Most Arkansas towns have seemingly simple folks who help enrich their communities for everyone else.
It was no different in the Ozark towns of Harriet, then Marshall, where until May 5 of this year Harvey Douglas Clingings had made his unique presence known and felt in so many ways.
Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, Harvey from his earliest years in Harriet showed he'd never be content confined to a lifetime in the security of his room, or the limitations of a wheelchair. In fact, his life of partial paralysis would become an example of the indomitable human spirit continually reaching out to grow. In the process, Harvey, 18 years ago, moved to Marshall with his parents to become a positive force disproportionate to his diminutive and distorted physical frame.
It was never easy for Harvey, although his perpetual smile never reflected those endless challenges. He dropped out of school in the fifth grade because his class wasn't handicapped-accessible. He realized then that the quality of his life was basically up to him.
His late father Felix, mother Letha (a Christian pastor) and brother Larry made sure Harvey was included in every family event from fishing to hunting trips. "Our father and I carried Harvey on our backs to the creeks when we went fishing," said Larry, a retired fifth-grade teacher, "and he often outfished us."
Over time, Harvey acquired a motorized Dune Buggy that carried him around Marshall, providing the legs he lacked to meet others and see more of life outside his home. Harvey's personality didn't allow him to meet strangers and he always greeted others with a broad smile. Among his favorites were innocent children and babies.
The handy little machine also provided his handle, "The Dune Buggy Kid," for the CB he regularly used to reach out to the world from his bedroom.
As he grew, Harvey proved to everyone that there was very little, if anything, he couldn't do. In 1999, he began traveling to the adult education center in nearby Leslie and earned his GED a year later. That diploma still hangs proudly on his bedroom wall.
He sang in and played drums for the Assembly of God church choir, began writing poetry and even penned and copyrighted an original song, "Did God Ever Cry?" At one point, he used the family's riding mower to maintain as many as 10 lawns in Marshall. Harvey always brought the earnings to his mother. His reward lay in the joy and peaceful freedom he found on his mower and helping others.
As Harvey grew in age, so did his desire to reach out in every possible way. He eventually acquired a specially equipped truck to accommodate his needs, which meant Harvey's experiences expanded further. His determined spirit simply would not be contained. For instance, he mounted a siren on the truck and went through Marshall neighborhoods, selling produce from the family garden.
"He'd pull up and sound his siren to let people know he was around," his mother said with a smile. "Everyone in town knew and cared about Harvey."
As fortune would have it, Harvey found romance and love in his lifetime. He met Rhonda Branscum of Oxley during the late 1990s at the social services school they attended together in Leslie before earning his GED. They also would see each other at the church his mother pastored. That romance ended tragically 15 years ago when she died in a truck accident. A red ladybug pillow from Rhonda that proclaims "Be My Love Bug" still lies on his bed.
Afterwards, when he discovered the boundless reach of the world of the Internet and Facebook (he had more than 1,100 Facebook friends), he developed a relationship with Rhonda Jefferson of Flippin. They communicated regularly through the Internet and Skyping.
Near the end of life, as Harvey was hospitalized when his heart began to fail, he realized his time was short. He repeatedly told his family he "wasn't going to make it." But doctors were amazed to see him seem to die only to be restored by the intense prayers of his mother as she visited his bedside. After a third apparent death, the resurrected Harvey was sent back home to live another three weeks before being hospitalized for the final time.
Asked this time if he wanted to be intubated yet again should he stop breathing, he calmly said no. Nor did he want heroic CPR measures. Yet he insisted that, if his heart stopped beating, they use the paddles to restart it. "That was a strange request to us," said Larry.
But when Harvey appeared to die again and was shocked back to life for a few minutes, he matter-of-factly explained to those around him how he wanted his funeral to be, including the song he'd written about God crying.
Harvey then drew his final breath at 62 years of age and departed this world and those who spent their lives caring so deeply for him. "Our family misses him every day," said Larry, tears welling as he spoke. "Harvey was such a special person in so many ways. Those who knew him gained a lot from his having been here."
Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 06/20/2015