James Arlius Ford was what one might call an ordinary man.

He was not a public figure. He did not invent anything. He did not write books or hold office or make a lot of money. He was not a war hero. He did not travel the world. He did not get a doctorate or break world records or cure any diseases. No buildings are named after him. He didn't know anyone famous.

James was born to teenagers in a rural Arkansas hospital in 1946 and brought home to an old clapboard house they inherited. Three siblings would follow. His family was poor. His mother never worked outside the home. His dad did whatever jobs he could get with an eighth-grade education. They had a magnificent garden, chickens, cows, and pigs, the river for fishing, and woods for hunting. James was a good shot from a young age. They ate well.

James started school in a tiny public schoolhouse in Cecil and finished at County Line. He wore patched overalls as a child. Jeans later. Worked hard. Attended Cecil United Methodist Church and was baptized in a pond after professing faith in Jesus. Played baseball in high school; his classmates voted him Best Physique.

James met my mom, Janie Harper, in Ozark, and followed her to college at Arkansas Tech in Russellville. They married after finishing the first year. He was 19, in ROTC, and a year her senior. Because he was married before a........

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