Rolling down the river

Like most people, in my youth, I saw the world as filled only with pleasures. Age, coupled with knowledge, clarified that vision. There’s always a challenge waiting around the next corner. The United States certainly has traveled its own obstacle course; the credit and Wall Street crises are the latest hindrances.

Recently, while reflecting on two flatboat trips taken by Ronald Drake, I was reminded of America’s difficult history and how it has moved ahead even when some may have thought the country doomed.