To the River's Edge

The Author in Full Curmudgeon Mode

2 July 2020

The Mythological River

Got up pretty much at 6:30 AM.  Quickly following I had breakfast, made coffee and cleaned the kitchen. Finishing these things up quickly allowed me to start my walk at 7:15. 

To the river, that is where I headed.  Down to the river I went. Most of the walk from my home to the river is verdant and shaded.  Most of the walk to the water at that hour is solitary. Today is supposed to be hot, in the nineties. In the hour before 8 AM the walk was not too bad.

What is it about the water carried by a river that is so important to us?  So many songs have been written about the call of the river.  You have Springsteen’s The River.  There is Billy Joel’s River of Dreams.  You can’t have lived through the early 1970s and not heard Down by the River.  And then there are the lyrics of the Ballad of Easy Rider, “The river flows, it flows to the sea. Wherever that river goes that's where I want to be. Flow river flow, let your waters wash down. Take me from this road to some other town.”

Our river focus isn’t limited to song.  The Jordan River is huge in the bible.  You got Tom and Huck travelling the river.  Southern Baptists engage in full immersion baptisms in little rivers like the Waccamaw located all over the southland. In Hesse’s Siddhartha the enlightened brahmin’s son has Govinda kiss his head. In Govinda’s vision that follows, life is depicted as a river of ever-changing faces and experiences.  

The Red Cedar July 2, 2020

States are divided by rivers; countries are too. Rich folks build mansions on the bluffs overlooking rivers.  Poor folks pride themselves on the boats they cruise the rivers with. Bars build terraces hanging out over river banks. People love to lean on the rails and watch the water flow.  

Never mind that rivers flood and destroy communities and take lives.  The draw to flowing water is strong and inexorable. Something primal calls us to the rivers edge.  As hardwired as any other urge we have, is the wish to wade in the water.

Today I heard the water’s call and I answered it with a walk to the water’s edge in the early morning golden light. I don’t know why I am drawn to moving water.  But I accept it.