There’s not much to recommend the view outside Immerse’s youth center in southwest Little Rock. Across the street sits the carcass of a derelict fast food drive-in, its windows battened and scarred with graffiti. Next to that sits a low-slung motel sporting a grimy marquee and daily or weekly rates; down the street, a man…
By Dwain Hebda | Photography by Ebony Blevins Charlie the malti-poo races to the front door at the sound of a stranger, his shrill yaps slicing through the tranquil afternoon of the upscale country club neighborhood. He’s a pint-sized fluffer, but like a lot of small dogs, he doesn’t seem to know that. All he…
by Dwain Hebda Justin Moore’s Music Comes from the Places He Knows Best It’s a Tuesday night, and the clink of softball bats and the swish of ponytails fill the Arkansas air. In the stands, parents shout encouragement, chat and laugh between innings and keep tabs on younger siblings racing around nearby. Justin Moore, one…
by Dwain Hebda It’s a nice turnout at the church social hall. Friends and fellow worshipers greet each other and chat between sips of coffee. There’s a joy in these friendships, but a slight nervousness too. No one really knows what to expect from the speaker today and a few are a little bewildered as…
Besides being many other things – mom, author, Executive Director of Project Zero – Christie Johnson Erwin is a dreamer. She dreams of a world where children are loved and accepted and cared for. She dreams of communities full of families and individuals who ensure this happens. And she dreams of a day when the…
by Dwain Hebda Scroll down the screen, click on play; Chris has something to tell you. The handsome, well-spoken teen looks like any other high schooler with a palpable charisma and a jokester’s grin. You hear he likes most sports and he’s good too. That he likes photography and likes to write. You hear him…
By Dwain Hebda // Photography by Jeremy Smith In 35 years of pediatric medicine, Dr. Alan Lucas of Arkansas Pediatrics of Conway has had the pleasure to collaborate and comingle with many fellow physicians, be they long-timers like himself or green newcomers right out of residency. But in recent years, he’s found he’s often partnered…
The call to set up the interview with Matt DeCample for AY Magazine wasn’t returned immediately and when it was, Matt had an unexpected suggestion: Would I care to interview him while he took his chemo treatments at UAMS? I was shocked that he would have a writer chronicle his cancer journey in such a personal…
By Dwain Hebda In 30 years of practice, Little Rock optometrist Dr. Randall Teague has seen a little bit of everything. And the glimpses he has of the future of his medical specialty have him convinced there are bright days ahead for patients with vision issues. “There are all kinds of new things, there are…
By Dwain Hebda | Photography by Meredith Mashburn “The real hero is the man who fights even though he’s scared … The real man never lets his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country and his innate manhood.” – Gen. George Patton speech to the 3rd Army, June 5,…
