Its Muddy Bosom 2

Today the news was released that the tugboat -- the one that collided with the tanker in the Mississippi river, was warned repeatedly before the accident.

"No one responded, according to radio transmissions released on Saturday by the Coast Guard."

Furthermore, "the person operating the Mel Oliver had an apprentice mate’s license and that no one aboard had the proper documentation to guide it." Problems are often revealed about captains after big accidents -- but this is different... my mother used to say, it's not just you, it's everyone else on the road... or river, as the case may be. Would you trust everyone driving anything on the Mississippi river today with the care and safeguard of an enormous cargo of oil...

A few days ago I was reading about how more oil was leaking from the tanker, which is now at the bottom of the re-opened waterway.

"More than 400,000 gallons of oil has been spilled. Yesterday, crews had cleared nearly 85,000 gallons worth. Crews have been on the scene vacuuming an oil and water mixture. Ship traffic is still moving despite the latest leak." This was from a report by Erin Jones on WJTV.com.

Accidents are so often preventable. Big accidents take on a richer tone of regret for stupidity somehow... 400,000 gallons of oil. And they are just driving over it, pushing it down and down and through. I suppose it's technology that allows us to replay each moment when people look in awe and fear and say -- here it comes...


by William Keys

The Mississippi is the second longest river in the United States -- twisting from Minnesota to Mexico. People playing all along the 2,000 some miles of banks this mid-summer... and New Orleans -- the site of the spill -- geez you'd think they've had enough.