Travel Photographer/Author Shares 90-Day Road Trip Keeping Pace with a Raindrop on the Mississippi

Gayle Harper's Words and Images Honor America's Beauty, her Greatest River and her Colorful People

When Gayle Harper learned that a raindrop falling into the headwaters of the Mississippi would travel the River for 90 days to reach the Gulf of Mexico, she knew immediately that her project of a lifetime had appeared.

Harper made a 90-day road trip along the nearly 2,400-mile course of the Mississippi, while keeping pace with a raindrop called "Serendipity." She was offered lodging, often in places unique to the heritage of each region. There was a fishermen's cabin in the north woods, a trendy downtown loft, a tugboat converted to a B&B, a plantation mansion, a sharecropper's cabin - and even an entire 30-room mansion.

She wandered back roads without plan, meeting people in farm fields, on their porches, in cafés, even while stopped for road construction, who invited her into their lives.  She went to dances, birthday parties, a wedding, a powwow, neighborhood barbeques and festivals. She was invited home to dinner, to meet friends and relatives and onto boats of all sizes, from a canoe to a towboat, pushing its flotilla of barges.

"The people I met," says Harper, "are the soul of this journey. They were welcoming, inclusive, playful, curious, colorful and authentic. There was two-year-old Hazel, who plopped down beside me to show me her green shoes, and 87-year-old Marshall Bouldin III, who moved me to tears when we talked about art. There was a north woods adventurer, a Southern Belle, a 'river rat,' a Delta Blues man and a pixie-like nun."

"The Mississippi River is the aorta of our country," says Harper, "it is essential to our ecology and our economy and it is deeply embedded in our history and our very identity.  I watched it grow from a fragile stream into a massive force of nature, yet its essence is always the same."

Roadtrip with a Raindrop is a celebration of America and of the simple moments that make life an adventure. In its 240 pages are 55 stories, with nearly 200 full-color photographs. Together, the words and images invite readers to leave agendas behind, to travel at the pace of a raindrop and to rediscover the fine art of letting life happen.

Harper embarks on a book tour along the Mississippi in 2015.

BOOK DETAILS

Roadtrip with a Raindrop: 90 Days Along the Mississippi River

By Gayle Harper

Published by Acclaim Press, November 2014

ISBN: 978-1-938905-63-6

Hardcover, 240 pages, $39.95

TROY, AL (12/17/2014)(readMedia)-- Scott Wells of Le Claire, IA, graduated from Troy University during Term 2 of the 2014/2015 academic year.

Wells received a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Wells was a student at the University's Global Campus.

Term 2 graduates include students at TROY's campuses in Dothan, Phenix City and Montgomery, Ala., and Global Campus, which consists of teaching sites outside of Alabama and online.

About Troy University

Troy University is a public, internationally recognized institution serving a broad range of students on four campuses in Alabama, online and around the world, providing a wide variety of academic programs from the associate to the doctoral level. Founded in 1887, with the motto "Educate the mind to think, the heart to feel, and the body to act," Troy University's continuing mission is to prepare future leaders through teaching the importance of service to the community. TROY has been recognized by the Princeton Review as "one of the best in the Southeast," by U.S. News & World Report as "one of the top universities in the South," and by Military Times as "a top university for troops."

Los Angeles, CA - December 17, 2014 - Operation Gratitude is excited to announce the launch of its "New Recruit" Care Package program to thank our newest members of the Military for stepping forward and devoting the next several years of their lives in service to our nation. Upon Graduation from "Boot Camp," each New Recruit is handed a unique package of goodies from Operation Gratitude in a new custom-designed box.

The New Recruit Care Package Program is already in full swing at both Marine Corps Recruiting Depots in San Diego and Parris Island, and at the Navy's Great Lakes Recruit Training Command in Illinois.  The organization expects to bring the Army and Air Force training centers on board in 2015.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive:

"We are excited and honored to start this program at Recruit Training Command. Operation Gratitude lets the nation's newest Sailors know that someone is always thinking about them. These care packages show the Sailors that they are part of the Navy family and the country is proud of them for their decision to serve." -Capt. Doug Pfeifle (pictured here), commanding officer of Recruit Training Command (RTC) in Great Lakes, IL.

