It's getting late in the afternoon and there are no plans for dinner.
Uh-oh.
Are we going to eat out or make it at home? Who is eating dinner? All the kids? What do they want to eat? What do we have in the house? What restaurants are open? When are we eating? What are we eating?
This simple, daily decision is never easy to make even in the best of situations. Now let's change the question from dinner to the detailed business of Arkansas government. And let's change the members of the family to the 100 members of the Arkansas House of Representatives -- Democrats and Republicans, men and women, different ages, different races, different backgrounds.
Yet, as each legislative session is called and begins, legislators, filing in to Little Rock from all parts of the state, somehow get through the discussion, debate and voting in an orderly fashion. The arguments and fights over the hundreds of issues and questions are a part of the process. Things can get out of hand. Back in 1837, a disagreement led to a knife fight where Major Joseph J. Anthony from Randolph County was killed by House Speaker Colonel John Wilson from Clark County.
Thankfully, deadly knife fights are in the past for the Legislature. What keeps this creaky, contentious governmental conveyor belt going? The answer, in part, is the House parliamentarian, a job that Buddy Johnson has held for 11 years and will retire from this month.
The parliamentarian assists the speaker of the house in deciding all points of order. The job also includes helping put together the daily House calendar and assigning bills to their appropriate committee.
"It's hard for the public to grasp the decision-making process where you have 100 people in one room to make decisions," Johnson says. "What [the Legislature] comes up with might satisfy one segment of the population, it might dissatisfy another segment. I appreciate the decision-making process."
Johnson's relationship with the Arkansas House began many years ago when he was a reporter for United Press International. He made for an attractive candidate for the House staff because he was already familiar with the work of the representatives.
"The term that comes to my mind is a consummate professional," says Roy Ragland, a former state representative who now serves as chief of staff of the House, about Johnson. "The parliamentarian is a job that by its nature has to be neutral on politics. Buddy did a wonderful job, very professional. There were many opportunities to tip the scales one way or another. Both parties see him as a fair arbiter of the rules. He maintained that confidence throughout his tenure here."
YOUNG BOY, BIG BIKE, SMALL TOWN
The southwest Arkansas town of Ashdown is Johnson's birthplace and home. He was the youngest of three children. His sister is 12 years older and his brother is 8 years older. His father was a mail carrier and his mother was a homemaker and a schoolteacher.
"My mom had a teaching certificate," Johnson says. "I think she always regretted not getting a bachelor's degree."
In 2021, Ashdown had little more than 4,000 residents. Johnson notes that his family "lived in town." He lived blocks away from grandparents and other family members. He was five blocks from his elementary school.
"I grew up around schools," Johnson says.
His mode of transportation when he was young was what he calls "a big bike."
"I would ride around the neighborhood. My brother and sister played sports and I would tag along with them. We would just go play in different peoples' yards. There was a basketball goal in my yard. At night, we played kick the can. We did a lot of running around."
Life in Ashdown moved at a slower pace. Johnson says he rarely if ever felt threatened and "there wasn't a lot of drama when I was coming up."
Johnson's family traveled as much as they could. The money wasn't readily available so they improvised in order to take in sights outside of Ashdown.
BELIEVER IN TRAVEL
"My dad was a real believer in travel," Johnson says. "The story was that he would borrow money so we could vacation. He would put things on layaway. I have a picture when I was 4 or 5 of a family trip to Missouri. We went to Washington D.C. We went to the Smithsonian and saw the Washington Monument. We knew some people on Sen. Fulbright's staff. We saw President Kennedy fly in."
Though Johnson's family took a trip to the nation's capital, it was not united over interest in politicians and politics.
"My mom said over and over that she didn't care for politics," Johnson says. "My grandfather served in the state House in 1923. My dad was on the school board in Ashdown. My entire career I've been surrounded by politics."
In high school, Johnson played on the football team and played basketball for a little bit. He loved football and, because Ashdown was a smaller school, played on offense and defense. He describes himself as a "gym rat."
"I enjoyed playing basketball," Johnson says. "But I decided it wasn't my thing. I was outclassed by the other players. I wanted to be involved it in. I ended up being statistician for the basketball team."
FIRST GENERATION GRADUATES
Even as Johnson and his siblings would eventually be first generation college graduates, the expectation in his house was that he would go college.
"My dad went to Hendrix for two years," Johnson notes. "I think he regretted not completing his degree."
Johnson admits that he didn't give much thought to applying any other place other than the University of Arkansas. He saw many of his fellow high school graduates in Ashdown go to work at the town's new paper mill. His interest in photography, sparked by taking photos for his high school yearbook, would guide him to major in journalism at Fayetteville.
"I migrated to journalism because of photography," Johnson says. "To me, photography is a perfect amalgam of art and science. The documentary element was also very attractive to me. You can capture a moment and have it."
