It’s So Long – See You Later – Til We Meet Again Time

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

As the days pass by one by one, we’re getting to the end of the long chapter that has spanned the passage of five years at the river.  And with each passing day, there are more expressions of farewell, so long, see you later … til we meet again. 

Our calendar is filling up with dinner dates with friends as we get together one last time before we hit the road and begin the next chapter…the never-ending roadtrip.

This weekend, our friends had a farewell party for us – and it amazed me to see the number of people who turned out.  I was in awe – delighted, surprised and humbled to know these people care enough about Bruce and me to show up and express their sentiments…to speak of their sadness that we were leaving and tell us how much we meant to them.

These friends mean the world to us. These river rat friends have impacted our lives and we will carry them in our hearts wherever we go.

The party was in Danny John’s garage/shop where we have spent many winter nights gathered around the wood stove, laughing, crying, teasing, playing dominoes, sharing a pot of stew.  The shop is like a museum to me. It represents Danny’s life… the tools and paints and equipment, the pictures of massive catfish caught, knick-knacks and memorabilia representing life on the river…and the cherry red ’55 Chevy that sits in the corner.

Danny’s shop is where we go to relax, rewind, and remove the frantic frenzy of the outside world. It reminds me of the four months we spent living in a tent on the banks of the Missouri River…a place I came home to after working 8-5…

a place where the outside world evaporated and all that was left was peace and serenity and restoration.

All the other times of the year, when the weather begins to warm, or even if there is a balmy day in winter, we head to the 180.  That’s Danny’s place on the river – at the 180 mile marker.  It is our home away from home, just a few hundred feet from our camper, but nestled in privacy among the trees with a view of the river that heals any stress or worry you may have. 

It’s a nightly trek to the 180 for us…for it is there we sit around a campfire, watching in wondrous appreciation the glorious sunsets, sharing stories, sharing dreams, sharing our love for being part of nature’s grand canvas. 

Sometimes, it’s just the four of us…Danny John and Marla Jane, Bruce and me.  Sometimes it’s a whole bunch of locals – friends and family showing up on four wheelers, pickups or cars…

Every time, it is like touching base again…getting filled up with all that is needed to get through tomorrow. 

And all that is needed is time at the river where we watch its continuous flow and are reminded that life is always changing, always moving in a new direction.

We’re leaving the 180, but not really.  We’re taking it with us.  Taking the memories of how it was to be among people who loved and accepted you for who you are.  Taking with us the experiences of receiving nature’s gift of healing.  Taking with us the easy, peaceful pace that we found here.

We’ll find more 180’s…we’ll make more friends along the way. 

But, these river rat friends will be always be with us as we travel, as we sit around new campfires, as we collect more sunsets, as we continue this peaceful easy way of living. 

Thank you, Danny John and Marla Jane, Dallas and Debbie, Kate and Dan, TJ and Michelle, Bird and Becky, Mack, Jamie, Kaylne, Jordyn, Rex and Marilyn, Andrew, Ashley, Dean, Joe, Scott and Michelle, Sheila, Pam, Byron, Christa and Satchel, John, Chris and Chastity.

The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare to let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure. — (Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah)