Having completed 12 years of McKenzie and Rogue River boat research that culminated in the book, "Drift Boats and River Dories, Their History, Design, Construction and Use," I am now trying to decide, What next? A second printing of the book will allow me to update some information but I don’t anticipate a second edition – unless I can be talked into adding three more boats that I have “recovered.” I am also under some pressure to complete an article about the Julius, Buzz Holmstrom’s famous Colorado River boat. A few family members and friends, however, are nudging me toward writing one or more novels that might be based on the lives of some of those whom I chronicle in Drift Boats. Potential titles that come to mind, though they bear no content yet, are “The Preacher and the Prince,” the intrepid duo of the Mckenzie; “Hand and Glove,” the fascinating story of Woodie and Ruthie; “The Old Man of the River,” a fictionalized account of the first riverboat trip down the rogue in 1915. While a novel might be based on certain characters of the river the central story and plot would be based on my imagination as influenced by my research into the life and times of these fascinating people. There would likely be a scope to my writing that draws parallels between navigating a river and navigating this dimension we call life. It’s hard for me to neglect the spiritual dimension of the river. As I told my pastor one day, when he commented on my absence from church, “I think I’d rather be on the river thinking about God’s nature than sitting in church thinking about the river.”
Comments about my considerations, pro and con, are welcome.