Kenny Salwey a.k.a. the last river rat

Maybe a month ago I read an article in the paper of a self-described 'river rat' a.k.a. Kenny Salwey touting his new book Muskrat for Supper.  It was about his life along the Mississippi River.  I really like the Mississippi 'cause as a kid I spent some time with my Uncle Jim and Aunt Grace at Alma, WI.  Our family would visit occasionally and a couple of times I took the train from Willmar, MN to St. Paul, change trains and then arrived in Alma. I remember the conductor waking me up and telling me I had to get off.  Then I would walk the maybe 200 yards to their house.  Another time my kid sister, Doris, and I went alone.  We were young.  I was maybe 14 and she was maybe 8.  We just did it. Didn't think a thing of it back then.

I really liked Mr. River.  Their house was just across from Dam #4.  I watched the barges go through the lock and wanted to be the captain of one of those tug boats some day.  In their back yard was maybe a 500 foot bluff.  In front of their house was 6 feet of sidewalk, highway, 2 railroad tracks, and the river and the dam.  Uncle Jim would take me fishing along the wing dams of the Miss, rattle snake hunting (i.e. never found any) along the bluff and boating on the mighty Mississippi.  He also had a commercial fishing license for set lines.  We would go out in the back waters in the evening and put out set lines and then in the morning take the john boat and see what we caught.  The catfish that we caught we took to a fish buyer in Nelson.  Uncle Jim insisted on buying me some smoked carp.  I didn't like it and when he wasn't looking I through it away.  When Arlene and I went to Uncle Jim's funeral, there were maybe 8 people there.  Us 2, my uncle Sam Mellema, his wife Aunt Edna there son Earl, a couple of neighbors and a priest who he drank beer with.  The priest said a few words and we went and buried Uncle Jim.  I said to Arlene, the grave marker was a waste of money as no one will ever look at it again.  Wrong!  We were there again.  I said over Uncle Jim's grave--I'm sorry for stepping on your fishing pole in the boat and breaking the tip off.  I did that some 50+ years ago.  I still fell bad about that.  Sorry Uncle Jim!

Soooo I looked on Amazon and saw that Mr. Salwey had written 4 books and I bought his first, The Last River Rat.  What a surprise.  He was a river rat in the swamp just south of Alma near Buffalo City/Cochrane.  I know that area some.  I really got interested then.  I really enjoyed the book.  It said in the back cover that Mr. Salwey lived in Buffalo City soooo I called the city clerk and asked if she knew him.  She said she was new in town but would find out if she could get his phone number for me.  She contacted me back.  He lived in Alma area.  What!  Soooooo I called him and had a very delightful conversation.  I asked him if we came down to visit Alma if we could buy him lunch.  He said--fine if I'm in town.  We did just that recently.  Great experience.  Just great. 

How the River Rat's life changed.  He was in his Big Lake Shack back in the swamp (i.e. back waters of the Great River) one day when the game warren came to his shack by air boat.  He thought he did something wrong.  But, he wanted him to do a talk at the school in Wabasha as he couldn't make it.  Kenny said he was a river rat and not a talker.  The guy told him that he has been a taker all his life and it was time for him to be a giver.  Besides it was worth $20 and free lunch.  That "giver and taker" statement really hit Kenny hard.  Sooooo he took some snake skins, turtle shells, traps and alike and did the talk. He was very well received in his slow but pleasing delivery.  He was asked to do another talk and the rest is history.  Kenny now does 100 talks a year in a 5 state area, has written 4 books, taught a class at Winona State, and done a film by the BCC which won an Emmy.  It can seen in  5 clips on you tube titled Last of the River Rats 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73sH2N-wWP4&feature=plcp
Watch his first clip and see what you think.  They are all about 9 minutes. Each clip goes through a season in the swamp of the Mississippi.  Kenny told me it took 18 months to put it together. 

When visiting with Kenny, we found him to be a real person with a massive huge heart (i.e. my kind of person).  He does everything slow as he states in his book and again told us.  I had all my lunch done and Kenny hardly was started.  ANYWAY we had such a good time.  He said he dropped out of country school but is married to a PHD!  He is just a neat, enjoyable guy.  A real alive Mississippi River Rat.  Maybe the last one alive. 

I asked him for some advice for my life.  Here is what he said--erv, Be like a child (i.e. always curious and excited about nature); Do different things and appreciate life around you (i.e. familiarity breeds contempt); Learn manners (i.e. manners change folks); Slow down (i.e. always have time to talk to folks in an unhurried manner); Be neighborly to everyone; Treat all folks nice and respectfully; Have a good attitude (i.e. attitude and values develop behavior); Enjoy nature having quiet time to mediate (i.e. very important); Don't miss a window of opportunity (i.e. it might never happen again); Stuff does not make a person happy (i.e. was hired to guide rich folks on hunting trips, fishing trips. bird watching trips and 8 out of 10 are unhappy--happiness is in the heart); Always be a giver (i.e. givers are always happy folks and it's the right thing to do); Be yourself (i.e. don't be a faker).

I asked him what if anything he would do over in his life.  He told me that is the most often asked question by the film folks, book producers and the like.  His answer--I wish I would have been more like a dog.  A dog is always happy to see ya no matter who you are or what your condition is.  Dogs give you their utmost love and ask very little in return.

I have a little river rat in me I think.  When I was a kid I thought it would be a great life to live by a lake, have a dog and horse, fish and hunt.  That was my dream.  Then along came girls, cars, money, sports, etc and messed up my paradise dream.  Such is life.   I really don't think I could have been a real river rat like Kenny (i.e. lived off the land).  I think I would have died the first winter.  I'm not near as tough as I think I am.  Really!  I'm really a wimp! 

I suggest you might read one of his books.  He said they are selling well.  There must be a reason folks.  All of his books have a 5-star rating on Amazon. 

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans.  (-:

erv

MyFriendJean says--When God takes something from your grasp, He is opening your hands to receive something better.