Page 68 - "Mississippi in the 1st Person" - Michael James Stone (Demo/Free)

Reducing my world from the tech and the indoors, to the great outdoors and mighty river I
knew was going to be a process of adjustment. It just wasn’t going to happen overnight no

matter how much experience I had. And this was a new format for me outdoors: Water.

I had done a lot outside, from hiking to camping to exploring, but always I had avoided water
ways and water sports except to walk along. Swimming was not big on my list and I always

admired rafts and canoes, I just knew that I could not do those when it might be I would have
to swim for it. Nope, drown me instead. It was also why as a Southern California Kid I never
learned to surf.

Once as a younger man, I had body surfaced my self into a head plant that left the wave laugh-
ing as it pulled away from shore and the next wave knocked me out of my head stand. Took me
quite awhile to get which way was up and where the beach was. After that I rarely belly board-

ed.

But Inflatable kayaking had won me over. Not hard shell, do a roll over and drown your nose
or snort river, but a genuine IK that was meant to keep you up right and going down river.

NOW THAT I COULD GO FOR