A Writer's Biography, Volume I, Part 8: The Old Mississippi

I recently completed my move from Muscatine, Iowa, where I've lived for more than 30 of the fortysomething years I've lived, to Chariton, Iowa, in south-central Iowa. In many ways, I'm excited about the move - it has been a great professional opportunity for my wife, a good financial move for us, and a good change of pace for me. Being closer to Des Moines might even be helpful for me as far as writing goes - more writers, more people to network with. My wife even has suggested that I start a Chariton or Lucas County writer's group, but I have to admit that I have no idea how many writers are out there or what type of writing they might do. I'd be open to the idea, however.

It's going to be the river, however, that I'm going to miss the most.

For more than forty of my years, I have lived a couple miles or so from the Mississippi River. That has been something that I truly treasured. I remembered when I was a little kid, reading something in a National Geographic book about how the Missi…