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By Tom Boggs

A river is a mighty fine thing to have in your midst as we have in The City of the Rivers, and it’s good to make use of it every chance one gets.

Been thinking about the days I was in the Jaycees, and we set up boat races where folks came from all over the place to bring their boats, and even more came to watch.

Everybody was anxious to especially watch three local doctors, Ketcham, Holifield and FitzGerald, race against each other.  One or two of ‘em gave the crowd one of the Daytona Five Hundred treats by wrecking their boats.  Didn’t hurt anybody, but did the boats no good atall.

There were other things to see if you watched close like.  I clearly remember one spectator standing down on the lime rock, sloping bank.  He had on baggy pants, slickly sole shoes, a tee shirt that didn’t cover his big belly, and a cup of beer in his hand.  All of a sudden, he commenced to slipping down that lime rock headed for the water below.  I’ll say this for that red neck sucker…he didn’t  panic atall.  He knew where he was headed, so he stood up straight, held onto his beer, and danged if he didn’t almost look graceful sinking in up to his neck, after which he calmy took a sip of his Budweiser.

Now, as a member of the Guard Army Special Forces,  I was asked to make several parachute jumps both at the boat races, and later at Christmas on the River.  Yep, most folks recollect a tree landing over in Sumter County one boat race day, but let me spend a few moments reliving a COTR jump.  Now, my older son, Tadd, who was on active duty in the Special Forces at that time, long after the first COTR,  jumped with me into the river in the afternoon, but not that night.

By the way, back in his Boy Scout days at the very first Christmas on the River night parade, Tadd was the first man in the bow of the first boat that night.  The Scouts beached their boat across on the Sumter County side, and lit some torches so later on the fireworks folks could see to do their job after the Christmas boats had floated bye.

Yassir, Mem Webb, Barry Collins and them had flat started up something big with that first COTR, and with the others that followed.  Anyhow, moving on back to that night jump.  I asked the Chopper pilot who had flown Tadd and me for the afternoon jump, to fly that same track, since I was not aware of any wind coming up. Well, Sir, after I had jumped, I detected… wind, which blew me over to Sumter County, and set me down in a very tall Sycamore tree, where I had the very best view of the Christmas boats chugging up the river.

Water skiing, swimming, lounging on the sand bars, fishing, betting on boat races,  watching lit up boats, and even watching folks land in trees. …All that good stuff right here on the Tombigbee River.

Tom Boggs is a columnist for the Demopolis Times and a native of Marengo County. His column, “Days Gone Bye,” appears weekly.