I once paddled a canoe the length of the Mississippi River all the way from Itasca to New Orleans.

I've always been fascinated by the Mississippi River and the way of life in these small river towns.

Mrs. Reilly called in that accent that occurs south of New Jersey only in New Orleans, that Hoboken near the Gulf of Mexico.

Leaving New Orleans also frightened me considerably. Outside of the city limits the heart of darkness, the true wasteland begins.

Almost 70 percent of U.S. ag exports travel the upper Mississippi River and the Illinois waterway system.

The flooding is just everywhere... New Orleans, all through Mississippi and Alabama,