Page 70 - Louisiana Loop (manuscript Edition)

With the schedule being off probably for five days which I haven’t had a chance to look but I
plan on re-evaluating today when I make my plans it was typical to what I always assume is
going to happen when you approach the Mississippi river.

You make your plans. You chart your course. You lay out your ideas and then as soon as you
get on the river you throw all that overboard because it ain’t going to happen the way you think
it will.

Dealing with trying to get cargo shipped; dealing with buses; and people; and places; and
things; and even some of the criminal element; that tends to slow you down.
But once you get on the river you’re back in your own element. Or least I am and then I’m
able to start getting back into shape and getting back into the what I call water sense you know
because sometimes people don’t make no sense.

But when you get out in the wilderness or at least in some parts of what you could call
common sense where most things work according to the weather; according to the sunshine;
according to the flow of the river; according to the wind; according to the cold; according to
eating and drinking: in putting clothes on and taking them off; you could say your getting
back to the natural or the nature of things.

but you could also say that your just simplifying

and that’s kind of what I love about being back on The river

It’s a simpler way of life I’m not concerned about who’s going to win the Super Bowl or who
the president is. As a matter of fact my priorities boil down to the simple things like taking the
tarp or both tarps off of my kayak letting them dry out for the morning sun.

Seeing if there’s a pathway to walk to Walmart or if I have to go down river a little farther to a
direct road to Walmart. Looking to see if I can find my arthritis ball that I can roll my back on
so they can get rid of some of the pain that I’m feeling. Those are kind of what I called the
simpler things in life because then you’re boiling down to just you.

You are the only person responsible for you.

You deal with it. You got it. It’s yours baby and that’s what I mean by turtling or slowing
down to be able to take a look at things and see them in a different light. For instance when I
was drinking from my water filter today because I didn’t have any water already filtered or any
water purchased from the store because I’m still trying to get to Walmart I was looking at that
blue bag you know the one with the filter on the end of it and I was thinking I was sitting
around a campfire with Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone drinking from one of those you know
Bladder skins you know and you have to squeeze it in order to get some water out……...well
that’s what you do some of the filter bags. You know you could just squeeze it in your mouth
and drink some nice cold clean water and that coming from the Mississippi River…..