"Well, Sal, if you're

going to have a hobby in your old age, this is the way to do it: no junk

cluttering up the house, no quandary for the kids when they have to dispose

of our stuff."

"Just a few photos, not

that they look like much. If we didn't label them, you couldn't even tell

it's the Holston and French Broad where they merge to create the Tennessee.

I wish we had made enlargements and framed the earlier ones as we went

along. I shudder to think of looking for the negatives of the ones we

accumulated before we declared this an official collection."

"How many do we have now?"

"Photos? Or headwaters?"

"You know what I mean.

How many river headwaters have we visited? I can think of about six, and

last year we added the Tennessee."

"Dave, we've got more

than that just in this country. What's interesting about the Tennessee

is that it's the first we reached by boat. The rest have been by car,

or on foot, if you count hiking to that lake where the Delaware begins."

"I think my favorite was

the first one, the Mississippi. Remember how good that icy cold Lake Itasca

felt after we walked clear around it? Never dreamed Minnesota could be

so hot, even in the summertime!"

"That was neat. The very

idea of walking through the infant Mississippi where it trickles out of

Itasca ­ northbound, ironically. Of course, a lot of the lakes and

creeks that feed Itasca could make the same claim. Good marketing ploy,

whoever gave Lake Itasca its name."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, '-itas ca-.'

The middle syllables of 'veritas caput,' true head."

"Oh, yeah. Well, that's

better than what New York State did, not posting names of creeks and lakes

at all. Remember when we tried to navigate our way by car to the head

of the Hudson? Never did find it for sure. Got up there on those logging

roads and thought we'd never find our own way home, much less a riverhead."

"I think it was a AAA

tour book that pointed us to the head of the Missouri too, do you remember?

What are the rivers that come together to make it? Let me look it up ...

Hmmm. The Jefferson, the Madison, and the Gallatin (whoever he was) meet

at Three Forks, Mont., to form the Big Mo. Dave, wouldn't that make a

great boat trip? The Missouri crosses almost 2,500 miles of North America

before dumping into the Mississippi. OK, that's five. Don't forget the

Susquehanna. I think of that as my childhood river. Remember that trip?

I think Cooperstown, N.Y., is one of the most appealing cities in this

country."

"It is. Don't forget the

Chattahoochee, and of course, technically, the Apalachicola ­ that's

one we did by water, when we took the sailboat down to Florida via the

Hooch. Do we have pictures of all of them?"

"I doubt it, or if we

have, I probably can't find the negs. I have the ones from Europe, though."

"The Danube, the Neckar,

the Rhine, sort of. What else?"

"I guess that's it. I

think the Danube is the most interesting, the way those two streams come

together at Donaueshingen, then disappear underground until they shoot

up in a fountain and flow on as the Danube. Did you see that nice National

Geographic story this month?"

"Yeah, it was good. That

would be fun to cruise, wouldn't it? In our dreams, I guess."

"Dave, we could, you know.

Those self-driving barge cruises do the Danube. You've never been to Vienna,

and they say Budapest is one of Europe's most beautiful cities. The Danube

goes through both of them. Another one you'd love is the Isar. It goes

through Munich, with your favorite museum right in the middle of the river."

"Yeah, the Deutsches Museum

­ great place. I could easily spend a week in there. But aren't you

getting a little carried away? I told you, our income dropped last year

every time Greenspan cut interest rates."

"We-e-ll, what are you

good for? How about the head of the River Thames? It's supposed to be

well marked, and rises in the Cotswolds ­ that's beautiful country."

"It'll have to be less

expensive than that. Why not the Potomac, or the Rio Grande?"

"Aw, c'mon, Dave. They're

so so domestic. Although I suppose one could argue that the Rio Grande

becomes international. Sure, let's do it. Want to start where it rises

in the Rockies? We could tow the boat out, drive to the headwaters, then

put the boat in at the uppermost navigable depth, and "

"The Potomac is closer."

"Yeah, but trickier. It

drains half of Virginia and West Virginia, with all its North Branches

of the South Forks of the West whatever."

"Forget it, Sallie ­

it's too shallow upstream anyhow. But you can start from the Chesapeake

Bay and head up to Mt. Vernon and Washington. I read that you can tie

up at George Washington's dock and moor just off the Tidal Basin."

"Hmmm. Wouldn't make our

headwaters collection, but I bet it's a very scenic waterway ­ though

not exactly the Danube."

"Just think about it."

"I will. I'll think about

it."

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