50+ Lifestyles

The Ever Flowing Mississippi River

By David W. Deuth, CFSP
President, Weerts Funeral Home

Among the greatest elements of nature anywhere in our entire Quad Cities region is the mighty Mississippi River. Truly iconic in the United States and well-known throughout the world, this mighty marvel originates from the otherwise unassuming Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, its fresh water flow traveling something more than 2,300 miles before mingling with the salted waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
These days, while many Quad Citians may understandably be more preoccupied with the logistics of getting over the bridge than they are with the national treasure running beneath, it’s no less true that our Ol’ Man River just keeps flowing along. As it does so, it continues to provide a crucial transportation route for barges, a tremendous recreational area for boaters and water-sports enthusiasts…and an incredible canvas for many a postcard-perfect sunset.

While our friends at the Army Corps of Engineers could no doubt deliver the mind-boggling numerics comprising gallons-per-second and other such statistics, it’s certainly safe to say that this, the mightiest of North American rivers, carries millions upon millions of gallons of water in its path each day. With its ever-flowing – and thus ever-exchanging – water, one might say that the river is, in some respects, never really the same from one day to the next.

In the spring, when the northern snowmelt follows its waterways to the creeks, streams and tributaries that drain into the Mississippi upriver, the downstream Corps Engineers (thankfully) know how to adjust the dams and spillways along the way in order to control the flow and minimize downstream flooding.

Sometimes, though, despite every valiant human and mechanical effort, there are times when the waterways are simply overwhelmed by the natural order of things and the swelling waters extend beyond their natural banks. It’s just unavoidable.

Not unlike the river in this respect, our lives continue rolling along day by day. Some days include pleasant sunshine, a refreshing gentle breeze, and that picture-perfect sunset canvassed pink and orange upon the water near day’s end.

And there are stormy days when the rains of life fall relentlessly and it’s hard to see and the water rises quickly…and our natural coping systems are overwhelmed. The death of someone we love is perhaps among the greatest of these life storms. And it, too, is unavoidable.

Thankfully, we also have spillways and dams that we can implement in our lives to minimize downstream problems. Perhaps this is among the best explanations why, among all civilizations, mankind has always taken intentional pause to honor those among them who have died…for it not only
honors them at their death, it also helps us to deal with the raging waters of pain and loss in our own lives.

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus must have
pondered a similar notion when he surmised, “No man steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

Just some meaningful food for thought the next time you’re waiting in line to cross the bridge…
Remember Well.

David W. Deuth, CFSP, is the owner of Weerts Funeral Home in Davenport and RiverBend Cremation and Quad Cities Pet Cremation in Bettendorf. He can be reached at 563.424.7055 or by email at Dave@WeertsFH.com.