'S-t-e-a-m-boat-acomin'!'

... a negro drayman, famous for his quick eye and prodigious voice, lifts up the cry, 'S-t-e-a-m-boat-acomin'!' and the scene changes! The town drunkard stirs, the clerks wake up ... and all in a twinkling the dead town is alive and moving. Drays, carts, men, boys all go hurrying from many quarters to a common centre, the wharf."

-- Mark Twain, "Life on the Mississippi," 1883

Today, Aug 27, I visited a Queen with a Queen. Am I lucky or what?

My real-life friend, and with whom I work, Queen911, wanted to drag me over during lunch to see some animal walk, a circus thing...don't ask me. It was supposed to start at noon and when we got there at 12:07 it was finished. We missed it.

Instead we went over to see the world's largest river cruise ship, the American Queen, which happened to be docked in our little burg. Built in 1995 it has six decks, is 418 ft long, has feathered stacks designed to be lowered in order to pass under bridges and the paddlewheel weighs an impressive 45 tons.

If you are in the mood, read about a journey on the American Queen (by someone other than us). Wouldn't it be grand?

Oh, Marsha (Queen911), thanks for lunch...I forgot to buy today, Aug 28. I'll catch you next time!