April showers fuel the river's power by Elmore Holmes April, 2005      People sometimes ask me why, given my love of fitness and outdoor sports (namely paddling), I don't move someplace where I might "fit in" better--someplace like Boulder, or Asheville, or Portland.      The answer is very simple: I love my hometown.  I enjoy wonderful times with my family here, and what's more, it's a really a cool place, where you're sure to see interesting, whimsical things during a simple walk down the street.  And there's no other place quite like Memphis and the Mid South when it comes to the richness of culture and just plain attitude.  I mean, come on... what other region could possibly produce Rufus Thomas, Blind Mississippi Morris, Jim Dickinson, Cybil Shepherd, Al Green, Elvis Presley, Furry Lewis, and Charlie Rich, to name just a few?      Unfortunately, however, I do sometimes see the point of those who would urge me to go someplace else.  This place is not always the most open-minded when it comes to recreation in the outdoors.  Our so-called intelligentsia might engage in some duck hunting or bass fishing, but even the most active among them seem to view outdoor fitness sports like paddling, bicycling, and climbing as something

Elmore's columns appear monthly at the Outdoors, Inc.,website: www.outdoorsinc.com

     I'm a little bit of a loner, and most of the time, I like doing something that nobody else likes to do.  I know that even if every paddler in Memphis is out on the river, I'll have no trouble finding a place where I'll have the outdoors all to myself.  Solitude is the privilege of those willing to do something unique.
     But there are times when mainstream acceptance is vital, and that means numbers.  It means lots of people out doing what we do, and not just hardcore racer types, but normal everyday people who like being outdoors and being healthy and active.
     There are some sports whose viability nobody questions.  Take football, for instance.  With hundreds of thousands of participants and (sadly, more important) millions of spectators, football has such clout that it even has priority over academic programs at the college and secondary school levels.
     I don't particularly want our sport to have that sort of clout, but I wish it could have a degree of recognition as a "normal" thing to do.  I wish I could go out and paddle my boat with no fear of being hassled by The Man.  I wish our political and business leaders would feel compelled to think twice before making a decision that brushes us paddlers aside like flies from their lapels.  Increasing our numbers, and cooperating with other river users like yachters, fishermen, and jet skiers, is crucial.
     That's why, since the beginning of this year, I've been leading two "all-comers" Mississippi River paddling sessions per month through the Bluff City Canoe Club.  My objective is simple: to introduce more folks to the paddling that a handful of friends and I have been doing on the river for years, and to show them how they can participate and get involved.  So far I've had modest numbers of people show up, and I hope for a few more takers as spring and summer set in.
     This effort alone won't put paddling on the map around here.  It's just a "baby step" toward more substantial advancements in outdoor recreation on the river downtown.  Other groups will have to chip in if we're to build any momentum, and I'm pleased to announce that in the month of April, some other events will take place that I hope will reinforce the tone of "normalcy" for what we're doing.  In fact, never before have so many different groups given so much attention to recreation on the Mississippi at Memphis in the space of one month.

     On April 16, the local chapter of the Sierra Club will host a litter cleanup along the banks surrounding the Auction Avenue boat ramp, our one good public access to Memphis Harbor.  Although this is not specifically a paddling-related event, I mention it here because it shows that some people actually care about having a nice, clean harbor.  Litter, discharged from the storm drains, has long plagued the harbor, and five years ago most people seemed to regard the problem as too big to solve.  But under constant pressure from river users, the city has gradually done a better job of maintaining parts of its shoreline, and private landowners such as real estate mogul Henry Turley Company have paid closer attention to the matter as well.  The Coast Guard, in its usual "ship-shape" spirit,  has always been a good housekeeper on its property just north of the Auction Avenue bridge.  With a few volunteer efforts like the Sierra Club's each year, we're slowly reclaiming our harbor from the garbage, one section of bank at a time.
     On April 23, the Maria Montessori School, located on Mud Island next to the Harbortown Marina, will hold its second annual Regatta and Duck Race.  This fundraiser for the school, which includes art, music, and a rubber duck race on the little campus pond, has as its centerpiece a canoe and kayak race in the harbor.  Last year my prize for finishing second among the men was a willow-stick-framed watercolor painting done by two of the school's students, while winner Wim Nouwen received a yard-art sculpture made with authentic Mississippi River driftwood... very cool.
     On the last day of April, the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race will go off for the twenty-fourth time, starting at the mouth of the Wolf River and finishing in Memphis Harbor at the north end of the cobblestones.  This race has long been one of the largest of its kind in the U.S., and with world-class athletes like Greg Barton, Mike Herbert, and Oscar and Herman Chalupsky entering in recent years, it has become an elite competition as well.  But what this event pulls off better than any other I've ever been to is treating all participants, from the Olympians to the weekend warriors to the floaters, to a festive time and the liberating power of propelling a boat across the water with one's own energy.

     At least for this month, paddling will be The Thing To Do in downtown Memphis... but only if people show up.  I hope that every Memphian reading this column (and every non-Memphian with an urge to travel) will join me and other paddlers and river lovers this month to celebrate the Mid South's most fabulous natural resource, the Mississippi River.