The River Report

I did a ride-along with Mayor Sue Grantham and her husband, Jim, this morning.  The initial purpose was to see the other side of the flood wall and yes, the gates will be opened up again very soon.  Clean up had progressed to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if we could again start visiting our beloved river, fish on its shoreline, and enjoy the barges traffic as it moved up and down the river.

But the rest of the morning was an add-on surprise and far more sobering than exhilarating.  We have a small sinkhole on our street, in front of our house and eventually, it will be repaired.  Fixing depends on the river and its ups and downs.  The sinkhole is a mild inconvenience but like all things that won't be ignored, you simply get used to its presence.  However, there are sinkholes and then there are SINKHOLES.  Ours is the sinkhole variety, thank you, God.  This morning I was introduced to SINKHOLES.  Meet Sinkhole #1, the one that made it clear, "Caruthersville, we have a problem".

But before I go too much further, let me give all y'all a little background.

Flooding has hurt Missouri Bootheel towns like Caruthersville, Hayti, and New Madrid.  Caruthersville, alone, has suffered millions of dollars in damage and since the seep water gets into the sewer system, it creates all sorts of additional problems.  A recent news report gives residents important information on what is actually happening here.  

For Newspaper readers, also here:  https://www.kfvs12.com/2019/06/07/swolen-river-causes-sinkholes-caruthersville-mo/

Driving around with Sue and Jim, this morning, this is some of what I saw.

And there you are.

There is hope in sight, however.  Caruthersville has qualified for State and Federal emergency funds to help with the millions of dollars in repairs we face.  It will take a while, but with luck and God's mercy, we will be better at the end of this hard time than we were before the river flooded and then . . . Just. Wouldn't. Stop.

July 4th

I'm a little late with the July 4th post but I'm not very attached to timelines and deadline these days.  Anyway, here we go.

Fort D in Cape Girardeau is the only surviving fort in a series of forts designated as A, B, C, and D, all located in Cape Girardeau.  Fort D was constructed in 1861 and served as a union garrison for Illinois, Missouri troops and others from the Midwestern states.   It also as a training fort.  The area is surrounded by earthwork walls that were restored in 1936.   The stone blockhouse that stands on the site today was built in 1936 as well, by the WPA and has since then served a variety of purposed.

On the day of our visit, a small group of Union troop re-enactors was present giving historical demonstrations and talks.  All of the re-enactors were local people and all were descendants of Fort D troops.  The youngest two were in their teens.  It was gratifying to see the gauntlet of history being handed down to the next generation.

More About Guns

Since my last bit of excitement at the Steele Gun Range, I've been thinking about guns, more than doing anything.  Sometimes things just have to naturally unfold and on a recent Sunday, things unfolded.

There's an informal target shooting area near a bridge on the edge of one of the many cotton fields that surround us.  The water-filled ditch is filled with horsetails and I considered uprooting a handful to take home and plant.  Reflection cautioned me that this stuff might actually take over like bamboo which would not be a good idea.   But, I DO have it on my mind to create a small water garden and this would be an ideal addition. At least I know where I can easily pick some up and actually turn the doing into another adventure.  Who knows what I might find growing in an irrigation ditch?

Our friend, Mike, offered to take me and the pirate to this out of the way spot and there I tried out a .22 target pistol. Zero hits on the target with the .22 but next up was the .38 revolver with a 2-inch barrel.  I managed to line up the front sight with the rear sight and actually hit the target 3 times.  Not too shabby but that darn thing sure jumped in my hand.

The pirate got in on the fun too and he had some success as he told Mike some old war story about "qualifying" on the shooting range while in the military.  Two old war horses laughed over that and how soldiers help each other out when it was necessary.  But it's the pirate's story to tell in detail so none will be told here.  Suffice it to say, it was the first time I had heard the story.  

Moving along on the shooting options -  next up was a .22 rifle.  Mike promised me it had next to no kick (oh, excuse me to all purists.  I mean recoil.) Yeah, a recoil by any other name is still a recoil even if you do call it a kick.   Anyway,  Mike was true to his word and with my first shot, I hit the target.  This is when I discovered the virtues of crosshairs.  Seriously.  I LIKE crosshairs.  Five shots.  Five hits.  Mike told the pirate that if I ever pointed that thing at him (I promise, I won't) that he was to run.  FAST.  I was feeling quite pleased with myself.

But then I got to the .22 semi-automatic and I think I fell in love.  Eight shots and six hits.  Darn, I think I'm starting to favor semi's over revolvers.  More experienced shooters have consistently told me that I need to find the right .38.  Anything smaller can simply be an annoyance.  I'll let y'all just think about that.

One of our local men in blue talked with me later and was happy that I was taking such an interest in guns and while, no, there were no local women's gun clubs, he did acknowledge that the idea had possibilities.  So, what say you, ladies?  Any interest out there in forming a ladies shooting club?  I have zero interest in linking up with formal, dues-paying, follow our rules organizations but something on the order of a ladies gun club (sort of like a local book club or garden club) might be fun.  Any feedback on that idea?  Chase me down, locals. I'm not hard to find.