Today’s pop-up exhibition in Houma has me thinking of past visits, especially one that’s stuck with me for nearly a decade.
Back in 2015, while docked in Dubuque, Iowa, we had a visit from a big family—five kids, I think—but it was two sisters, Lexie and Gracie, who stole the show. They were so curious, asking smart, pointed questions about life aboard the shantyboat:
“How often do you catch fish to eat?”
“Where do you sleep?”
“Do you have fresh water? Where’s it stored?”
They weren’t just making conversation—they were taking notes, photographing details like the hidden cabinets in the wainscoting and the library shelves. They were preparing a case.
At the end of the visit, they turned to their parents and said, totally serious:
“Mom, Dad, we’re leaving with these people.”
When dad Rob refused to consent, they said, “Fine, then you have to build us a shantyboat.”
They wanted to be shantyboat kids, river hobos, part of the crew. And today I can’t help but wonder—Lexie and Gracie, where are you now? You’d be in your early 20s. Did you ever build your own shantyboat? Take that curiosity and become engineers, artists, scientists? Are you still out there scheming wild adventures?
If you see this—or if anyone knows them—please reach out. The river remembers you. And the invitation still stands.
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