Indiana, O-hi-o, & the Mighty Mo

Events, paddles & the people we meet along the way

Hello friends,

I hope you’re well and cool (as can be) wherever this missive may discover you. It finds me in sunny Taipei, packing up my apartment to make a circuitous journey back to America – via Manila – for a summer in Indiana, O-hi-o, and along the Mighty Mo.

It was three years ago that I first set eyes on Madison, Indiana, a gem of a river town on the banks of the Ohio. My dear friends there have invited me back – and set up an expedition speech to take place next week at the Madison County Library on Tuesday, July 2 @ 5:30pm – 6:30pm. I’ll be speaking about my sojourn across the North American continent and beyond – and will have books on hand from previous adventures “Down the Mississippi” and into the “Homelands” of Apartheid-era South Africa. If you find yourself in the area, and you can make it out, it’d be outstanding to see you.

As with any journey, it’s the people we meet along the way – big and small, and from all walks of life – who encourage and assist. You step into a community, you step into people’s lives, and they step into yours. They positively become a part of your journey and you become a part of theirs. This journey we call life.

You get back in your craft, and they don’t push you away, they push you off – and away you go, heading into the great unknown. You understand that by self-propelling forward, you open yourself up to new engagements, to new frontiers and new friendships, to what the expedition has to offer just around the bend.

From Indiana I’ve been invited to hang my hat in Oxford, Ohio at the country cabin of Dale and Anna and Tucker. To rest and recuperate for a couple of weeks and take in the Old-Time music of the Farmer and the Crow, their fire rings, and their friends. To get the chance to hang out with the poets and writers and musicians of the region. To reconnect with compadres in Cincy and catch a Reds game. It’ll be fun to reunite.

In August, I’m returning to the Missouri River. To catch up with friends and fellow paddlers at Paddle Stop Brewery (where my canoe “The Shannon” currently resides) in New Haven, Missouri. Along with the certainty to reacquaint myself with the Mighty Mo herself. To take in a wild and scenic stretch through the Dakotas. Or possibly in free-flowing water from Yankton to Kansas City. Or even the last huzzah of the Missouri from Kansas City to Saint Louis. Dipping my paddles back into that river, no matter where it’ll turn out to be, will be nothing short of brilliant. Along with the crack of a beer and the smile of friends along the way.

Thank you for reading and following along, friends. Wishing you happiness and adventure. Wishing you old and new frontiers. And as we approach the summer season, wishing you, always, sight and sensation and wonderment.

Cheers and best,

Neal