NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/683373
36 NEBRASKAland • JUNE 2016 smile that came from within, from somewhere secret and safe. He looked out onto the river for a moment and then his gaze followed the bridge's rigid metal framework. "I've spend a lot of time sitting on top of this bridge," he admitted, leaning back against the railing, reminiscing. I can only guess at what made the memory so pleasurable, but I suspect it was the peace and beauty – the enchanting silver moon, the river's voluptuous bends and the thousand gazes of brilliant stars. It was an infatuation that could not be compared. What secrets he shared with the river (and what all he drank with her before 21) during those sleepless, dark hours of the night – I will never know. O In parts of the world, many rivers are associated with a gender, wrote Susan Farlowe in her story "Sex and the river – female and male waterways" published in SFGate. The Cái River in Nha Trang, Vietnam, literally means "female river." The Rhine River in Germany is known by some as "Father Rhine" for its hazardous whirlpools and rocks that protect against invaders; and the Moselle River, the Rhine's tributary, is known as his daughter for her calm, tranquil waters. In China, the Mekong River means "'mother of all rivers' as it births and feeds many of the great and life-giving waters of China," said Richard Bangs, author of The Lost River: A Memoir of Life, Death and the Transformation of Wild Water. But in the United States, rivers are not often given such distinctions. "Very often, if a river is mighty, overpowering, dangerous, it is male" and "if it is gentle, curvaceous, easy on the eyes, it is often female," Bangs said, though he admits that the distinctions are stereotypical. If one considers the Missouri River under these requirements, then I would not hesitate to say that our river is female, with her life-giving water, her beautiful clay bluffs and tranquil flow. But stereotypes are just stereotypes – they're true until they're not. Though easy on the eyes and usually temperate, the Missouri can also be powerful, dangerous and devastating. Her most recent flooding caused major damage to Nebraska homes, agriculture and infrastructure in the summer of 2011. Those who know what's good for them have a healthy respect for rivers. For rivers are always more complicated Sarah Doxon, a former naturalist at Ponca State Park, kayaks near the confluence of the Niobrara and Missouri rivers. 36 NEBRASKALAND • JUNE 2016 il th t f ithi f bli h d i SFG t id th h h was terrified. It was incredibly windy and freakin' cold. But I had a blast and loved it. I don't think I've missed a year since." – Marilyn Tabor "I