two-fifths, one-third, whatever
Posted by Eve in Journal, tags: bike, church, home, river, town
Yesterday was Mac’s last day and he chose to bike rather than kayak, so I drove him up to Balltown and unloaded him and the bike and then headed down to Dubuque to the public library for a bit, and then to Bellevue, stopping on the way to check out the Trappist Monastery, under re-construction at the moment, and the Fritz Chapel, a tiny chapel in a cornfield, built in gratitude for safe arrival from Luxembourg in 1850.
The woman I spoke with at the monastery suggested we check out the restaurant in the gas station at St. Donatus, which specializes in Luxemburgian food, so Mac and I went there for a last meal together before he heads back east. There was an actual bar there, along with the restaurant, with various sodden folks half-heartedly coming on to each other, and I had a sudden flash on how very different this journey would be if I were hanging out in bars every night instead of at boat ramps and libraries and parks and internet cafes and churches.
And when, after dropping Mac off at the airport this morning, I tried to find a non-chain coffee place in riverfront Moline to no avail, and ended up at the very fancy public library in Bettensdorf, I realize that one great advantage of traveling down the river rather than taking some other journey through America, is that most of the river towns are the oldest towns around, and they retain real character and individuality and flavor, whether rich or poor, gentrified or industrial. I see very few franchises, very little multinational hypercapitalism of any kind on this journey, and I almost begin to forget that mainstream American life is the Starbucks that will let me have free highspeed on my phone but not my laptop, unlike every single independent cafe I have been in on this trip; that the America of the interstates is virtually interchangeable from one end of the country to the other except for shifts of scenery, and even those are softened by the standardization of engineering that makes the highways safe and efficient. And even though I really should spend the day here at this well-equipped modern library catching up with email, doing research, and being responsible, all I want to do is get in the car and head back to rural Iowa, which feels far more like home, despite being about as foreign to my life in NYC as I can get in this country.
Mac’s departure has me sad: I will miss my excellent fellow traveler in a million big and small ways, but I’m also thinking about the fact that one of these days my trip down the river will be over, too. And I’m not at all ready for it to be over. That’s for sure. It’s a very good thing I’m only about one-third of the way down the river!
Entries (RSS)
Eve, the Only decent coffee place in the Quad Cities is across the street from the Holiday Inn in downtown Rock Island — only two blocks or so off of the River…. And they are very cool there…. The only name that I can recall for it is Coffee Shop….. Thinking of you and sending big love. I know where you are!
xxoo, Jane
(Abernethy)
Eve,
Your riverblog is absolutely fascinating and this entry is particularly beautiful. If you are still sad, remember your audiencefriends that are with you and please continue to stay safe on your journey.
Lydia
Eve, hi my name is Scott Alexander. My boss at work, Lori Gum is heading out to join you for a few days, she may even be there now, I don’t know. I just wanted to tell you that I think what you are doing is fantastic and I can’t wait for Lori to return to work so I can hear tales of the journey. Best wished and have safe journey!
Scotty
Moline, Rock Island, Quad Cities… now you’re talking!
Eve,
As Yogi once said, it’s like deja vu all over again. Your interest in churches prompts me to recommend the St. Louis Basilica at your next big city stop. Are Red Hat clubs a NYC? thing They sure are big here in the Midwest, so be sure to checkout the red hats at the Basilica. No ladies wore those beauties don’t ya know. The basilica is both firstrate, and awful at the same time having just a bit of river expression. Its main claim is having the most mosaics in the world, and as with anything ‘mostest’ not all of it is ‘bestest’. Margaret and I were married there, post voyage. The Music Director was John Romero, I think he’s still there and he’d be a great one to give you a behind the scenes look around. Deja vu all over again. We’re still with you,
Nick
http://www.rivermusicexperience.org/
Another possible site of interest in Davenport.
Nick
Hi Eve,
I read the piece in the NY Times about you, which fascinated me because I grew up in a river town, Quincy, Illinois. What verve you have to be undertaking this great adventure. It’s really fun to follow you on your blog. I live in San Francisco now, but will be returning to Quincy for a family wedding in a week. Are you staying on the western side of the river or will you be venturing over to the Illinois side? If there is any chance you will be in Quincy between Sept. 24 and Sept. 29, I would love to meet you (unless it’s the wedding day, of course!) or give you some tips on places to see in the area. You can use my e-mail to reach me. My sister and her husband have a cabin on a chute of the river near town and it’s so peaceful to sit on their dock and watch the river flow by; my brother-in-law is a real river rat and knows lots of nooks and crannies. I know this is all a fluke, from a complete stranger, but I couldn’t keep myself from writing to you and making a possible connection.
And on a completely different note, I met an artist who grew up in Dubuque, now living in NYC, who did this amazing looking piece of the river in sequins: http://www.jenbervin.com/html/mississippi.html. I met her at a conference in Philadelphia, so did not see the actual piece, and I think the photo can’t do justice to it. But I love how so many people are inspired by the Big Muddy.
All best to you on this wondrous adventure . . . and perhaps our paths will cross.
Linda Smith
Dear Eve –
what an amazing project! Since I’m not all that much of a blog-person, it was of course Kai who told me about your Mississippi adventure. What a great thing to do!
Like every year, I have to teach the final year students one American topic, this time it’s “The American South.” (Not exactly my favorite of American topics, but we had a lot of fun watching “Gone With The Wind.”) In addition to all the usual historical stuff, I also have to touch aspects like “American Identity,” “The Development of American Thought,” etc., and I just got the idea to set my students the assignment to browse through Riverblog and write an essay “Describe and discuss Eve Beglarian’s view of America as expressed in her texts” or something like that. Might actually be more fun than analyzing the Declaration of Independence or the Gettysburg Address. If nothing else, the language will be more readily accessible to the students. If I really decide to do that, I’ll send you some samples of what they wrote.
Naturally, I can’t help looking at your project from the perspective of the American Studies teacher, and I find it really interesting that the idea of crossing the country, of getting in touch with parts of the U.S. that you haven’t seen or maybe not even thought about before is still something that people relate to. (Don’t get me wrong! I don’t mean this ironically!) Of course, it’s especially exciting if it’s someone you know (even if you haven’t seen her for far too many years). During the Bush years, teaching American Studies has not always been easy this side of the Atlantic because many students had such negative views that it took an effort to make them realize that there was more to America than Bush. Although America has never been extremely unpopular with my students — I suppose that the idea of America as the land of opportunity is too deeply ingrained in the German consciousness to be gotten rid off easily –, it’s definitely a more relaxed and more fun affair now.
Ol’ man river, he must know somethin’, but don’t say nothin’ … I’m excited to hear what he’ll have told you at the end of your journey.
Lots of love and hugs and good wishes and all the best I can think of,
XOXOXOXOXOX
Jörg Behrendt, Ottersberg, Germany.
Saw a very nice picture of you on WT – enjoying the company of a fellow walking enthusiast. Although I don’t comment often I am enjoying your trip and notes. I had family ties in the Quad Cities – many years ago. I recall standing at a cemetery overlooking the Mississippi and thinking how majestic the river was – in it’s own way as awe inspiring as mountains in the west or rocky coastlines in the east. America is a varied and interesting country -enjoying the opportunity to see it through your eyes and hear it’s peculiar song through your ears.