The sweat of my brow isn’t sufficient to keep the Phatwater at a high enough level to ensure the chance of a a new record, but rainfall in the upper reaches, 48 days out, is.  All things being equal, it’s likely we will break the existing Phatwater record of 3:41:53 in seven weeks, with what purports to be the return of current record holders DeAnne and Patrick Hemmens.  And to make it worth their while, we are offering not only a $1K prize for a new record, but as well, a bonus of $1K for breaking the 3.5 hour mark, which we realize, given last year’s performance, is entirely possible.  Someone do the math for me:  42.5+- miles under 210 minutes = X calories burned per stroke/second?

Our remaining prize structure hasn’t yet been entirely graphed because we are in the midst of fundraising for this year’s race, but there will be cash awards for top finishers in all categories.  Come one, come all.

Erik Borgnes, absent from last year, will be returning to challenge his past sub-IV 2008 performance of 3:56:00, though it is uncertain at this point if Mike Herbert (3:46:41-2009) will be present to stir the pot, as an injury in a motorcycle race this summer has him hobbling.

We expect to see veterans Eric Mims (3:51:29) and Joe Glickman (3:52:38), along with Mark Anich (3:58:49), although Ed Joy, who shattered the existing solo record last year, with a first year inaugural time of 3:46:39, is hanging in the balance.  Ed has relocated to Hawaii, I’m told, and there may be logistical tripwires in his path.

New to this year’s field of top racers will be Carter Johnson, winner of countless solo long distance efforts, and I’m hammering the Hemmenses to drag Dawid Mocke along, who was in country last week for the New York Mayor’s cup, along with former Olympian Phillipe Bocarra.  Dawid placed third overall in the Mayor’s cup, where Boccara and Glicker placed 8th and 12th, respectively.  Eric Mims also had a fine showing at 14th.  Not bad for world level paddling, guys.

Brad Pennington, another highly regarded marathon champion from Houston, Texas, and current record holder in the Yukon River Quest, at 44:14 (that’s 44 Hours and 14 Minutes) is also expected to be present for this year’s paddle feathering at the starting line on the morning of October 9th.  Oscar Chalupsky, I’ve just been notified, will be in Germany, at a “show”, and can’t make it this year.  Germany.  October. Copious quantities of beer.  State sponsored debauchery.  Who could blame him?

On to other things.  One of our long time supporters, NYTIMES bestselling author Greg Iles, is just before releasing his next title:  “Unwritten Laws”, with the return of Penn Cage, superhero from last year’s title, The Devil’s Punchbowl. Stand by for more action.

Speaking of terrific Southern writers, there’s a favorite of the Phatwater from North Carolina named Clyde Edgerton (Floatplane Notebooks, Raney, Walking Across Egypt, Lunch At The Piccadilly) who spoke highly of yet another terrific writer, from Mississippi, named Larry Brown.  It was once suggested to me that, “People from Mississippi don’t read books, they write them. . .”

So be it.  Larry Brown’s work shouldn’t be overlooked by anyone who finds inspiration among the fringes of humanity. If Clyde Edgerton’s work (The Bible Salesman, 2008) invites one to laugh, Larry Brown’s work invites one to cringe.

Though accolades for Larry Brown’s literary talent are considerable, his audience may fall far short of the numbers enjoyed by a Stephen King or Michael Chrichton. But following his death in November of 2004, many new fans of “Grit Lit” were awakened to Brown’s genius, and it is unfortunate that his life was so short. I urge you to pick up Brown’s trail when searching for modern American realism.  Reading Larry Brown is like chewing gum with carpet tacks.  For those seeking the type of security that says, “Thank God it was him and not me. . .”,  Larry Brown’s work is simply brilliant.  The first time I read Larry Brown, I picked up one of those short story collections, Best Of from Algonquin, from some obscure year, in which Brown’s short story Samaritans was featured.  I won’t give you more than that, but in reading Samaritans, I was hooked.

I would be hard pressed to name a “favorite”, although Father And Son wouldn’t be a bad jumping off point, after you burn your way through Samaritans. And I do mean burn, because it’s set in Mississippi, in August.

Both Edgerton and Brown have a great Southern literary voice, although I’m not sure there is such a thing as a “great Southern literary voice”. It seems any literary voice of note is worthy of inclusion in a category of Great American Literary Voice, regardless of the geography from which it springs.

Shifting gears again, here’s a link for the Hampton Inn, in Natchez, where we have a block of rooms set aside for Phatwater paddlers.

http://www.hamptoninn.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=NATCZHX

The Natchez Grand Hotel, about which many of you have asked, is currently booked solid with a rather large contingent of some sort of Church Conventioneers.  I don’t know if these guys are construction folk, whose profession involves building churches, or if they are Fried Chicken Franchise Executives.  By way of explanation of that last, there was a news story which circulated five years ago, in the aftermath of Katrina, in which a New Orleanian was interviewed by a news team from the great frozen north, and in which the questioning fell to this level:

Q: “I understand that many of the Churches in the area have been severely damaged.  How do you think the locals will cope with this?”

A: “Well, I can’t speak for nobody else, but I likes my chicken from Popeyes.”

Yeah? Well what about Corndogs?

Phatwater on the Natchez gauge today is a sweltering 30.56′, seven feet above this date a year ago.

All For Now-KB