I’ve had trouble paring a day into a paragraph. But here goes for the summer. We were warned that the river held some fierce threats to novice boaters. I suspect that a little planing can hold most of the danger at bay and by keeping a watchful eye, one can reduce the potential trouble further. What a watchful eye and planning misses, quick reflexes can help abate and hopefully what gets past all that is taken care of by a little luck.

In all that, I mean to say that we didn’t have nearly as much trouble as we could have. But it’s impossible to tell how close we came. Our anchor could have been holding on by a few pebbles and another ounce of pressure would have set us adrift. You will never know these things until you pull too hard. In a way that’s what bill and i were doing this summer. Pulling harder than we could have in our city apartments. Pulling harder than we could have by working all summer and going out on weekends. Pulling harder to see if we go adrift. It’s certainly no Everest; we’re not prepared for Everest. But we were ready for the Mississippi river. We were ready for the lessons held in that path to the Gulf. Bill and I have researched and we believe we are the first to video-blog the length of it. So as far as any adventurer ever gives back to a journey, we hope that our chronicle can be that gift.

Before I set out for this trip I wondered if there was a way I could engage in some care-free adventure and still contribute in a meaningful way to people who need a little extra to get back on their feet. I can invest energy into a worthwhile project. I can swing a hammer. But I’m wondering if I can inspire others to comprehend the urges I feel for contribution to these community projects. I wonder if there is something I can say or write that will take my sentiment and carry it to you. Perhaps the images and the story of this community is enough to evoke the same empathy.

I’m not asking you to donate to this organization. I’m asking you to examine, without defenses, the condition of the people in this region. Without the ‘It’s their fault for living here.’ Without ‘I have my own problems.’ Without ‘What is anyone else doing for them.’ Just imagine how you might be able to help. You don’t have to do it, just get in touch with how it might feel. It might feel better than that.

www.ShopWithLower9thWardVillage.org If you shop online, use this portal.

It’s known for some pretty diverse things. Bill decided, like many who visit for the first time, to follow our mouths around the town, mostly the French quarter. Because we got back from the boat late we started late. We were surprised by the night life on a tuesday.

Here’s something for you if you want to try it:

1 tbsp olive oil }
1 large onion }
2 medium cloves garlic } Saute until onions are translucent
1 large green bell pepper }
2 celery stalks }
3 tbsp parsley }
4 oz smoked ham }
5 oz chicken } Add and cook for 5-6 minutes
1 tsp cayenne pepper }
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes } Add with 1.75 cups
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce } water simmer 5 min
3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked } Add, stir, boil, reduce to simmer
} cover 45 minutes
1 1/2 lb medium shrimp } Add cook five min.

Easy!!! Jambalaya!

As for the comments about getting jobs… know anyone who needs workers out in California? Just about anything will do. The more interesting it is, the less I need in the way of compensation.

Oh yeah, and the dolphins later told me that they don’t like Beethoven very much, preferring the levity of the later Baroque period.

Thank you Big River Show executive producers. I think we’ve met about half of you through this project and about half of you are our friends and family. We had considered doing some sort of advertising but, to be frank, it would have been annoying to you and it would have eaten up the rest of our free time trying to stay on top of the logistics of it all.

Can you imagine us floating through the locks with a blue-tooth headset, trying to broker deals with Verizon and some outboard motor company out of Japan saying things like: “I understand your position, sir. I just hope we can work together in the future- after you grow a sense of humor!” We’re off in the next couple of days to try our luck with the Inter Coastal Water Way.

And tropical storm Fay.

This is not over. We still need to make it to New Orleans. We are on
day number… 75? It looks like we’re going to make it in 80 days
thanks to all the… and despite all the… During this past week
I’ve been emotionally up and down trying to figure out what the next
step is and what the completion of this project means.

We’ve been told by many people we have met, that this is a “once in a
life time experience.” What does that mean? I think they’re just
trying to help us stay in the moment and not take our experience for
granted. But there is another less defined side of this comment; that
after this experience there will be no more like it. And to be clear,
I’m not wanting to extend this adventure, like across the gulf! To
Cuba! Nothing like that. But I’m wrestling with how many adventures a
lifetime can hold, and what “once” really means.

“once in a lifetime adventure”

One interpretation of that statement is: Of all the adventures out
there, within your lifetime, you only get one.

Another way to see that same phrase is: For each lifetime, each
“adventure” can be endeavored once.

The way I choose to take it: In line with the Buddhist philosophy; you
can never step into the same river twice, let alone spend 3 months on
it. Every adventure is once in a lifetime. Even if I rafted down the
Mississippi river again next summer, it would not be the same. It
would be a different river and I would be a different me.
There… now i feel better.

The New Downtown 5 haikus

Let’s have some coffee.
We’ll meet at the corner shop-
seven miles out of town.

Convenience, it seems,
is not reachable by foot.
You must own a car.

Antique stores lead to
Second hand stores which lead to
Pawn shops on main street.

I miss the small shops.
I miss the conversations.
Death of the downtown.

Just think of the ease,
with all stores under one roof,
just two states away.

I have neither of these afflictions. Mine is the “4/5ths-is-fine” variety. Around the same time I can visualize the final result I become disinterested in it. While the end is still a mystery, my mind works on the solution to getting there. With each step closer to finishing, I gain new insights about the project. The moment the completed project sits before my minds eye, all I want is to begin working on something new. Novelty. I guess I have high needs for Novelty. It’s easy for me to see why, but it is not so simple to change. This trip has been a great help because- even if i wanted to quit now… where could I go?

Since the beginning of this voyage we’ve had plans to outfit our craft with various amenities. Since the beginning we’ve eschewed those plans each day. Sometimes it takes a special set of circumstances to motivate us. Sometimes those circumstances comes down to a state of mind. Sometimes it seems like more of a priority to drive the boat like a chariot, when we’re really drunk. Now, I’m not condoning drinking alcohol or driving a boat like Ben Hur; I’m just saying it’s one of the most fun things we’ve done.

In other news Bill caught some fish the other day- four of them, blue gills to be precise. We fried them up in butter and lemon. What a treat. I’m glad they don’t live at the bottom of the ocean, because then we could never eat them.