Canoeing the Mississippi - Part 5

'Camp Chippewa, ' its tennis and rifle range, X-Class sailing, And classic 'Old Town' canvas covered wooden canoes, Not the low-class aluminum canoes of a 'Camp Thunderbird.' Cass Lake - garden of the Mississippi's hidden currents, Nature's setting for Star Island's fresh blue berry thickets, Brisk, though swimmable waters, still safe to drink. Cass Lake - child of the first dam, city sewage dumped below. Kathy and I were warmly received by Chippewa's staff, And given a hot meal and tour by the owner's son. Though it was too early for the new season's initiates, The rustic setting and friendly staff made us feel at home. Early afternoon found us approaching the dam's spillway, Though Kathy thought me crazy, we unloaded the canoe, And I paddled it alone through the one open gate, YAAHOO! ! How many dreams can you remember coming true? This whole trip was a waking dream, a gift for me, Including having a wife who was willing to share it. Miles of river already, dust shaken from our gunnels, Adventures of the days to come hanging like a white sheet Strung between trees in an unwired, impoverished village, Only imagination powers the projector of what can be. (7) Poet's Notes: (7) This wonderful image is the child of an experience from my American Peace Corps experience in East Africa. Once a month a VW Van would show up in even the most remote villages and they would hang up a white sheet across ‘main street' and show ‘free' older movies to the locals like ‘Tarzan, The Ape Man.' Villagers thought that Tarzan was quite a funny, if stupid guy. You don't talk to monkeys you eat them! Of course, then, between every reel, there would be ten minutes of hard core advertising for everything from toothpaste to cigarettes to alcohol and always girls hanging on the arm of the man buying these products! I always assumed that advertisers paid for these monthly films but I do not know that to be true.