"The New Orleans"

DATELINE: 10/20/2011
RE: "The New Orleans"



My daddy used to talk about what a great man Mark Twain was, writin about the mighty Mississippi, and river boats, and all that stuff about Huckleberry Finn. Well it set me to thinkin about how all that got started, and here we are at the 200th anniversary of the first river boat down the Mississippi to New Orleans.

It is the 200th anniversary of the voyage of the steamboat New Orleans. The New Orleans left Pittsburgh, PA on October 20, 1811, and changed the course of the history of the United States as it cruised down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, arrivin in New Orleans, LA in January of 1812. Now that ain't a speed record which stands today, since it took more that twelve weeks for the trip, but it is the beginnin of a new era for this country.

Now I don't recollect any politicians being on board, but there probably was a few just for the headlines, and by the way, one of the owners of the boat was an ancestor of them Roosevelts. Now this was a big event and it set the tone for Mark Twain, and the importance of the mighty Mississippi to this country. Of course the government has been tryin to control the river ever since, just like it does everything else.

The government's control of the river ain't been too good after these last couple of centuries, what with there bein quite a number of floods, and a lot of loss of life and money along with it. If you ever wonder if the government would be any good in charge of anything else, just look at their record on the Mississippi river.

The two parties we got up in DC right now (Skunks and Polecats) is just the same as all the ones before them, they want to control everything from the Mississippi river to what kind of light bulbs you use in your house. I say its time for the government to git out of all the business that don't involve protectin the citizens and the borders, and makin the country safe for the people that pay them their wages.

"Now, that's the way I see it, and you can tell'em I said so!"

Bascomb Biggers