Entrepreneurial Freelancer

I'm gearing up to teach again, and I am trying to swallow some of my own medicine serving as the Purser for a restart-up: the Jon Anderson White riverboat. I find Sharon McLoone's articles on the challenges small business people face helpful. She has a knack for demystifying things reminding entrepreneurs that they are not really alone. And she made me sound pretty smart too in her online column in MainStreet.

Riverboat Redux

Mike LaValle, my good friend and hunting buddy, has restored his riverboat, and it is sailing the Des Moines River. Check out this video from local TV, KCCI. It was a real labor of love and stubbornness to get the newly christened John Anderson White ship shape. She's a beauty: mahogany trim outside, oak and gilded finishings inside, Mike led a shake down cruise yesterday. We departed from a new dock at a the Des Moines Botanical Center and cruised upriver and back in about an hour. With the skyline behind us, as we passed under the Second Avenue bridge and rounded a bend in the river, we left the chaos and commotion of the 21st century and cruised back to a time of gentile sociability, enjoyed wine and snacks, waved to passing boaters and watched all sorts of birds pass by. Mike and the John Anderson White are real treasures for Des Moines. Watch for us on the river; in the meantime please visit the website: http://www.port-of-desmoines.com/.