Glamorous Dreams

Every Monday while I’m on this crazy ride I’m sharing some reflections about the Mississippi River as a metaphor for a dream. You can see previous articles here.

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The river isn’t all glamorous.

Some stretches are glorious—sun shimmering across bright blue water, picturesque tugs skillfully maneuvering barges through the locks, lovely waterfront communities lined with pleasure boats, trails, and parks. These are the postcard views, the places featured on websites and chamber of commerce brochures.

But there are other stretches—oily backwaters, rusted abandoned barges, boarded-up buildings, and hard, weathered waterfront towns filled with hard, weathered people who wrestle a tough living from an unforgiving environment. These aren’t the places you imagine when you plan a trip down the river.

In St Louis there’s a wonderful riverfront trail that ends beneath the iconic arch. But in the miles prior to reaching the arch you pass through salvage yards, past flood walls, and across levees that overlook the difficult work along the shores. It’s not the sort of territory I expected on a city’s signature trail.

I’m learning that you understand the river only by experiencing all of it. Tourists frequent the refurbished communities filled with antique shops and souvenir stands, but that’s not the whole story.

Same with a dream—it’s not all the shining, glamorous adventure you imagine, the one portrayed in the movie. Just like the river, I think every dream includes some hard, weathered stretches.

Parts of this ride are absolutely inspiring. The speaking events, the words of encouragement from the growing circle of support, the waves and shouts from drivers—those moments are what we imagined when we began. The trails along those calm, bright blue waters are the parts everyone wants captured in photos.

But that’s not the entire story. Some parts are just plain hard or boring or discouraging. It’s tempting to try to wish them away, but you can’t and you shouldn’t. I don’t think you can experience the dream by hitting the tourist highlights.

After all, nearly anyone can do the easy parts. Cruising downhill in sunshine on a beautiful trail doesn’t require much conditioning or develop much character.

It’s analogous to the tourists who drive the freeway and stop at the cutesy places with chain restaurants and souvenirs made in China. Easy, safe, and comfortable, but they don’t leave with much of a sense of the river’s truth.

Parents, spouses, employees, entrepreneurs—they all know that worthwhile journeys contain hard stretches that must be traveled well.

The river wouldn’t be what it is without the tough parts. Same with the dream.

I wonder if the trip might ultimately be defined by how we travel the less glamorous stretches.

Please leave a comment here.

940 miles so far

Want to see something kinda cool? The link below shows today’s route. If you open the page you’ll see a map–look in the upper right corner of the map for a button labeled “3D” and click it. Let me know what you think.

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Where’s Rich? Today This Week

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