Page 72 - "Mississippi in the 1st Person" - Michael James Stone (Demo/Free)

DON’T BLINK

Moving around the bend more to the north now the water had gotten a little deeper and I could

stay in the lead kayak. I could see laid out before me far beyond what horizon I had of the
north almost nothing but miles and miles and miles of brown dead “ducky land”.

Or as I thought, an area that looks like it would have duck dynasty of some duck hunter decked

out with dog and all come out of the marsh.

I almost expected looking down at the map to see “duck hunters heaven” on the notes.

But nothing much gave me any solace except it looked like a long ways to go to wherever the
river creek had gone. A few more miles and I might have to concede that the creek had turned
into the Mississippi, but I wasn’t ready to give that one up yet.

I knew that Wanagan, a “first campground,” was roughly three and half miles from where I
was. But knowing one thing and seeing flat sea or dead brown marsh, I could only imagine
thousand of miles as opposed to how short the distance should be.

Later I would write a poem about this phenomenon called “head games”, where the mind plays
tricks on you with distance, time and emotions.

Right now though, I stopped in the stream bumming.

I ate some chicken I had fried and had to eat soon anyways and with a Pepsi felt better and

ready to go. Funny what an empty stomach does to you under duress.

A dead fall tree was half offshore into the river and that as well as other fallen trees I saw and
some barren ones made me think again how magical this place must be in the spring. About

that time I saw a squirrel on the dead tree. Why that made me feel better who knows but I pad-
dled on with a renewed vigor.

Bend left, sharp right , slow angle gentle curve, left, right, bend here, bend there, ok I thought.
SOMEONE planned this and they are sitting somewhere laughing at me not knowing where I

am going or how far I got to go.

Just then a bunch of fish clear as day underwater swam basically under me. Big. Greenish.
Spots. Fisherman that I am not, I knew immediately what they were…….not.

Then I ran aground, again.

Then my tow kayak ran into me.

Next the tow kayak with just enough length decided to take the lead and went around me and
the gravel bar and tried to keep going till the tow rope snapped the boat around.

Something about this minor incident made me uneasy like I was missing something here.