Please read this...Bugs in the dark, and a boat on the river
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<p class="p1">This week, how 'bout some bugs in the dark and a boat on the water?</p><p class="p1">As you have probably noticed, summer has zoomed by, rather rapidly. And, what a summer of adventures we've had in the writer's household.</p><p class="p1">First up, The Other Half's mom and dad paid a visit in June. Well, I think it was June. Seems like a long time ago. The three of them made a pilgrimage to Iowa for a family reunion. </p><p class="p1">They've made this particular trip a number of times. I have not yet been to Iowa. I am guessing that The Other Half's side of the family pretty much thinks that I am a mere fig newton of her imagination.</p><p class="p1">Not long after The Other Half returned from the land of corn, and more corn, our grandson came to visit. For three whole weeks. This was the most time he had ever spent away from his home in Nawth Carolina, but he seemed to enjoy Southern Illinois. Well, except for the lovely air that we all try to attempt to breath. </p><p class="p1">Our latest summer adventure involved a visit by Daughter and her Significant Other last week. She is about to open the newest chapter in the pursuit of an education, which will take place at the what many of us might know as the "crown jewel" of the university system in our fair state. You know, the place where top administrators have been doing their best to hide emails from prying eyes. But, that's another story.</p><p class="p1">During her upcoming educational endeavor, she will be studying bugs. As part of her studies, she is required to come up with a bug collection. As we understood it, she is going to need something like 12,000 insectopods for the collection.</p><p class="p1">With that in mind, she spent a lot of time last week collecting Southern Illinois bugs. I wonder if the folks who promote tourism in the Land Between the Rivers have ever thought about making a big deal out of how many different kinds of bugs we have. I am here to tell you that we have lots of bugs. Lots and lots and lots of bugs.</p><p class="p1">For example, there's the Tettigoniidae family. I did not even try to pronounce that one. Just know that we've got big green ones and big brown ones. They can be noisy, too. Oh, your homework is to look up Tettigoniidae and find out what kind of bugs we're talking about. Hey, a new school year has started. You can still learn something, too.</p><p class="p1">Last week wasn't all about bugs. There was a boat, too, as we mentioned way back in the first paragraph. </p><p class="p1">The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Motor Vessel Mississippi paid a visit to the river front in downtown Cape Girardeau last week. During the visit, public open houses were offered Friday evening and Saturday morning. Folks could visit, and tour, the Mississippi.</p><p class="p1">Just in case you were wanting to know, and I am sure that you were, the Army Corps of Engineers explained the purpose of the visit in a news release:</p><p class="p1">"The M/V Mississippi, which will host the Mississippi River Commission’s annual low-water inspection trip and associated public hearing Aug. 14 at City Riverfront in Cape Girardeau, Mo., is 241-feet long and 58-feet wide. The 6,300 horsepower vessel serves as a working towboat 90 percent of the time.</p><p class="p1">"Also a passenger boat, the vessel houses 22 staterooms, a dining room that seats 85 and a conference room that seats 115 people. The MRC flagship can accommodate 150 passengers.</p><p class="p1">"The vessel’s primary mission is to move barges in support of bank stabilization work on the lower Mississippi River. Each spring and late summer, the MRC conducts a series of public meetings aboard the vessel.</p><p class="p1">"The MRC, established in 1879, uses the M/V Mississippi to host public hearings, a process unique to the Mississippi River Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, that allow the public a greater voice in shaping federal policy by discussing their concerns with those individuals responsible for improving the condition of the river, fostering navigation, promoting commerce, and reducing flood risk along the watershed."</p><p class="p1">Now you know. More than you ever wanted to know. To be honest with you, I'm really glad we took advantage of the open house. For one thing, the price of admission was just right, as in f-r-e-e. Can't beat that.</p><p class="p1">During our visit, we had an opportunity to meet with a number of the Mississippi's crew members, along with a group of volunteers who work at the National Great Rivers Museum in Alton. Most of the volunteers were from Alton, which also happens to be where yours truly spent his "formative years" and graduated from high school.</p><p class="p1">The visit to the motor vessel also gave us a chance to be right there on the mighty river which bears the same name as the boat. As one of the aforementioned museum volunteers mentioned while we were chatting, there is a certain "mystique" about the Mississippi. If you are familiar with this mystique, I really don't need to say anything else.</p><p class="p1">Our visit to the Mississippi on the Mississippi also gave The Other Half (and your writer, as well) an opportunity to meet the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' St. Louis District. The very personable gentleman is a colonel. The Other Half commented that she thought she had never had a chance to shake hands with a colonel, at least not until last Friday evening.</p><p class="p1">And I suppose that's what all of these adventures are about. In the summer. Or fall. Or winter. Or spring. I hope your summer has had an adventure or two or three, and some special memories, too.</p>