We were just looking out our window at the towers of Notre Dame on a clear cool morning thinking of Rilke and Chekhov and the best and worst of Arkansas in 1995.

No, no, truth is, it’s been at least two or three days since even the vaguest thought about Rilke or Chekhov crossed our mind. Maybe even a week. And the view out our window here in Little Rock is of some crappy old warehouse.

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But here at year’s end we have been thinking about the best and worst stuff that happened in Arkansas in 1995 and, believe it or not, Rilke and Chekov figured in the proceedings.

Here’s the kind of year it was: Worse and worser for Gov. Tucker; UALR’s best-dressed woman was a man; you couldn’t edit your memoirs in the park in a thong without the gendarmes hassling you; Bill McCuen–like a bad penny, just can’t get rid of the sorry s.o.b.; some hellacious fishing firsts; the state Supreme Court creating a catastrophe then saying, “well, nevermind”; motorist sexually assaulted by goat; the crappiest Whitewater stuff ever; the crappiest book in 3,000 years; sucky public officials galore; great golf; the crappiest new crimes; the crappiest newspaper columns of all time.

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A cornucopia and potpourri of bests and worsts. A Rilke and Chekhov of bests and worsts. Here are the ones we took note of:

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