A Real Hero.....

[Big Muddy]

FOX News:

"""A Navy veteran is set to make history, becoming the first American to swim the length of the Mississippi River.

28-year-old Chris Ring, a Navy SEAL who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is swimming the final leg of his 2,552-mile journey.

Ring's amazing achievement is secondary to his larger goal: Raising awareness of Gold Star Families, the designation given to loved ones of soldiers killed in combat.

Ring, who partnered with Legacies Alive, a nonprofit that supports Gold Star Families, began his swim on June 6 of this year at the source of the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca in Minnesota.

Accompanied by a support team in a kayak, Ring averages 14 miles and 6.5 hours in the water each day, though he can make it up to 30 miles depending on the current and weather conditions.

A spokeswoman for Legacies Alive said that Ring has been delayed on occasion by bad weather, but has otherwise persevered through illness, exhaustion and a shoulder injury.

After he reaches the mouth of the river, Legacies Alive says Ring will be recognized at the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia on Dec. 12."""

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[Thumper]

Ummmm, wouldn't it be a bit more of a feat if he swam UPstream? Heck, he didn't have to swim, just float on his back and drift! ;)

[Big Muddy]

Yep, ole man river is on a fast rise, too....however, that river is a dangerous mofo, even at low levels....it will swallow you up in an instant....I got a couple of friends that tipped their duck boat several years ago, and were never seen again....they were wearing like jackets, and a tug captain happened to see them and the boat get sucked under an eddy, and they never came up.

[Thumper]

Yep, been in that ol' muddy a few times my ownfineself. The worst time was on a dare in High School. I can't even remember the occasion (prom maybe?). All I know is I was wearing a (rented) WHITE tuxedo and there was some VERY heavy drinking going on. We were on the (Delta Queen ?) and some buddies threw some cash into a pot for any taker who'd jump off the deck into the river. Yeah I know ... we were dumbass (and drunk) h/s kids. Heck, don't EVER dare me to do something if you don't expect me to take you up on it. I jumped off the deck ... can't even remember what level ... and emerged with a now "orange-ish" colored tux! (The boat was docked on the riverfront at the time.) I was able to save the shoes, but the tux cost me more than I won in the bet ... well, not counting bragging rights. :D

Another time was at a place called Horseshoe Lake (or Horseshoe Bend?) I think. Also quite a bit of drinking going on. At least I wasn't wearing a white tux that time. ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

I met a guy on an airplane once that was a tugboat captain on the Mississippi and he said his job was 99% very boring until it got terrifying. He'd worked the river from top to bottom.

And there were some folks that came through Tulsa this month in a rubber raft that were floating the Arkansas from somewhere in Kansas and hoped to float all the way to New Orleans. They had a mishap on a low water dam in Tulsa and had to lay over a few days to repair and resupply. Never did hear how far they made it. Looked to me like an accident waiting to happen.

BKB

[Thumper]

In H/S (Vicksburg, Mississippi) I was dating a hottie little rich gal. Her dad was a Doctor and he owned a tug boat line as a side business. He had a radio set up in his living room and he'd sit on the sofa listening to the barge traffic going up and down the river. Man-o-man, for some crazy reason, her parents loved me and I swear, I thought they were trying to marry her off. Whenever I went to her house, her mom would make me something to eat, then she (or she and the doctor if he was home) would retire to their bedroom and close the door, never to be seen again (at least while I was there). I remember I'd be nervous as a cat when the daughter and I would go back to her bedroom and she'd change clothes right there with the door wide open! If one of her parents came out of the bedroom, they had to walk right by her room to get to the living room.

Anyway, they had a VERY nice house in town .... but they also had a lake house that was nicer than any house I've ever lived in ... and it was on their own private lake. They had a boat house with a couple boats (a ski boat as well as a fishing boat) that were there at all times. There was also a cool floating platform anchored in the middle of the lake for sunbathing, diving, etc. The parents were always throwing me the keys to the gate/lake house and telling me we should go out there and have some fun. They'd also give me the keys to their new 4WD Chevy Suburban and tell me to take that because the lake house had about a 1/2-mile long dirt driveway. (Heck, the driveway was hard-packed dirt/gravel and was always well maintained) The bar, fridge and cupboards were always stocked and they had good tv reception. The coolest thing was, they gave her brother a brand new, custom Chevy SS 396 Chevelle with a 4-speed and DUAL 4BBL carbs. for his h/s graduation present, but in order to keep it, he had to keep his college grades up. I went to the house once and thought her brother was home, but his grades had dropped and dad took the car away from him. He threw me the frigging keys and told me to drive it as it was bad to let it sit. I drove that car all semester! Dang! Thinking back, I was an idiot for not marrying that gal!

BUT ... I went off on a tangent and got away from what my original post was to be about. The doctor asked me if I'd like to work on one of his tugs for the summer. The pay was RIDICULOUSLY high, but I'd be living on the river the whole time, so he basically paid for 24-hour days! Sadly, we only lived in Vicksburg for a year and then moved to Memphis.

I wonder whatever happened to that gal? I've never seen her since.