Yes, we have no bananas.
We have-a no bananas today.
We’ve string beans and onions,
Cabashes and scallions,
And all sorts of fruit and say.
We have an old-fashioned tomato,
A Long Island potato, but yes, we have no bananas,
We have no bananas today.
— Frank Silver and Irving Cohn, 1923
Regarding the October issue of Arkansas Money & Politics, I regret to inform readers that, yes, we have no bananas.
Nor do we have auto parts, electronics, new phones or — the greatest loss of all — imported German beer.
What we do have, however, are the 2024 AMP “Legal Elite,” “Top Professionals” and stories that deliver some good news.
So yes, we have no bananas, but here’s what we do have: We have tennis and “Top Tens,” philanthropy and nonprofits, and all kinds of lists and saaay. We have an old-fashioned “Visionary,” a preview of the PGA, but yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today.
***
It’s a good thing bananas weren’t a focus this month. As these words were being typed, longshoremen had initiated an expected but unfortunate strike that closed ports from Jersey City to Galveston. Strangers with placards bearing cryptic messages could be seen wandering the sidewalks of downtown Little Rock, urging brothers and sisters to stock up on Charmin. (OK, not really, but it was fun to go Y2K retro for a minute.)
The Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast may be bereft of unloading tankers, but AMP’s mission to shine a positive spotlight on the men and women who make Arkansas run carries on. We may do it with a little less potassium in our system, but we have the cause of justice — well, of commerce anyway — on our side. And, of course, we have Hebda!
Assuming we survived the Bananapocalypse and come out of Nov. 5 intact — neither of which is a sure thing — we’ll keep on keeping on when it comes to our mission of telling the positive stories of Arkansans working to make the Natural State such a hidden treasure.
Thanks, as always, for reading, and enjoy a nice ripe banana if you’ve got it — or a nice Long Island potato if not.
***
Normally, I’m not a proponent of storming the field or court. Act like you’ve been there and all. I’m gonna give the students and those who followed a pass, however, regarding what happened inside Razorback Stadium as the final seconds of Arkansas’ win over Tennessee bled into the ether. The win was cathartic — for fans, the program, the state — in ways outsiders might struggle to fully appreciate. Such wins used to be the expectation on the Hill; perhaps they are becoming so again.
