One week y’all!  That’s it, and we’re on the river and out of this one-horse town.  Hey, at least it’s got a horse.

Here’s a question for ya:  What do you think will be our first image of the Mississippi River?  I mean, what do those first few billion water molecules actually look like?  Here’s one idea.

She’s narrow, ain’t she?  Yes, my friends, that is the Mississippi River.  Beautiful country!  Beautiful photo by Peter Card.

The River’s Destiny

The word for destiny and the word for destination in Spanish are the same.  Final Destiny – remember that movie?  It sounds so much cooler in Spanish:  Destino Final.  Especially when talking about where each of these people, who Death was after, were going to end up.  I don’t know if the billion or so water molecules that you see in this photo know they are going to end up like this – majestic, beautiful, massive – but they do.  Remember that old Obama speech where he was going on about, “What started as a whisper turned into a voice, and that voice turned into a shout, and that shout turned into a movement?”  Okay, you don’t, but I do because I was literally addicted to the campaign for 6 months.  Well, ain’t it interesting that that’s how life or nature turns out as well.  What starts as a trickle turns into something mighty.  Amazing, absolutely amazing.  If you’re still not getting where I’m going with this, pay special attention to minute 3:10.

Love that movie.

Our Destiny

What will we grow into?  What will this blog grow into, what our movies?  Well, as Oogway said, I don’t think it will grow into much of anything if we don’t nurture it.  Each day, each paddle stroke will be a nurturing, bringing us closer to our destino final.  Do those water molecules know they will end up in the Gulf of Mexico, and from and even crazier, more mystical perspecitve, become part of the Gulf of Mexico?  I don’t know.  I don’t think they do.  That may be one gift we humans have:  We know (well to an extent, rewatch the Kung Fu Panda video to grasp the precariousness of our so-called “control”) that we will, if we nurture each moment, end up at the Gulf of Mexico.  That is our intent.  It begins the first day of summer, June 21.  Come along with us.

Here’s some more pictures of things we may see those first few days on the Mississippi.  Otters!

Awesome!  I can’t wait.  Do they bite?  Will they guide us to food and shelter?  Again, control.  So let us be off.  Let us grow into whatever we grow into as we go down the Mississippi.  Let us be guided and nurtured by you, your viewership, your participation, and our participation in sharing this adventure with you.  We hope you find it interesting.

Just as the Mighty Mississippi is fed, is nurtured, by thousands and thousands of tributaries we are nurtured by you, by your comments, by your reading of our posts, watching of our movies, and perusing of our photos.  We don’t know where we’ll end up.  We have an idea, but we’re glad you’re along for the ride.