I Got The Blues.

And we're not talkin' the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Blues. Or the Rolling Stones kind. I'm in the dumps. Down there somewhere, digging around for something to grab onto, besides my lack of self esteem. I'm not sure if it's SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) or PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) or PMS (Pity Me Syndrome) or DDD (Down in the Dumps Disorder) but whatever it is I saw a little light yesterday. And it started when we had to pack up ancient photo albums. We're moving furniture so I can get me my new maple floors. Hoo-yah.

Choking a little on the dust mites and their swarm around my head, I happened upon this guy. Auggie just asked me why he had hair. That's a good question I said.


Paul Bunyan used to race C1 kayaks. They're the kayaks you see in the Olympics...the racers on their knees, paddling through a course of gates. It's rough. Legend has it that Paul was on the Junior National Team, winning medals and all, and making a name for himself.


But he soon made it out of the C1's and into a river boat. Here he is on the Gali River in West Virginia.



And then he moved onto a 'play boat' which is smaller and designed specifically for doing tricks in the water. But STILL...big water.







And BIG waterfalls in Northern California. Circa 1996.



I took this shot of him on the Trinity River in Northern California in the summer of 1997.



He tackled the Pacific Ocean.



And got worked over by the Atlantic.



And almost got sucked into the big brown water of the Colorado.


Paul Bunyan has kayaked more rivers than I can remember and although he'd tell you that he's growing cautious in his old age, I do believe that if he did it more often he'd be able to conquer the Gali once again.

He got me into a boat when we lived in Colorado. I shed many a tear walking around shoots he thought I could run; I grew many a fear heading toward strainers, not in my boat but in the water. I didn't hang onto my boat when I bailed. I never got my roll. I white knuckled it the whole way down the river. I don't think I ever smiled once.

Well, I shouldn't say that.



I always had fun on the raft. Lugging his tired ass down the flat parts of the Colorado.

It's uplifting to remember the better parts of your better half. I'm grateful the better parts of my better half are so cool. I hope he goes back to the boat someday now that I can take a better picture or two. He can bring the spawn, and I'll shoot the rapids with my camera instead of my boat. And then I'll carry all their asses across the flats and feel like I'm a really important part of their fun. Yea, I think that's what I'll do.