The Odd-Ass City of Hope

Hope, Arkansas is a small town of barely 10,000, but it’s the birthplace of a popular two-term Democratic president as well as a strong Republican contender for ’08, Mike Huckabee. What is this tiny backwater crap hole’s secret to being a successful political breeding ground? Here’s a few “fun facts” about Hope, none of which are true:

* Boasting a public education system that extends to 6th grade and a magazine section at the local Wal-Mart, Hope is renown as a major cultural capital in Arkansas.

* A 1990 census erroneously reported “taxidermist” as the most common occupation in Hope. It seems residents were confused when asked if they mount animals.

* Hope has a Dale Earnhardt bumper sticker-based economy.

* Local hospitals were overrun in 2000 when hundreds of homosexual tourists descended on the area, not realizing what exactly Hope’s “Gay Bash 2K” was.

* You can always tell who the mayor is in Hope: he’s the one wearing a necktie with his overalls.

* During the boy-band boom of the late 1990s, Hope natives N*CEST topped the charts with “I Kissed Her (My Sister)” and “I’m in Love With My Daughter/Niece.”

* At last count, the audiocassette of Jeff Foxworthy’s “You Might Be a Redneck If…” had outsold The Smiths’ “Meat is Murder” 11,327 to zero at Hope’s Flying J Truck Stop along Interstate 30.