It was one of those nice winter days. . .when the temperatures were warm and the sun was shining. . .that we ventured down the road from our Ste. Genevieve home to forage for naturals and explore Ole Man River. . .For me, it was like many other winter days spent on the river, including during my childhood. . .My family has lived on or near the Mississippi in places south of Ste. Genevieve from 1795. . .New Madrid. . .Little Prairie (Caruthersville). . .Point Pleasant. . .Ruddle's Point. . .Haywood. . .Portageville. . .Blytheville. . .It's my heritage, and I never visit it that I am not in awe. . .of the river and its stories. . .
On the other hand, John was born and raised in Virginia and had never seen this magnificent body of water until I brought him home with me one October. . .We crossed at the Memphis, Tennessee bridge. . .going from rolling hills and cities to the flatland of the Mississippi Delta. . .He was speechlessly amazed and loved it. . .It wasn't long until we left Virginia to settle on my grandfather's farm. . .
I feel very much at home at any point of the river. . .but it was simply a thrill that our favorite French town in Missouri just happened to also be on the Mississippi. . .that our second home was just minutes away. . .where we can dress up as our ancestors and roam around the woods and along the water's edge. . .and pretend for a while that life is rolling as easy as the river. . .
In 1758, the French ethnographer Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz published The History of Louisiana, in which he wrote that the Mississippi River’s name meant “the ancient father of rivers.” The Ojibwe words that gave us Mississippi (Misi-ziibi) actually mean “long river."
The river’s larger-than-life role in culture was perhaps inevitable. Until the early 19th century, the Mississippi marked the western border between Spanish and American territory, and it continues to give life to the cities that sprang up along its route. . .Mark Twain, the best publicist a river ever had, inspired 150 years’ worth of dreams about floating away from our troubles. And among members of the Ojibwe, Dakota and Chitimacha tribes, who still live on portions of ancestral lands in the Mississippi Valley, a spiritual connection to the river remains strong. . .from the Smithsonian Magazine
I am never along its banks that I don't think about how it is an important part of this country's history. . .It has always been there. . .It will always be. . .as generation after generation passes through life. . .That's pretty awesome in my book. . .
