water water everywhere

Here in South Dyersburg we know the drill when the mighty Forked Deer gets full.  We got two more inches last night during a heavy thunderstorm. Unless a levee breaks, which is always a possibility, my road will be passable through the crest.  I'm good here on the hill but it's the getting in and out part  that's a problem.  Floodwater will probably finish off the trusty Camry this time, for sure.  Maybe FEMA will buy me a new one.  Or not.  My friend John's business is chest deep down on the banks of the Sunflower in Clarksdale.  What a sad day for a self made man and his family yet they soldier on, doing cleanup in kayaks on boards.  They are what you call REAL river people.

I first met Ruskey when he came to Dyersburg to help with an exploratory thing with Dyersburg peeps on developing the recreational possibilities for the Forked Deer.  He and his river partner Mike Clark of St. Louis had done a Lewis and Clark re-enactment at the local community college and I was intrigued when I saw the newspaper article so I got in touch.  That little reach out turned into several adventures for me as I shuttled John's Mississippi River customers to or from their guided expeditions.  That took me to Hickman, WK Ford landing and Arkansas.  The guys I picked up there had a beagle who rode in the canoe, I kid you not.  Little guy even had his own life jacket.  Another local also did shuttles.  He is now a reporter for the newspaper following a career as a college professor.

My talents lie more along those lines...being a writer or seeker of truth.  I have to work at a day job because I need insurance and rent money but that's about all it is to me anymore and that's sad but understandable.  I've always been an overachiever and obedient to authority and that has served many people well, including myself.  Now, I'm just too damn tired with life to care much.  Being the procrastinator that I am, I've put off exploring options until now.  I feel trapped yet I'm looking ahead to brighter days.

I can't really apologize for feeling morose and sharing it.  It is what it is and I'm working my way through a whole bunch of grief that sort of just hit for real a couple of weeks ago.  It is real to me now that my parents are gone yet I see their faces and hear their voices like they were still living and in many ways they are.  That's what the Easter surprise is all about.

Hallelujah ~