Isn't It a Wonder - Great Friends & Great Music

The Ceilidh Group presented two concerts today for the Isn't It a Wonder CD project. We started at 11:00 a.m. at Joseph Beth Booksellers with Dave Hawkins, Roberta Schultz, Tim Kelly and myself. The kids were great and we had a fun time.

Then all but Roberta, who had to run off to the studio to make beautiful music with Raison D'Etre, drove to Mt. Airy Forest to join Joel Caithamer, Joanie Whittaker and Papa Joe on the children's stage.

I borrowed a hat from Johnny Schott, who had booked us, and so I could pose as a concert promoter.

The kids had a lot of fun but I think we adults had the most fun.

The Isn't It a Wonder is a CD that we compiled last year with 20 artists doing 24 songs total with all proceeds going to charity. Check us out at http://www.ceilidhgroup.org/

Dyan Jenkins - Fearless Friend

It’s been 20 years since I received a phone call from a man who introduced himself as the fiancé of my friend, Dyan Jenkins. He was calling to tell me that Dyan had been lost at sea. He said she was flying to the Turks and Caicos Islands when she ran out of fuel. She sent out a “mayday” which was intercepted by an Eastern airlines pilot who head her last words, “It’s quitting”.

Dyan was an amazing pilot and the most adventurous soul I ever knew. She became an instant friend when I moved from the city of Newport to live with my aunt and uncle in Cold Spring. My parents were on a towboat at this time and I still had two years of high school to complete. She and I felt like fish out of water at Campbell County High School. She had spent two, tumultuous years at a local girl’s catholic school and was finally sent to public. Campbell County had a massive student body, unlike the smaller schools we had both attended. I didn’t fit in at Campbell County and always seemed to be in trouble that I didn’t start or at least didn’t mean to start. Dyan searched me out when it became obvious that I was not going to fit in and that the principle, Mr. Ravenscraft, had marked me as a “bad” kid from Newport who needed to be monitored. It started innocently when I worn my “groovy” new, wire-rimmed glasses to school for the first time. We called them “John Denver” glasses back after the folksinger who had made them famous. Mr. Ravenscraft sent me home and told me to come back with normal glasses, not hippy glasses. Thankfully my mother was off the towboat for a few days when this transpired and she was right there telling him that there was nothing wrong with the glasses she had provided and if they didn’t like them, they could buy me new ones. The hint of insurrection and anti-establishment behavior was all Dyan needed to come to my rescue. Dyan was the editor of the underground newspaper at the school and she wanted to interview me for her paper. Back in the late 60’s an underground newspaper was the best and most fun way to get back at the “man”. A few more incidents as innocent as the first transpired and Dyan and I became united against the evil school administration.

Dyan and I did get into legitimate trouble eventually. Because my parents continued to have an apartment in Newport, I would sometimes stay the night when they were in town and then drive to school in my ugly, gray Studebaker. I’d pick Dyan up on the way and we’d share a breakfast of Pop Tarts and Pepsi. Dyan introduced me to a musician friend at the school by the name of Jon. She felt we were meant for each other and the three of us began hanging out together. One day she convinced Jon and me to skip school to go over to the Art Museum for one of the very first laser light shows. As I mentioned, I had an ugly, gray Studebaker and sneaking out of the parking lot just as the bell was ringing wasn’t our best move. The truant officer followed us through the City of Alexandria and reported us to Mr. Ravenscraft. The next morning the three of us were in his office and I was given my very first detention.

Our adventures continued and Dyan had the dubious credit of introducing me to my first three husbands. (Those are stories for another day.) I miss Dyan and hope she managed to get to shore and is living another fine adventure. Maybe we'll bump into each other some day.

The following is an article regarding her disappearance.

Island Search Begins for Missing Pilot

From the Cincinnati Post – September 24, 1981

The U.S. Coast Guard began searching uninhabited Little Inagua Island in the Bahamas today in hopes that missing pilot, Dyan Marie Jenkins, formerly of Cold Spring, Ky. Had made it to shore.

Ms. Jenkins’ partially inflated life raft was spotted at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday by a private pilot aiding in the search, and retrieved by a Coast Guard helicopter.

“The raft positively has been identified as coming from her plane,” said Chief Petty Officer Ray Baker of the Miami Coast Guard headquarters. “The raft has to be manually inflated, and that leads us to believe she was able to get out of her plane and work with the raft.”

“The raft was one mile offshore of Little Inagua when found” he said. “She may have decided to swim.”

Little Inagua is northwest of Haiti and 475 miles southeast of Miami. It is eight miles long and covers 30 square miles.

Ms. Jenkins, a charter pilot, and her small, single-engine plane went down at 5:20 pm. Saturday when she ran out of fuel.

She was talking at the time by radio with Jack Geyer, an Eastern Airlines pilot and the last words he heard from her were “It’s quitting.”

