I AM NOT DEAD, Just Dreaming...

First off, contrary to popular reports, I am not dead. Second, my absence can be excused because our computer went kerflooey. Third, I'm certain that there is a proper way to spell kerflooey but I don't know it.

I never wanted to be one of those bad weather bloggers. The kind who post every day during the winter when the ice and snow held them home-bound, and when summer came they disappear into the ether of the internet for months on end. I am not of that ilk. Only the short loan of Flannery's work computer brings me to you now, bless her heart.

Right now, I have many irons in the fire. I have been spending my time away from work planning the trip of my life time. Should any of my readers live near the Ohio or Mississippi rivers, I will be passing through late this month and would look forward to seeing you.

For those who don't know, I am planning a trip that will start from my boyhood home in Newark, Ohio down the Licking river (yes, you read that right) to the Ohio and on to the Mississippi in a canoe. My partner in this adventure, Err, has signed on and the only snag that could hold us up is if my sister can't watch the kids. I have arranged for a week and a half vacation and I am going to live out my dream such as it is. More than anything, we are shooting for distance and the Gulf of Mexico would be nice but that might have to wait for next year.

Let me go on record as saying that this is madness. It is. There isn't one good reason on God's green Earth to attempt this other than the fact that we can. There will not be any records broken. The folks from Ripley's won't be knocking on my door and my adventure will probably only grace the pages of my blog instead of the three book deal I'm hoping to sign with Random House publishing. Nonetheless, I embark on the journey just the same.

Why you might ask?

Because this has been a life-long dream of mine for twenty-two years.

Much like the amatuer mountain climber who dreams of Everest or the archeologist who dreams of finding a lost city, I have one chance to live my dream and see how far the river takes me. I just want to see where I end up.

I am by nature a homebody, and while the chances to venture out and see the world have presented themselves on occasion, seldom have I taken the chance as work/school/family have always intervened. I have never gone far enough or stayed long enough to satisfy me.

It all started with seventh grade history class I think. Tales of Simon Kenton and the French fur traders who traveled the Ohio Valley looking for beaver were a big impression on me at the tender age of thirteen and I so wanted to emulate their trip. (at 13, I was looking for beaver too.) I wanted to be an explorer much like they were, but a couple of hundred years and satillite photos had spoiled my contribution.

So I am going to do it anyway and history be damned. I honestly have no idea what to expect or what I might possibly gain from this venture. There is no money to be had. There is no fame or power to be garnered. No statue will be erected or footnotes entered into history books. Your subscription to Time-Life books won't have my photo, but unnatural compultions rarely are.

So far, everything is in place. All I need to do now is get the canoe licenced and registered and I'm going to do that tomorrow. I have Flannery's blessing and that has been the biggest hurdle so far. She did admit to me with a snicker that she is, "looking forward to picking my smelly butt up" around Cinncinnatti. God bless her as she has a heart of gold. I don't know of any other woman who would condone the kind of damn foolishness.

I'll be checking in with your blog tomorrow,
Doc