It was in the summer of 1964 when I first came into possession of a book entitled: Mike Fink, "King of the keelboat men."
Now to an eleven year old boy, the story of Mike Fink was, at the very least, a fascinating one. What boy could resist
a story about a man who was bigger than life, one who fought Indians, could shoot better than Annie Oakley, and to top
it off, was willing to fist fight Davey Crockett?
Moreover, after reading the adventures of such a man as Mike Fink, it's almost required by law to share his audacious travels' with another person. A person who could comprehend how amazing it must have been to be on a river raft fighting the turbulent
waters of the Mississippi River! Someone like-minded, who would want to build…show more content… Jumping on my trusty Schwinn, I peddled off to his house to let him in on my plans to build a raft. After hearing them, he was of course, more than willing to join me in this great escapade.
Early the next morning, we met in his father's garage, ( which was really an old barn) to discuss and plan out, the very best way to go about building a raft to end all rafts, a raft that could turn Mike Fink green with envy. One of such great dimensions, of such magnitude, that it would be viewed as the quintessential example of river rafts.
As it is with the planning of such an undertaking, the first order of business is to swear a vow of secrecy. Every kid knows the importance of a sworn vow of secrecy, especially when there's the possibility of older, or younger brothers' discovering what it is your attempting to do. Only then can the rudimentary stage begin, which consists of hours of drawing designs, discussing precise measurements, materials to use, and the best way to procure them. After all, one does not simply build a raft of this magnificence without first scrutinizing every detail. With the intricate and painstaking detailed drawings, along with a four page description of the process, it was time to implement phase
