Sometime around 1983, Al Ditch and I borrowed a canoe and paddled down the Missouri to an island. There was going to be a full moon party.
We passed the island.
Turning back, we tipped the canoe. The first order of business was the beer cans, which were dispersing downstream with no great sense of urgency. We collected what we could and got to the island.
More than fifty people were there. A bonfire was already roaring. Someone had built a sweat lodge. I didn't go in. We dried out.
Sometime after that, the animals went quiet. That's what a full moon over the river does.
I don't remember how we got back to Rocheport.
Al died on January 18, 2026. His son told me. I'd known Al for fifty years.
Contact: alan@alanhalley.com