The currents of rivers run through my veins and resonate within me.
When I was a little girl, I fished with Grandpa on the Sheyenne River of North Dakota. It was murky and mysterious, but it gave up northerns (Northern Pike), crappies and bullheads to our cane fishing poles.
Growing up, my family lived only a few blocks from the mighty Mississippi River, which originates as a tiny stream in northern Minnesota. Yes, I visited the source, and walked across its rocky footpath, as many tourists do. Closer to home, as a teenager, I partied with friends on a piece of sandy shoreline.
For nearly thirty years, I lived near the meandering, rocky Snake River of Central Minnesota. We often went canoeing when the water was high on a warm and sunny day following a major rainstorm. Our destination was the St. Croix River, designated a Wild and Scenic River by the National Park System. The whole time we were in the canoe, we had to be on guard – watching for boulders jutting high out of the water or big flat rocks lurking just below the surface. Yes, we had a memorable canoe upset, but lived to tell about it.
Now my home has a view of the Crow River, which has become my muse for countless photographs. And, in my journeys around the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, I frequently take one or more of the bridges over the Mississippi River. I like to nod or otherwise honor the waterway as I cross it.
Throughout history, communities were built near rivers, a source of water, food, minerals, transportation, and more. What lies below the surface is often unseen and unknown. Rivers are never the same twice. They change and erode, creating waterfalls and views of breathtaking beauty, as they serve as flyways for bird migration, and give sustenance to animals, trees, and wildflowers. They can also be dangerous and sometimes even deadly.
As a person who has been blessed by my connections to such memorable rivers, is no surprise that a theme of rivers runs throughout my soon-to-be-published novel, or that the word River is part of its title. I am just one of many writers, artists, singers, photographers, poets and dreamers who see a river as a metaphor for life.
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