Mississippi Metaphor – Rich's Ride

It Looks Different From The Bridge

The Mississippi River taught me about dreams. About halfway through our 1500-mile journey I crossed OLD CHAIN OF ROCKS BRIDGE in St Louis. The view from that historic bridge prompted these thoughts. I’m noticing a lot about the river as I live with it. I’ve lived in the Midwest a lot of my life. I […]

A Different Look At Detours

Detours are part of life…and following dreams. Five years ago I encountered that reality on my 1500-mile journey that was supposed to follow the Mississippi River but often didn’t. # # # Thursday and Friday of last week I scarcely saw the river. I trust that it’s there, that I’ll meet it again at some […]

Which Dream Should You Follow?

The Mississippi River inspired me. As we followed the river, watched it grow and change, I was able to use it as a metaphor. Here I talked about the tenuous, fragile nature of dreams. We crossed the Mississippi three times during the first day. I recall thinking that it was a bit disappointing. Even thirty […]

Questions

One thing I’m doing to process the experience of Rich’s Ride is flipping through hundreds of photos. You can imagine that each picture evokes some vivid memories. I’m noticing that occasionally a photo prompts a question. I thought I’d share a few of them. What do you say about hope–something real that doesn’t sound like simplistic Christianese–to a guy […]

Small Stream To Mighty River

I’ve been sharing some reflections about the Mississippi River as a metaphor for a dream. You can see previous articles here. * * * * * The Mississippi River cuts a wide, powerful path through New Orleans. Yesterday we watched huge ocean-going cruise ships traverse its final miles on their way to the Gulf of […]

My Dream Or Yours?

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. * * * * * If you’ve been following this project through the blog, you know that one purpose of Rich’s Ride is encouraging others to chase […]

Wandering

1133 miles I never realized how much the river begins to twist and turn as it approaches Memphis. Rivers always have bends and corners. Everyone knows there’s no such thing as a perfectly straight river. But I wasn’t prepared for this. I can’t follow the river here. No roads trace anything close to the meandering […]

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. * * * * * 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 […]

The View From The Bridge

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. * * * * * I’m noticing a lot about the river as I live with it. I’ve lived in the Midwest a lot of my life. […]

Detours

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. * * * * * Thursday and Friday of last week I scarcely saw the river. I trust that it’s there, that I’ll meet it again at […]

Which Dream?

We crossed the Mississippi three times during the first day. I recall thinking that it was a bit disappointing. Even thirty miles from its source, the great river offers little clue of its eventual magnitude. It’s nothing more than a stream. We passed a lot of small streams in northern Minnesota. There was no way […]

Where Does It Begin?

A couple of friends suggested that the Mississippi River provides a pretty good metaphor for this project. I think the river also offers some lessons about dreams in general. So as we crank along together I’d like to share some observations about the river we’re following. It’s interesting to look at the source of the […]