me but for many reasons.

Plant hunters Back when we made long treks from Asia to the Fertile Crescent without GPS or Rand-McNally atlases, we got hungry along the way, so we learned about local food plants. On our way home…

06/05/2026

Words Worth Remembering: The Arsenal of Democracy

On the last Sunday night of December 1940, Franklin Roosevelt sat before a radio microphone in the White House and told the American people the truth.

France had fallen. Belgium had been overrun, converted into a launchpad for N**i aggression against Britain, that stood alone against a war machine that had devoured the continent at lightning speed. Meanwhile, the America First movement had some 800,000 members. Non-interventionist members of Congress had threatened to impeach Roosevelt three years earlier for simply suggesting aggressor nations ought to be quarantined.

Americans did not want another war, and Roosevelt knew this. “Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars,” he had told them in October 1940. In November, he won re-election in an electoral college landslide.

By December, Roosevelt believed it was time to speak the truth. The political winds were not with him. He spoke anyway.

Words Worth Remembering: The Arsenal of Democracy On the last Sunday night of December 1940, Franklin Roosevelt sat before a radio microphone in the White House and told the American people the tru…

06/05/2026

06/04/2026

Throughout the country these late spring days come sounds of discomfort and confusion. From Exxon stations to Kroger Foods to Walmart, the anguished questions: “Why is this happening? What can I do about it?”

Because good American citizens look for answers, in the vein of Jonathan Swift I submit

My Modest Proposal

Trained in logic and modes of analysis, I lay out the problem, then look for solutions. The increase in prices, thus the human discomfort, stems directly from two acts – tariffs and a war in Iran.

Throughout the country these late spring days come sounds of discomfort and confusion. From Exxon stations to Kroger Foods to Walmart, the anguished questions: “Why is this happening? What can I d…

06/04/2026

Mason Cox is a high school teacher, construction guy, vinyl enthusiast and all out nerd.

How did you get to Eureka Springs?
In my Toyota Camry in 2013. I wanted to be close to my family.

Do you have siblings and where do you fall in line…
I have a brother who is three years younger than me.

What advice would you give your younger self?
To start a Youtube Channel when it was first starting out.

What’s your longest intimate relationship
Five years

What genre of music describes you best
I’m a metal head

Who would you want holding your hand before taking your last breath?
My future wife, whoever that may be.

What six people, dead or alive, would you invite to your dinner party?

My great-grandfather John Mason Duncan, my grandmother on my mother’s side who I never got to meet, my mom, dad and brother and Mitch Lucker, the original lead singer of Su***de Silence.

Mason Cox is a high school teacher, construction guy, vinyl enthusiast and all out nerd. How did you get to Eureka Springs? In my Toyota Camry in 2013. I wanted to be close to my family. Do you hav…