hank franklin

Thank you all for the suggestions. I looked into them all but none quite fit. The sound was very musical and absent the screech or rasp of a bobcat or fox. The closest tone and timbre is the great horned owl.

We were on a Jacks Fork gravel bar the past weekend and was awakened maybe 3 or 4 a.m. by a very eerie bird call of some kind. It sounded like a human female voice, in a kind of mournful tone. It repeated itself several times. It woke me with a start and at first I thought it must be a girl or young woman singing. But upon hearing it repeat itself several times I figured it was a bird call of some sort and went back to sleep (thankfully). Back home I googled it and the best I can come up with is some kind of great horned owl call. However none of the calls I listened to really seemed to mimic it. I am not a believer in ghosts honestly but if you trust gut instinct then my gut instinct here was I heard some kind of ghost. I know that might be out there but just sayin. Of course nature on its own terms has a way of playing tricks on you. Or tricks you've never seen before. So I guess it's more likely I heard an owl that sounded like a ghost. Whatevs. Anyone who has heard anything similar I'd love to hear about it. HANK

The Current is a jewel and I can't wait till the next time I see it.

Somebody above asked "what do you do, go vote?" Simple answer: Be the change you want to see. Treat people decently. Take responsibility for yourself. Don't put up with BS. Etc. A while ago I started a discussion about the Bull Float. Drunk lewd obnoxious behavior taking over a state park swimming beach. Most of the people here said "who cares?" We've ceded our good sense to so-called "freedom" and the "who cares?" mentality. We are free to be drunken fools in public! in plain view and earshot of children. Who cares? I guess I'm part of the problem, I posted something on an anonymous message board and forgot about it. Instead I should have written a letter to the park ranger.

Two things: 1. Regarding what Old Plug says, read the Declaration of Independence and substitute "Big Money Power Elite" for the "the King" and marvel at how closely the two correlate. 2. Contrary to so much gloom among the peoples, the American fundamentals are actually very very strong. We are the world's largest producer of oil AND natural gas. We are in an energy boom. Second, we are filthy rich in agriculture. Argue the fine points but in the big picture we are an agriculture powerhouse. So, energy plus food. We lead in both. On those points alone we should be the most prosperous nation on earth. Oh, wait a minute, we ARE the most prosperous nation on earth. But our government, which is supposed to be "by the people," instead is "by the money" or "by the corporations." Etc...

Patriotism means love of country, not love of war. I think some people confuse the two. Dividing the country is good for business, from a politician's point of view. The other side bad, me good. Only takes 50 percent plus 1 to agree with you to stay in business. Can anyone deny we will have had 16 consecutive years of ineffective (at best) leadership by the time Obama leaves office? And 15 consecutive years of war? Wow. Lots of people getting rich off this scheme too. Me not one of them, nor I suspect you. We the people need to take our country back.

Ah for the good ol days, where the Number 1 source of information for an Ozark river trip was Oz Hawksley. My old 1980's or so edition was dog-eared and worn. Never went on a trip without consulting Oz. Now, sadly, you don't even need him. In fact I'm not even sure where my updated version is. Information age by far the biggest change IMO.

Hays, I don't know if you have children, but if you do, take them! Those are my words of wisdom.

I guess I am getting long in the tooth, Hog Wally. I came of age in the 1970's on the Bourbeuse and if we'd seen a Riverpro back then we would have thought it was a spaceship or somethin. Makes you wonder what will be on the river when my own kids get older. Nice day on the river. I don't mind the jets down there, it's jet country. We floated without incident except for the one incident. That one incident though rose the temperature a few degrees. One thing to buzz me the old dude. Another thing to buzz the children. Yes, do tell please about Shady Beach. Courtesy goes both way of course.

There must have been a Riverpro convention on the Meramec above St. Clair yesterday. Beautiful boats. How much water depth can these things run in? I saw one take on a riffle that couldn't have been much more than three inches or so of flow. Let me make real clear that I would LOVE to have one of these. Having said that, they are completely incompatible with canoes. (Duh.) Riverpro: $35,000+. My canoe: Two hundred bucks Riverpro top speed: 50 mph. My canoe top speed: 3 mph (maybe) Riverpro minimum draft: 3 inches. My canoe minimum draft: Maybe 3 inches. Wait, maybe they are compatible. I am not trying to initiate a "I hate jets" thread. We ran the river later in the day on a jet and big fun. I want one of my own some day. I understand all about their need to run on plane, etc. Just sayin the Riverpros aren't your grandpa's jet boat. My first Ozark stream boat was a 5 hp prop jon on the Bourbeuse. When I first got into a 40 hp jet on the Meramec it was high cotton. Now you can fly the river at 35 mph+ in dang near drought conditions. And from a Riverpro perspective hardly make a sound. Wow. Meanwhile our canoe party with kids floating on lifejackets at 1 mph hope to God the big boats don't run us over. And yesterday with one exception they all ran with general courtesy toward us. And we of course got the heck outta their way at every opportunity. However that one exception was a ridiculous incident in which we were buzzed within 15 feet on a section of river where this was completely unnecessary. So while I don't hate jets in general I certainly hated THAT jet. Life on the river goes on.... ....but it's certainly not your grandpa's river!

Agree 100 percent. Ludicrous that this is allowed at a state park.

Onondaga is a state park with an excellent beach but for this Saturday a for-profit enterprise completely takes it over without (to my knowledge) paying a dime for the privilege. You have to pay a fee to rent a pavilion in the park but Ozark Outdoors pays nothing to blight the river and the state park for the weekend? I have a feeling Mardi Gras Inc pays the City of St. Louis a pretty penny to run their lewdness through the City streets. We in Missouri just give up our sweet beautiful rivers for free. I'm sick of it, and I'm sick of anyone who supports this stupidity in any fashion. Grow up and take some responsibility for yourself, for your families and for our natural resources.

He was convicted by a jury of his peers, in a courthouse not far at all from the scene of the crime. Justice was served. The jury essentially was asked "what happened that day down by the river?" And they quite quickly answered: "Murder." That's really all I need to know. I trust the jury.

They're still popping up here near the Missouri River. I'm thinking the next few days could be a bonanza.