On the last two days of our trip down the "Father of Waters," A Mark Twain re-enactor held sway. Oh, he was captivating. He reminisced. While the data of the life of Sam Clements is vast, the actor did not so much go there, as he expressed himself in character, which is all together different. He asked what we thought,"... do you remember your first friend you ever had as a child?" Overall Mr. Twain

became a person with whom you might like to sit down and converse over a cup of coffee (he probably whiskey).

This connectivity is the essence of the universe. Since we say everything is this way, then everything is in conversation with everything else! This is a pleasant thought to me. Mr. Twain said there is nothing more important than friendship, not even a riverboat. He also talked about the best class of friends-steamboat pilots, his best male friend, US Grant, and his wife-Olivia.

Being fully engaged is the deep essence of interconnectivity. Both the IT and the PROCESS we call Dharma, the overarching-ness of the Universe. For it is here where we we feel a sense of intimacy, fleeting or not it is deep and compelling. Everyday we have this possibility, that is to drop away the fog and see the reality for what it is.

So my time with Mark Twain is a highlight of the River. the 10,000 things can be so vivid that we become them! This is the trueness of intimacy...