"Greetings! I am a Private who just recently graduated from Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. On the last week of boot camp, each of us received one of your packages, and I wanted to let you know that they were very much appreciated. Receiving those packages helped make us feel human again, and that reminder of our nation's support boosted our morale.  Thank you very much for your generosity. Semper Fidelis." -Pvt K.J.

"I am a new Marine Mom. My son graduated MCRD as a Private on Nov 7. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the Care Package you sent him. We were not allowed to send things to him so him receiving this care package, I know made his day. I had tears in my eyes reading your mission statement. Thank you, Thank you! He wore the knitted beanie all the way home." -M.B.H., Texas

In addition to an assortment of snacks, hygiene, entertainment and hand-made items, each Care Package includes a "Loved One Medallion," a specially designed Operation Gratitude keepsake for the New Recruit to share with a special family member or friend. The Medallion thanks loved ones for their support and lets them know that the American people stand "hand in hand" with them.

"We hope the recruits get two things from receiving these packages," said Angel Cuevas, Director of Operations for Operation Gratitude. "First, we hope it lifts their morale. Second, we want them to know someone, somewhere cares. This is the generosity of the American public. We are supporting their mission wherever it takes them, and we don't want them to be alone."

The distribution of all New Recruit Care Packages is handled directly with the Military training centers.

Just as with all of our care package programs, every American can support the New Recruit Packages by organizing collection drives, writing letters, hand-crafting scarves, hats and bracelets, or contributing financially.

Links
Operation Gratitude Website- www.operationgratitude.com
Navy Press Release - http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=84758

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today released the following statement on the passage of his U.S. Senate resolution to honor Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai. The resolution is Harkin's final legislative effort of his career and was the last item passed by the U.S. Senate in the 113th Congress. Harkin is a longtime champion for ending the scourge of child labor around the world and ensuring the right of children to an education. Harkin first nominated Mr. Satyarthi for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for his work in India and internationally to eradicate the worst forms of child labor.

"I am pleased that the Senate has recognized these two amazing advocates for the rights of children," said Harkin. "Their efforts have not only saved thousands of childhoods, but have also inspired countless others to take action in this critical fight. I hope that this leads to new emphasis from governments, civil society organizations, and all individuals on eliminating child labor and promoting education for children around the world."

The text of the resolution is below.

Whereas, on October 10, 2014, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai; 

Whereas the International Labour Organization estimates that, worldwide, 168,000,000 children are exploited financially, with 85,000,000 children working in very hazardous environments and deprived of an education; 

Whereas the United Nations Children's Fund estimates that 101,000,000 children  are not in school; 

Whereas Kailash Satyarthi and his organization, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, have rescued more than 82,000 children from the worst forms of child labor;

Whereas Malala Yousafzai has promoted education for girls in Pakistan since she was 11 years old and is an advocate for worldwide access to education; 

Whereas Kailash Satyarthi has endured threats on his life as a result of such rescue efforts; and 

Whereas the Taliban attempted to kill Malala Yousafzai on October 9, 2012, as a result of her efforts to encourage more girls to attend school: Now, therefore, be it resolved

That the Senate – 

(1) recognizes Nobel Laureates Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai as symbols of peace and advocates for ending the financial exploitation of children and for the opportunity of all children to have access to education; 

(2) commends all individuals working around the world to end the scourge of child slavery and to advance education for all children; 

(3) recognizes the challenges that remain in ending the financial exploitation of children and providing access to an education for all children; 

(4) urges all governments, civil society organizations, businesses, and individuals to unite in the common purpose of protecting children from losing their childhoods as well as   their futures; and 

(5) recognizes the dedication and commitment to freedom, the rights of children, and the endurance of the human spirit, demonstrated by all individuals who make sacrifices to build a more peaceful world.