During the summer while in college, Johnson had a request of a friend who was already working.
TURNOVER IS CONSTANT
"He was in the oil business and was busy drilling oil wells," Johnson says. "I called him up and said, 'I'm out of school for the summer. Can you put me to work?' Turnover is constant on oil rigs. I was guaranteed 16 hours a week. It was physically hard work and dangerous. Everything you do [on a rig] is with steel and water and pressure and engines. You had to be careful. It was good incentive to stay in college."
In the UA Journalism department, Johnson's skills increased beyond taking in-focus news photographs. He did well enough in the department to be named editor of the college newspaper. For Johnson, it felt right.
"I saw myself in newspapers. I didn't aspire to work for the New York Times. My target was just to work at a newspaper. I didn't think much about the pay.
His graduation came with a recommendation for a job opening up at the Benton Courier. Like most rookies, Johnson started newspaper work as a general reporter.
"For the paper, I would carry a camera around with me," Johnson says. "I would take pictures at the Bauxite football game and write up a game story."
FASCINATING ASSIGNMENT
Criminal trials and city council meetings also fell under Johnson's duties at the paper. A lawsuit against General Motors by some kids who had a wreck made for a fascinating assignment.
"[The Benton Courier] was an afternoon paper," Johnson says. "In the mornings we would put it together. We would go in at night and have something to cover. I didn't mind the hours. I was single at the time."
The romantic fortunes of the young reporter would quickly turn around thanks to a party involving other newspaper employees in Little Rock.
"I had friends from college working at the Arkansas Democrat. I would hang out with them. [Elizabeth] was working at the Democrat. I met her through them. She was hosting a dinner party. I crashed her party."
For Johnson, the attraction to Elizabeth Shores took hold quickly.
"She was bright and attractive and interesting and engaging," Johnson says. "We have been married 42 years and have two grown sons."
MOVING ON
Because the young couple after being married wanted to live in Little Rock, Johnson's work at the Benton Courier couldn't continue. The paper required reporters to live in the county. Next, Johnson got hired on at United Press International, which he calls a "pure writing job. The Capitol became my beat."
This was the mid-1980s and print journalism wasn't yet challenged in any serious way by the internet -- but it wouldn't be long. In 1985, UPI was having its own financial struggles and filed for bankruptcy. That same year Johnson was hired by the House of Representatives to be the information director. Since then, he has worked in some capacity for the House.
"Part of me always will regret leaving journalism," Johnson says. "Thoughts of what might have been persist. But watching journalism evolve during my career -- especially the dramatic downsizing of the newspaper business, and, locally, the shut down of the Arkansas Gazette -- convinces me I made the right choice for me and my family. I greatly admire my peers who stayed in the business and sympathize with others such as I who had to scramble for work when their journalism jobs disappeared."
BLUE TO RED
It's indicative of his time as Arkansas House parliamentarian that Johnson was appointed in 2012 by House Speaker Robert Moore Jr., a Democrat, and his successor in 2023 was appointed by Matthew J. Shepherd, a Republican. In the official announcement, Shepherd notes "The House has been fortunate in years past to have Parliamentarians like Buddy Johnson."
When Johnson started working for the House in 1985, Arkansas was a reliably blue state. Over the years, Johnson has watched as Republicans became the majority and Democrat governors are a memory.
Johnson stresses as parliamentarian he has done his best to maintain his "poker face."
"I think I did that pretty well," Johnson says. "During debates, you do your best to stick with the facts and what is going on in the chamber. I constantly tried not to react and just observed. I had no desire to be a fan cheering one side against the other. That's what I did as a reporter. I continued that when I moved to the House."
Johnson retires from government work in what is arguably the height of polarization between the two major political parties. His experience with legislators provides him a unique -- and, honestly, a refreshing -- view of how the governmental sausage is made.
"For someone to run for and get elected to office -- no matter where they are from in the state -- that is a challenge," Johnson says. "These people are by and large good people. I avoid reading motives into what they are doing. It's easy to demonize somebody. I always try to see the best in people."
House of Representatives Parliamentarian Finos "Buddy" Johnson at the Capitol on 06/21/23 for High Profile cover story. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)Date and place of birth: Jan. 27, Ashdown
If I could jump on a plane right now, I would go to: The Isle of Skye.
A book I'm reading now: "Arkansas in Modern America Since 1930, Second Edition," by Ben F. Johnson III.
A personal quality that really helps in what I do: Thinking through a question and, when necessary, doing research before responding.
Advice I was given when I was young that has remained with me: Learn, not just memorize
A great meal must include: A salad course and good wine.
The guests at my fantasy dinner party: (Former first lady) Abigail Adams, (former U.S. Rep.) Barbara Jordan, Cheryl Johnson (clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives), and my wife, Elizabeth Findley Shores. I love to watch brilliant women talk.
One word that sums me up: Prepared.