Do You Know Jack?

Yesterday I received a parcel from Merry Old England addressed to Sir Hook of Warrick in Newburgh, Indiana, complete with stamps of a younger QE2. I happened to be bringing the trash barrels back in from "Trash Day" when the postal truck pulled up to the mail box. She handed me my mail, excluding the parcel, and with a curious look on her face asked, "Are you Sir Hook of Warrick?" To which I replied with much grace, "Indeed I am Madam." She then handed me the parcel with a look of either this guy is crazy, or this guy is an English Knight. Both would be correct Madam, I thought.

Anyway, the parcel contained articles picked up by Sir Dayvd of Oxfordshire when he went to the New York Public Library exhibit of Jack Kerouac. The more I get to know Jack, the more I realize how much he has influenced me without even knowing it. Inspired to dig deeper I took the articles and headed down to the neighborhood pub, Knob Hill Tavern, and had a couple of fish bowls (an Indiana thing) of Sam Adams White Ale and got to know Jack better.

On the Road, his most famous novel, journal, chicken scratches, scrolling typewritten pages, etc., is a very similar experience to mine the past three years traveling like I have, meeting all kinds of people, opening my mind. I'm inspired now more than ever to begin the writing process in earnest!

As I laid in bed last night listening to the sound of barges on the Ohio River (I live next to the River), I thought more about Jack and his life and I wrote:

The growling roar makes my spirit soar
Barges in the night slumber towards the unknown
Lazy in their effortless movement
Powerful in their ability to move beyond my sight
I feel their spirit rising within me
Swelling like the gentle waves of the River
Rolling, ever rolling to a destiny unseen
Yet believed

Do you know Jack?

Sir Hook of the River in Warrick