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Overall picture: Drifting down the Ohio was a special treat
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Posted by editor Mon Sep 10, 2007 15:53:13 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments My wife and I are back from Louisville, Ky. where we put our grandson into an institution for life. The institution is called marriage and the quality of the lady he wed makes it pretty certain he'll stay there for life. Our unruly grandkids do have a knack for picking classy mates.

Normally I would rather suffer an ingrown toenail than travel 2,000 miles to attend a wedding, but I have to admit this one was different than most. Different meaning better. Immediate family members all chipped in to pay the costs of the nuptials with the bride's parents doing the heaviest lifting, financially speaking. I guess there is no way to get married anymore without spending a bundle. I have, in the past, hinted at the benefits of elopement but I guess you can't even do that on the cheap anymore.

What made Andy's wedding a pleasure even for a curmudgeon like me is that most of the costs went toward entertaining the guests rather than for a glittering ceremony with Hollywood trappings. It was a simple, tasteful affair at an old-time church a mile or so from the Ohio River. The Lutheran minister who hitched the kids was a delightful young lady who won my undying respect when she told me she had attended seminary in Iowa. I'm sure God likes that as well.

After the ceremony we all headed for a large cruise boat that took some 80 wedding guests nearly 20 miles down the Ohio and back, feeding us royally enroute. The next evening, close relatives of the bride and groom were back on the water in a 70-foot houseboat owned by the bride's parents. This time we had more opportunity to relax and enjoy the sights along the Ohio. I have driven across and flown over the Ohio River on previous trips but this was my first opportunity to see how much it differs from other rivers in the heartland. The most glaring contrast stems from the absence of levees and other flood control structures characteristic of the Mississippi, for example. At least in the Louisville area, beautiful homes line the river's heavily-forested banks. This startled me because I know the Ohio has an ominous reputation for flooding. I'm sure that's why nearly all the riverside homes look pretty new. They might look even newer by the time I get back there.

The Ohio seems to attract more recreational boating than other large rivers in the east. Taking a small boat out on the Mississippi is not for the faint-hearted because of the big river's dams and heavy barge traffic. The Ohio seems pretty tame by comparison although it carries a pretty good load of barges.

Without doubt the highlight of our trip to Andy's wedding was spending time with members of my late brother's family from Massachusetts who made the considerable effort to be there. They and our kids, none of whom are kids anymore, get along the way all cousins should, perhaps because they had so little contact due to distance and expense during their growing up years. They are making up for that now.

In spite of the discomfort and aggravations of air travel these days we wouldn't have passed up the Kentucky excursion for anything. Now we're getting our strength back so we can marry off another grandchild in Hawaii next summer. Excuse me while I go look for a soft cushion to put on the airline seat.

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