Monday photo feature

I've been paddling regularly on the Memphis riverfront for some 30 years, and in that time I've spotted all kinds of things floating in the water.  And it's not beneath me to occasionally pluck something out and bring it home, especially if I find it close to the marina.  I've got an old ice chest, a couple of trash cans, a few of those 5-gallon paint buckets (they come in handy around the house and the workshop), and even a Hoover vacuum cleaner that worked just fine once I got it dried out.  The Mississippi River giveth, I tell you.

Of course, most of what's floating out there is just plain old litter.  Once in a while I get motivated to pick up as much as I can fit in the space just fore of my surfski's footboard.  The litter problem is much too big for any one person to solve, so I concentrate primarily on stuff that's recyclable, like beer cans and soda bottles.  I know I'm not removing even a thousandth of a percent of what's out there, but at least I can say that in some small way I'm part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

The item pictured above is a first for me: an urn for somebody's ashes.  As I paddled up the Mississippi yesterday morning, just above the Hernando DeSoto Bridge I spotted something among some pieces of driftwood that was definitely no ordinary flotsam.  I hoisted the hefty object into my boat and continued on my way.  Back at the dock I removed the lid and found it half-full of muddy water.  If there were any ashes in there, they were indistinguishable from the Mississippi River sediment.

Initially I thought it might be a valuable finely-crafted piece, possibly made of silver or at least silver-plated.  But once I got it home and took a closer look I realized it was just stainless steel and probably a mass-produced Pier 1 sort of thing.  Oh well, at least it's a sturdy container with plenty of heft to it.  I don't exactly need any more tchotchkes around my house, but I'm sure this item will settle into its niche.

I'll just add this: last night I had supper at a local Chinese joint, and the little slip of paper in my fortune cookie said "You discover treasures where others see nothing unusual."  Pretty timely, hey?

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