C O M M E N T A R Y
America the Beautiful
ABOUT A YEAR AGO, MY
wife and I had just returned
from a spectacular Rhine
River Cruise. I crossed it off our
bucket list, being thankful that it
was as good as advertised. Although
we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, it
left us with the question of, “How
do we top that next year?” We then started
to think about where we wanted to go.
With the changing conditions
throughout Europe, we started looking at
other options in our own country, the good
old U.S.A. That led us to another river
cruise, but this one was up the Mississippi
River from New Orleans to Memphis. It
was obvious that there was a lot to see
and do in our own country and that the
“Mighty Mississippi” was a good place
to start.
It was promoted as a Civil War Cruise,
due to its stops in Natchez, Vicksburg
and other historic towns. Although the
river boat didn’t have gambling, it had
something much better – lecturers. One of
those was given by a “Riverlorian,” who
spoke daily on the Mississippi River itself.
Another lecturer was a Civil War Historian
who had written six books on the conflict
that took place during that period of time.
He happened to be Mike Deeb, who makes
decision to see the U.S.A. was
right for a multitude of reasons,
not to mention the avoidance of a
transatlantic flight. If you haven’t
been to New Orleans, it is a city
that has a culture and history all its
own, including gourmet dining and
soulful music. From there, the trip
up the Mississippi is the story of fortunes
made and lost and the economic history of
the early days of our country. Paddle boats
carrying cargo and passengers up this
majestic waterway are one of the legends
of America; and cities such as Memphis
continue to be shrines to the American
Spirit and the birth of jazz. Life on the
Mississippi is much different today than
it once was, but the evidence of the early
growth of our country can still be found
all along its banks.
We haven’t yet decided where to go
next, but the Southwest or the National
Parks might well be a future adventure to
experience more of America, the greatest
country on earth.
By Dick Crippen
Dick Crippen
his winter home in Sun City Center, here
in the Tampa Bay area.
What a wise decision we had made.
There is so much to see and learn about
our own country. The boat was a new
riverboat that was launched in late March.
It was a beautiful tribute to those you
may remember from history books or
the movies. Even the entertainment was
in character with a group that sounded
like the Andrews Sisters; a musician,
who demonstrated how New Orleans
Jazz evolved from its roots to the music
of today; and a banjo player, who brought
the house down with his high jinks and
clever banter.
Relaxing was easy, as we never topped
a speed of somewhere around eight miles
per hour. That gave us plenty of time for
lecturers, entertainment, conversation with
other passengers and personal downtime.
Most of all, we realized that our
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 117