For a good share of my life, I’ve lived close enough to the Mississippi River to be able to watch the barges with only a short drive to a viewing point.
It takes skill and attention to detail to control fifteen large floating containers (more on the Lower Mississippi) from a position of center rear. Other vessels, as small as canoes, share the same river. Pilots are also responsible for a crew. The men who ensure the barges remain cabled together, assist in all sort of ways when locking on the Upper Mississippi (or other rivers), and maintaining the equipment. It’s not an easy life. Perhaps an adventure for a strong, young person.
Not long ago, I happened upon the place on the Ohio River where many of these river pilots are trained. Across the street from their training center a talented artist gives his interpretation of their “view.”
