Monday, June 1, 2015
Current conditions:
High – 76
Low – 60
Skies – overcast and fog
Seas – 5 – 10 NE wind
Fog delay! Really! I remember the excitement those two words caused in my house when I was growing up and again when my kids were in school. My bus driver friend, Dawn Wanner, told me the criteria for a school fog delay was visibility of less than two telephone poles. Since there aren’t any telephone poles on the river (and John can make up his own rules), it’s a little different. John calls a fog delay when he can’t see the opposite shoreline. Well this morning John called a one-hour fog delay. So we didn’t start paddling to Memphis until 7:30.
Unfortunately, when we stopped for a break, John received word we wouldn’t be able to camp in Memphis. This information translates to camping on a beach ten miles outside Memphis. We will arise early and arrive at Memphis Yacht Club on Mud Island in Memphis when they open at 8:00 am to pick up our food package. Then to the newly opened Bass Pro Shops in The Pyramid (the previous home of the Memphis Grizzlies) to restock some items.
Since we couldn’t go into Memphis today, we stopped at 11:30 on Hickman Bar ten miles from Memphis. We can see The Pyramid (newly opened Bass Pro Shops) and skyline. We are so close – yet so far.
Arriving here early afforded us the opportunity to use the afternoon to do laundry, take a bath and dry out our damp items from 24 hours of constant rain. John even played his guitar.
One of our favorite songs we like to sing together is “Dream” by Priscilla Ahn. Lyrics from the last verse really spoke to me today….
“Now I’m old and feeling grey.
I don’t know what’s left to say
About this life I’m willing to leave.
I lived it full and I lived it well,
There’s many tales I’ve lived to tell.”
These lyrics, along with hearing about the death of someone I knew from home, caused me to contemplate how I view the end of my years.
“I don’t know what’s left to say” – Have I spoken kind words to those around? Have I told the ones I love that I love them? Are there still words I need to say to someone?
“About this life I’m willing to leave.” – Am I willing to leave this life? Do I have unfinished business?
“I lived it full and I lived it well,” – Do I have regrets? Will I say “I wish I would have”? Have I lived my life to its fullest?
“There’s many tales I’ve lived to tell.” – Have I accomplished the extraordinary? Do I have a legacy to leave?
I feel this trip has definitely helped me “prepare” for that time when “Now I’m old and feeling grey.” However, I don’t want to become complacent and assume I am done living the “tales to tell”. What is next?
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