Gathered thoughts on the Mighty Yahara

Fools Flotilla organizers Helen Sarakinos and Jessica Becker. Photo by Amie Heeter.

I feel so lucky to have read all the thoughts that were expressed on ribbons and hung from the climbing tree as part of the Lock Box installation. The idea was to get folks to notice the river. It was partly PR for the Fools Flotilla, but it was also art to strengthen community by feeding a personal and collective narrative.

I hope no one who wrote on a ribbon minds if I share. They are all anonymous and gather momentum all together, like a current.

There are funny ones, adorable mis-spellings, and declarations of love. And many, many about the river, and it's value to the people who live near it. Indeed, this was prompted, but that was the point: Stop and think about what a lovely thing it is to live with the Mighty Yahara.

    I wasn't sure I'd be in a boat this year because I thought I might want to help out with event details. 

But my  husband rallied me and the kids by making our canoe into a bubble boat. 

Photo by Amie Heeter

And good thing! 

I don't want to loose sight of the fact that I do this work because I have a ton of fun actually DOING it! 

Photo by Amie Heeter