Memory: Labor Day Float
Labor Day is already here and the summer has passed swiftly like the current of a raging river in the mountains. But,I haven't taken time to spend with my friends and the nature around me. Between laborious work at Big O Tires five days a week and helping around the house on weekends, there is not much time for myself. This weekend, on the other hand, is my weekend, and we are heading to the scenic Osage River for a Labor Day float. On this cloudy and chilly Monday morning, I crawled out of bed sloth-like and waddled to the bathroom like a penguin in the arctic. After much anticipation, I called up my friends to confirm our plans of proceeding on this vast journey down the mighty Osage. The time is now just a few minutes after noon, and Mark, Joe, Jake, Adam, and I set sail for the great adventure, like Christopher Columbus in search for the " New World". Not knowing what was ahead of us, we set forth on our expected three or four hour journey to Pikes Camp in Wardsville, Missouri. After floating amidst the cool and chilly water for half an hour, we decide to make a stop at a small island located in the center of the river. Formed by a collection of vast amounts of creek gravel, the large island would easily consume tw
I notice a massive barge tied along the bank just around a bend in the river and realize this massive pile of rusted steel was sitting on the outskirts of the gravel plant, located not one mile from our destination. As soon as I turned around to see what was the cause, I caught a glimpse of Joe falling into the water. Once we regrouped, we continued our seemingly never ending journey to our destination. Exhausted, Jake decides we need to take a short break, in which the five of us stop at a small riverside cabin built only fifty yards from the edge of the water. Once settled again into our canoes, we vigorously paddled to make up for lost time. While inspecting the large collection of smooth stones, a thick aroma of partially decaying fish saturates the air like the smog in Chicago during rush hour. The cabin was a small raged structure built of rusted tin siding and solid oak doors. As we paddled against the blowing force of the wind and the setting of the sun, I was startled by the sudden shift of my canoe as Joe had been startled by a bug that had landed on his neck. Not knowing yet how much water we had to travel, we vigorously paddled for two straight hours, only stopping to take short breathers. After spending much time submerged in the water, we climb back into the canoes to the appearance of raisin-like fingers and toes. I notice a long and thick rope hanging from a sturdy branch of the old sycamore. Once I had put the rope in its previous state, we again set paddle for our destination. All that was to be heard was the sound of insects calling into the evening as the sun was setting. The smell of decaying human wastes, from the local outhouse, surrounded me like the heat of a mid-July summer day.
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Wardsville Missouri,
Labor Day,
Christopher Columbus,
Jake Adam,
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summer wasn't complete,
vigorously paddled,
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labor day,
summer wasn't,
wasn't complete,
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Acceptance Essays
