Part of my

job requires me to read other papers and keep my finger on the pulse of

society. In Monday's News section of USA Today there was a feature with

the headline, "Lewis and Clark fever catches on." I wondered

if this was so and headed out to talk to the people of the county about

their bouts of "Lewis and Clark Fever!"

Me: What do

you think about Lewis and Clark?

Unidentified

man: Man, Lennox Lewis would kill Dick Clark. That dude is like 100.

Unidentified

kid (to same question): If I want to watch Superman stuff, I'll watch

the movies with Christopher Reeve.

Me: Do you

have "Lewis and Clark Fever"?

Unidentified

woman: No. Clark Fever, maybe. That Clark Howard saves me a bundle. But,

Emmanuel Lewis? I'm not really a fan.

I don't mean

to poke fun. Lewis and Clark's expedition is a major part of American

history and I think it is great that there may be people out there who

have "Lewis and Clark Fever" and plan on spending parts of the

next three years celebrating.

Here's a quick

background on Lewis and Clark: Meriwether Lewis (yes, people were really

named things like Meriwether back in the 1800s) and William Clark were

told by President Thomas Jefferson to look for a transcontinental river

route. The U.S. had just completed the Louisiana Purchase with France,

and Jefferson wanted Lewis and Clark to check out the land. They started

the trip on the Missouri River, traveled over what now includes 15 states,

found that there was no transcontinental river route, crossed the Rocky

Mountains on horseback and made it to the Pacific Ocean.

The journey

spanned 8,000 miles, which is roughly the length of all of the lines at

Six Flags Over Georgia on a Saturday afternoon combined, and included

a crew of 33 permanent party members known as the Corps of Discovery.

A little-known fact is that Lewis and Clark had wanted to call the group

The Traveling Finder Guys but it was vetoed by President Jefferson.

The Corps of

Discovery also was aided by a Shoshone Indian woman known as Sacagawea,

who acted as the group's translator. Most of the time, Sacky, which is

what the group called her when not appearing before messengers and couriers,

told the Indian tribes that they encountered that, despite how the group

may look and smell, they were cool.

Over the 28-month-long

journey, Lewis, Clark and the Corps of Discovery collected animal and

plant specimens and, despite suffering some minor squirrel bites and poison

ivy and poison oak breakouts, found great success. They also recorded

weather data and traded with Indian tribes.

When the group

made it to Fort Clatsop in Oregon and saw the ocean, Clark wrote, "Ocian

in view! O! The joy!" I mention this only because it is so funny

that Clark spelled ocean wrong. Also, you can use this spelling the next

time you play Scrabble. Just tell them, "That's the way American

hero William Clark wrote it, so shut up!"

As amazing

as Lewis and Clark's journey is, I find it hard to believe that there

are the 30 million people that LewisandClark200.com estimates there are

with "Lewis and Clark Fever." I'll give you around 15 million

people, all parents, and this summer they will be in the front seats of

cars turning to their children in the back seat and saying, "This

is where Lewis and Clark started their amazing journey, kids." Meanwhile,

the children will be wishing for a Lewis and Clark-themed water park.

I guess I just

find it disheartening that even a feat like Lewis and Clark's gets trivialized,

though people's intentions are good. Just visit the LewisandClark200.com

Web site and you'll see Lewis and Clark belt buckles, wallets and money

clips, air fresheners and a $158 commemorative wreath.

In fact, there

are cities trying to cash in on the "Lewis and Clark Fever"

that weren't even really part of the journey. A town in West Virginia

is saying, "This is the town where Lewis bought some supplies for

the trip." I wouldn't be surprised if one town puts up a plaque and

an animatronic statue illustrating the moment that Lewis turned around

before traveling to meet up with Clark at the departure point, sure that

he left his potbellied stove going.

I wish that

I could believe that America had "Lewis and Clark Fever." I

think it is important that people of all ages view this land and realize

that it used to be untamed, wild, dangerous and exotic. It would be great

if 30 million people wanted to take the journey from Missouri to Oregon

and back again, living simpler and gaining a true appreciation for the

sacrifice that over 30 men and one women gave.

Maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe there are children wading in local creeks as I write this that are

shouting, "This way, Meriwether. We'll find the ocian yet" and

"It's spelled ocean, you dolt" and "How do you know I spelled

it wrong when I pronounced it the same?"

I hope so,

but I doubt it.

Back

to the Top of the Page