By Harold Brummett
Denmark Star Route
The invitation came by the way of Howard Bahr. It was time for a road trip. This trip consisted
of four old white men who attended college at the same time at the same place and who
somehow ended up back at the starting point.
Our group has started to dwindle, I thought of General (Dr.) James Cooke, and L.W. Thomas
friends who are past now except in memories of trips taken with them. The current cast of
characters for this trip consisted of:
Howard Bahr is the author of several books, short stories, and magazine articles. He was a
curator of the Falkner house for several years and taught at several institutions of higher learning.
Danny Toma completed undergrad and law school at the University of Mississippi then launched
into a career in the Foreign Service where he retired after 22 years. His assignments were
worldwide and Danny speaks several languages, but is most comfortable is Southern English.
Danny has published two books, with one detailing his work on the Provincial Reconstruction
Team in Basrah, Iraq.
Frank Walker is a Marine. He is an archivist, librarian and scholar. After years away, retired and
returned to Oxford. Frank and I were the only two mortals in the group.
We rendezvoused at the Walker house with Danny arriving last and on time, pulling up in the
Tomamobile with a smile and eagerness to be on the road. Danny being the youngest and with
the least infirmities is the best choice to drive to Helena Arkansas.
I started an argument with Howard about something trivial at the outset to set the tone. Danny
would interject with some fact or reasoning that while true would not dissuade the argument.
Frank joins in and laughs at the carrying on as we entertain ourselves while traveling.
Impeded twice, once for a duo of tractors with farm implements that took up most of the two-
lane road, and the other for a large windmill blade that had just crossed the river bridge.
A seasoned traveler, Danny took the impediments to our progress in stride and viewed them as
challenges. We stopped at the welcome center in Helena and the ladies there welcomed us and
gave us coffee.
Continuing on, we first stopped at the Catholic Church. Unable to gain entrance we continued.
Nearing noon, Danny had picked out an excellent restaurant Delta Que and Brew. After dining,
we toured several museums but one of note was the Delta Cultural Center where Ms. Glenda
Biggs was most informative.

Before heading back we stopped at the cemetery that held the remains of many fallen
Confederate Soldiers and most notably Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne, CSA who was
born in County Cork, Ireland. MG Cleburne had made Helena his home before the war and was
subsequently killed at the battle of Franklin, TN.
I recall the trip back was mostly quiet with Howard only occasionally making a statement I could
contest or argue with. The Tomamobile had third row seating that was empty except for the
spirits of Dr. Cooke and L.W. Thomas.