Ms. Jenkins, 26, is the daughter of Betty Heinichen of Loveland, and had visited here only two weeks ago.

She moved from Cold Spring to Ft. Lauderdale five years ago and became a professional pilot. She had been in business for herself two years as a charter pilot.

Little Inagua is five miles north of Great Inagua. Covered in a vast reef apron that prevents boats from getting too close, Little Inagua’s 30 square miles are completely uninhabited except for herds of wild donkeys, goats (descendants of stock introduced by the French), and a wide variety of bird life, including a rare species of heron.

The Ribbon - Part Eleven - Locks

June 8, 1988
On June 8th I woke about 5:30 A.M., showered and had breakfast with the crew. I went to the wheelhouse with Captain Price. We were tied up at Lock #53 still waiting our turn. By 8:00 a.m. we were along side and ready to lock through. We entered the chamber at 9:00. Lock #53 is one of the older locks and is still considered temporary. A larger one has been planned for the area ten miles from Moundsville and Locks #52 and #53 will be put out of use. Captain Price explained that the cells were made, sunk then filled with rock. He explained how the boards of the dam were lowered when the water was high so boats could go right over them. These two locks are the only two of this type remaining. We left the chamber about 9:30.

David and the crew were busy painting the level one deck. The gray makes the whole boat look newer and classier. Yesterday he and the first mate, Gary, finished up the smoke stacks. David was respected by his peers and by his crew because there was never a job on the boat that he would ask any one to do that he would not do himself. He had started like they all had as a deckhand and worked his way up to pilot. David had been one of the youngest pilots on the Ohio River and by his eighteen birthday had earned the rank of Master Pilot.


Entering the lock

After we locked through 53, we headed for Lock #52 where we were to pick up a barge or two in Paducah. We passed Metropolis by water a little after 1:00 p.m. We had passed there on land the day before looking for the boat. Metropolis has a billboard of Superman as you go through town! Past it at Fort Massac there is a reproduction of the original fort and settlement. Metropolis is not only the County Seat of Massac County, but on June 9, 1972 the Illinois State Legislature passed Resolution 572 which declared Metropolis the "Hometown of Superman”. It hosts an annual Superman festival in June of each year and has a large Superman statue and a small Superman museum. The newspaper could not be named The Daily Planet but is known as The Metropolis Planet.

We slowed down to get in line for Lock #52. We were waiting near the I-20 Bridge for southbound boats to clear the chambers. We could see the dam in the distance and it was bigger than #53. We again sat and waited and didn't lock through until 5:00 p.m. The wind was very heavy and going into the chamber was very slow. We entered the chamber at 6:00 p.m. and didn't exit until 7:00 p.m. While we were in the lock, a representative for the radar company came aboard and fixed the starboard radar. Just like anyone else working with towboats, getting on and off is the hardest part. He, however, was able to fix the radar and get back to shore before we headed away.
At Paducah a tug brought us two more barges before we received orders for quite a few more. We ended up pushing twenty-three barges which makes a long and wide load. A normal load is fifteen barges.

It rained for about an hour outside of Paducah and we pulled up to Smithtown Lock at about 11:30 p.m. Smithtown was a larger lock, more like the locks I remember going through when I was younger. It is a double chamber and we entered the starboard chamber. Both chambers are 1,200 feet long and Smithtown is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest in the United States. On the lower end the wall was as high as our roof. The lock lifts a boat from 10 feet to 34 feet. This tow fit right into the chamber with only inches on either side, much like a foot into a shoe.

The Ribbon - Part Ten - The Galley

June 7th, 1988

My first dinner on board was top rate. The cook made pork chops, stuffing, gravy and apple pie. The only thing more wonderful than the people you meet on the river are meals cooked by the best chefs around. My father and brother, both captains for many years, both believed that cooks were an integral part of the crew and they provided a calming presence, especially the ladies. Often the deckhands would sit in the galley sharing a cup of coffee and conversation either on a break or waiting to start their shift.

On this particular trip the cook was a man who had been a cook in the military for many years. He was quick with a witty remark and was a favorite cook on many boats. There was always something sweet to go with the coffee, either pie or cake. Meals on a towboat are large and dessert is served at lunch and dinner.


My Mom was a great towboat cook and was well respected. Most Captains will tell you that the cook has the hardest job on the boat. The mate wakes them at 3 a.m. and breakfast must be cooked and served by 5:30 a.m. so the crew getting ready for the 6 a.m. watch can eat and be at their posts to relieve the crew coming off. The second shift of men will sit down a few minutes after 6:00 a.m. and enjoy their eggs any way they want as well as pancakes, sausage and gravy over homemade biscuits and all the meat they could handle. The coffee pot is always full and the mate will lend a hand when the cook is busy to make sure a fresh pot is brewing.

Lunch is more like a big dinner and is served starting at 11:30. Pie or cake would have been baked between breakfast and lunch and the dishes, pots and pans all scrubbed and put away between meals.

