Alyssum Pohl: Writing & Professional Training Portfolio
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    • Thesis: Girning and its Cultural Relevance
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How to be a good River Rat

8/31/2016

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If you have never been a River Rat before, and are in the position of being offered a River Angel’s generosity, please keep our reputation alive:  that of being amazing strangers to host.  What your River Angel wants: to know that their offer means something to you (THANK THEM!  You can’t thank people enough.)
​

Ways to be excellent guests:  it should go without saying, but leave a house better than you found it.  You may bring in sandy piles of gear, but when you leave, make sure you take everything with you, and that you clean your space up.  Offer to do dishes or sweep/vacuum the floor or whatever chore you like best. River Rats should not be thought of by River Angels as  free maids, but a good guest is one that people would be delighted to have back again sometime in the future.  The most you can offer, though, is to tell your stories. What you’re doing is, to a River Angel, usually either unthinkable and exotic (they want to hear all the nitty gritty to hear what it’s like to live on a river), or something that they’re very familiar with themselves (they want to commiserate/connect with you about the experience).  It can be really exhausting to tell the same stories over and over, but I promise it’s totally worth it.  River Angels are people you have the opportunity to stay in contact with for the rest of your lives if you treat the relationship with dignity and gratitude.  Carving some of your precious rest time out for conversation, you will find, is WELL worth the sacrifice of a bit of sleep!

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How to be a good River Angel

8/31/2016

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River Rats don’t need much of anything and are grateful for the few things River Angels are able to provide.  Sometimes people want to help but don’t know how—here are some commonly appreciated offerings :
  • Fresh water or a cold beverage
  • Coffee
  • Warm meal
  • Trash can/recycling bin access
  • Electricity/wifi
  • Opportunity to drive to a grocery store
  • Shower
  • Laundry (especially amazing if you can provide a robe so that all laundry can be done at once!)
  • A bed for the night​
None of these are expected.  Anything you are able to provide is SUPER appreciated.  The smallest thing is enough!  Even if you offer and a river rat doesn’t take you up on your offer, know that your generosity is still accepted with gratitude, even without literal acceptance.  If you end up hosting a River Rat, remember that your river rat is exhausted because he/she has been paddling many hours a day for days, weeks, even months at a time.  When they are not paddling, they are setting up/taking down camp, and generally trying to keep the encroaching entropy that is nature from engulfing them (wind, mud, mosquitos, rain, etc).  They might seem lazy to you, but they are working HARD out there on the river, and the opportunity to take a breather is one we relish!  Please understand that if your River Rat goes to bed early, it’s not because they don’t want to talk with you—it’s because they are exhausted.  And GRATEFUL.  With that in mind…don’t offer to let us stay more than one night unless you mean it.  We’ll probably take you up on it ;)  Finally, you’re probably interested in the adventure your River Rat is undertaking, but meeting YOU is a big part of what makes his/her adventure interesting!  Don’t forget to share YOUR life, YOUR hobbies and YOUR town.
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Things the River has Taken

8/31/2016

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  1. Wholly
  • ​​​Camera
  • GPS
  • Spoon
  • Box of nuts
  • 4 paddle gloves
  • Rite in the rain pen
  • Portage handle
  • Ganesh (a ceramic figurine I found in the river)

2.     Over Time/Damaged to to the Point of No Return 
  • Tevas
  • Straw Hat
  • Camp clothes, river clothes
  • Almonds, dried veggies, mung bean fettucine, dried mangos, pasta, quinoa
  • Deck bag
  • Gum canister
  • iPod
  • Sleeping bag dry bag/compression sack
  • Rudder cables
  • 2 shopping bags
  • keen shoes
  • 2 harmony “dry” bags
  •  iPhone
  • Tent
  • Rain jacket
  • Sponge
  • Cockpit Cover

3.     Quit working on the river (unsure cause)
  • Stove
  • Android phone
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Day 95: Catching up, Filling up in Cape Girardeau

8/31/2016

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Shortly after I fell asleep, Leanne woke me to warn me that it was going to rain and that maybe I should properly attach my rainfly.  I was too sleepy and lazy to do so.  So this morning, I had several puddles in my tent and my sleeping bag was super soggy.  It was my own fault for not doing anything about it earlier, so I just laughed and sponged the tent out, and hope that my sleeping bag will re-fluff itself a bit before nightfall.

There were 2 people drunkenly arguing last night at the pavilion, so we just quietly set up our tents on the edge of the forest, a few hundred feet away, armed ourselves with our bear mace and didn’t bother them.  Soon after we went to bed, the man left and the woman fell asleep on the picnic table.  We were glad there was some construction going on at the railroad, blocking the entrance to the landing to most people.

This morning, the woman was sitting on the picnic table by herself, just looking out over the river.  I went up to her, offered her a couple packets of oatmeal and some water, and we chatted a bit.  She thanked me for the oatmeal, as she was super hungry, and explained that she often goes down there to calm her mind when she’s kicked out, but that this was the first time she ever had to sleep down there.  Apparently she moved up here from Arkansas for her fiancé, but it’s not working out so well.  I felt bad for her and was glad I could offer her at least a bit of sustenance as so many people have helped us out along this trip.  She was fascinated by our story and said she was glad we were there last night—that it made her feel safer.  “You didn’t know eachother!?  That’s so cool.  If I had a boat, I’d join you two.”  She was really sweet.  She was also very pretty but it was clear she hadn’t had great dental care in her life.  I thought about how even though I have been poor for most of my adult life (often living below the poverty line), and am currently unemployed and technically homeless, I am grateful for and so SO lucky to have had a good start in life.  My teeth are clean and strong, I know how to eat healthily, I have healthy mental habits for dealing with strife, I have a solid base of friends and family for support.  Is it my privilege that allows me to do this trip?  Would I have the confidence to do it if I hadn’t grown up with such awesome examples around me?

Leanne and I spent the day using wifi, working, eating a buffet lunch, and watching the rain pass outside.  Cruddy day, glad it coincided with a day of work indoors.

 indoors.
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    Alyssum Pohl is paddling the Mississippi River and documenting water quality and plastic waste along the way.

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