River Water in My Veins

A view of the beautiful Ouachita River on an early fall afternoon at Moro Bay State Park.

Ouachita River water runs in my veins. The river calls me to my roots and sings the song of my history.

My forebears on both sides of the family made the trek from North Carolina to Tennessee and then on to Arkansas during the 1840s. By 1848 they had settled on the banks of the Ouachita to make a farm and raise a family. Six generations are buried along the river, and I'll join them there as the seventh.

I've wandered all over these United States and lived outside Arkansas for a number of years. The places I lived were nice enough, but something about them felt a little unsettled, like something was missing. I did not understand what the missing piece was until I came back to the Ouachita.

There, standing on her banks, she whispered, "Yes, child, you are home."