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February 9, 2007
Elemental
I think this is the first time in my five years of working at Lewis and Clark that the Mississippi has frozen over, or very nearly so. This is a picture from this morning. The view from the bridge itself was better, but I don't think the police would have liked me pullilng over much.
It seems like that in the years I spent in the area in my youth it would freeze over more often and we would get more snows of a winter as well. This winter has been great, though, with more snow, more cold weather, and ice on the river. Of course, not that the people of Calhoun County are enjoying it too much. However, I suppose that is part of the bargain when you choose to live in lovely Calhoun County, between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Go over on a ferry sometime, preferably on a bike, and check it out. It is lovely.
The ice in the river, though, is exciting to me, not just because it is because of the cold, but because it is a reminder that we truly are at the mercy of the elements and the God who controls them. The river is not closed at Alton, but barges have to break through chunks of ice that have built up because of the lock and dam and have begun to freeze together.
Last Friday night at 10pm, after a nice meal with the boys, Jesse and I decided to test drive his sweet, new ride (he can tell you about that). We ended all the way over north of Godfrey on the Great River Road. Jesse pulled up by the river and we got out, only to be greeted by the bright spotlight of a barge. It was a bit like being a deer in a headlight, and I was hoping not to hear any popping sounds. After the barge passed, in the cold, cold, cold moonlit night, we could hear the ice as it flowed by, brushing against the solid fringe of ice near the shore. It was one of those wild, lonely sounds that reminds you of your mortality and smallness. A little scary. Rather awful, in the proper sense of the word.
This second photo is a picture of a picture on my wall at work, which was taken 15 plus years ago in the upper peninsula of Michigan at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Cedar Campus. Which is like a long lost friend to me with whom I have lost connection. It is a lovely place for a vacation, in a family camp, Valentine's day weekend, or just camping.
Occassionally, standing next to Lake Huron, I would get a similar feeling to the one I got while listening to the ice, one which this picture somewhat conveys. Standing upon the shore, one is on the lip of a vast submerged canyon. Thinking of the cold vastness, of the icy depths, listening to the constant lapping of the waves against the rocks, puts "you" into perspective.
Photos and Art | By jackdas | 1:51 PM
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Comments
I remember being overcome with that sense of my "mortality and smallness" while fishing with my dad and grandpa when I was a child. The water, sky, and shore were SO HUGE. It was frightening, especially having no concept of immortal big God to protect me.
Posted by: Heidi Vincent at February 9, 2007 3:14 PM
