None of my personal wants which fueled the Chicago trip panned out. I saw neither The Plant, nor the Black Diamond Marina, much less any of the potentials on their networks. Nobody's fault. Flu bugs happen.

The week since I have returned to the homestead has been okay, but not very gratifying. There is plenty to keep me busy here, but my personal focus is far from clear. The not working old mother assumptions are. . . Obscure??? Fuzzy??? Inconsistent??? Assumptive??? Huge parts of me wish I had stayed in construction so that I could have the dignity of a retirement party in here somewheres. I am kinda jealous that my beloved gets to attend retirement planning seminars to help him with the transition. Kinda. Just kinda. . . For the most part, I am proud of the career I worked after I left construction, even when I need to call it, "Not working." I just a bum with a toilet cleaning hobby.

My Five Rivers expedition is lacking focus, too, but I am believing my lack of focus is healthier on a road trip where I am at least taking in new scenery.

So is it Five Rivers or Six Rivers? At Jonesville, Louisiana, the Little, Ouachita and Tensas rivers run together to make The Black River which runs for a short distance before it dumps into the Red River very near its confluence with the Mississippi. I am thinking of The Black River as a drainage ditch for the three rivers. As of this typing, I think I am going with Five Rivers.

I leave in the morning.