Dinner on a towboat holds with traditions. The meal is served family style with large platters of meat, bowls of vegetables and potatoes. Iced tea is brewed and set out in a large pitcher. Much like a meal at home, the Captain has his place at the head of the table. For dessert there will be left-over delights from the earlier meals plus another pie, cobbler cake or treat baked in the afternoon. After the dinner dishes are cleaned and put away, the cook may sit for a short spell and then be in bed early to be ready for another 3:00 a.m. wake up.

During the day the food was inventoried and grocery lists had to be prepared. Anytime someone from the company was headed for a boat they would check with the cook to see if there was anything they needed to bring. There were also river stores which would take your order over the radio and then bring it out on a small yawl. The crew could also add an item or two to the list and have cigarettes and such delivered with the groceries.

Getta Outta Here Hat - Just Do It

Some folks take long vacations lasting one, two or even three weeks. I can't get away for that long nor would I want to. I enjoy a short trip on a long weekend which I call a "Get Outta Here". It's like taking a cat nap in the middle of the day, just long enough to be refreshing and rejuvenating.

I have discovered that the secret is to:

1. Pick someone to spend time with that has similar interests and likes to have fun. Low maintenance friends or lovers are the best.

2. Pick a spot no more than four or five hours away so driving won't monopolize the trip, unless the drive to your destination is extremely scenic and part of the adventure (i.e, mountains, autumn leaves, river or lake view)

3. Let serendipity help you plan your day. I've learned from past vacations that plans set in stone are the best way to ruin your trip. Be open to what presents itself. You won't believe the great places you find by getting lost or taking a different route.

4. Resove to have a great time and enjoy the unexpected!

Now - Get Outta Here!

Get Outta Here Hat - Chicago 9/20/08

We drove the car to a service station and had the front passenger tire checked. We had been losing air and I was worried that I would have to buy a new tire before we made it back home. Luckily it was just rust on the rim and the mechanic worked on it for almost half an hour and charged me a whooping $9.50. We had breakfast then headed for downtown Chicago. I thought parking might be easier to find on a Saturday (again- ha, ha). Workers may leave the city on the weekends but there were thousands of tourists mixed in with the millions of people who live downtown. We parked at Millenium Park and checked it out before heading into the fray. We started up Michigan Avenue, first stopping at a tour boat ticket office to purchase tickets for an afternoon cruise. We walked a few blocks then went back to Millenium Park.

While we were sitting enjoy a bit of shade, two sailors asked how we were doing. We started up a conversation, learning that they were from Idaho and Georgia and asking about the Navy and what they planned to do. Other folks would stop and say hello to them and thank them for their service. I just wanted to give them a motherly hug but instead we all said we would keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

The boat ride was even nicer than we had hoped. The weather was perfect and the docent givin the tour was very interesting. After the ride we went back to Millenium Park to enjoy it after dark. Through the trees we viewed the fireworks from Navy Pier and took photos of the large, stainless steel structure shaped like a kidney bean.

All in all, the four of us agreed that the trip was spectacular and we enjoyed every minute. One of our mutual favorite parts was walking down Michigan Avenue or standing in the Park and hearing so many different languages. We saw more than five wedding parties and chatted with people from other countries and states.

Nothing beats a GET OUTTA HERE!

My Get Outta Here Hat - Chicago 9/19/08

On Friday morning we stopped for breakfast at "The Corner Bakery" a local restaurant which is similar to the Panera Bread shops in Cincinnati. The food and coffee were both excellent and we recommend them highly. Our next stop was at the largest motorcycle store I had even seen and checked out the bikes that ranged from dirt bikes and scooters to large three-wheeled Gold Wings.

Loading once again into the Tour Bus, as our minivan is so affectionately named, we drove across towards the beach and back down Lake Shore Drive. This route is much more tourist friendly having better signage and a priceless view. We lucked out and found a shady parking spot with no meter just a short distance from the Museum of Science and Industry. Even luckier, we arrived on a free day! The only fee we paid was the extra $5 they charge if you want to tour the German U-Boot on display. We, of course, bought a ticket and were glad we did. The Museum of Science and Industry boasted not only a German U-Boot, captured in WWII but a full size Boeing 727, an outstanding array of trains and planes and a miniature train set that covered more space than my home!

Carol and a new friend - he was plastered !(ha, ha)

We loaded back into the Tour Bus and drove to the Navy Pier to finish out our day. Lenny and Linda rode the Ferris Wheel while Carol and I decided to just watch. (Chickens) We listened to a Cuba folk band at the Beer Garden for a bit and then walked around taking photos of the lake and harbor.

We drove back up Lake Shore Drive towards our hotel looking for a Chicago pizza restaurant that the hotel staff had recommended. We stuffed ourselves with salad and pasta then headed back to the pool and hot tub. Needless to say, we slept well that night!