By Rhonda Coleman

Tell me; I forget.
Show me; I remember.
Involve me; I understand.

Ron’s been telling me about the Meramec River for over 30 years. Sometimes he would show me sights along the river, and after the fourth Saturday of each August, he would show me dumpsters overflowing with trash that had been collected—again. Last week, after being personally (even intimately) involved with the Meramec River for five consecutive days, I finally understand! I have begun to comprehend some of the complex aspects that comprise the Meramec. In addition, I gained a greater appreciation for my husband’s passion about preserving the integrity of the Meramec and celebrating its renaissance.

You see, my husband is Ron Coleman, known by some as “Mr. Clean Stream.” While his entire professional career has been devoted to parks, recreation, conservation and environmental issues, he’s probably best known as the veteran coordinator of Operation Clean Stream.

I still cherish the photograph of Ron in a canoe with our older son, Bart on Bart’s “virgin voyage” on the Meramec during his first Operation Clean Stream. Bart was a tanned, shirtless five-year-old with paddle in hand, smiling at the camera. A mound of trash in the canoe filled the space between him and his dad in the back seat.

Bart just turned 35, and he now leads a group of volunteers who clean up the St. Clair stretch of the Meramec. Like father, like son! Although Bart’s younger brother, Travis, now works in Germany, he also provided lots of grunt work on the Meramec throughout his Rockwood and Mizzou careers.

My role in Operation Clean Stream had been to provide a listening ear to Ron as he worked to coordinate efforts which grew in scope, size and complexities each year. On the day of the event, I was always on hand as his “Girl Saturday” to run last minute errands and deliver any supplies to various picnic sites. This August, I will approach OCS day with a deeper understanding of why Ron—and literally thousands of volunteers—have such a passion for the Meramec (or one of its tributaries).

Because of another event, I wasn’t able to join the group on the first day at Meramec State Park. Ron did tell me that the expedition was off to a great start and hoped I could join the group the next day. Bill and Jodie, our knowledgeable and enthusiastic leaders, got me hooked through involvement, so I eagerly returned each day for the rest of the week. One day, I even was able to involve our teenage neighbor who had never paddled a canoe. (Politicians enacted No Child Left Behind legislation in attempts to guarantee that all children receive an adequate education. Perhaps we need a program called “No Child Left Inside” to ensure that kids leave the confines of computers and video games and open their horizons to the great outdoors!)

Since John Robinson already captured the excitement of Day 2 and our experiences searching for hellbenders, I’m opting to devote the rest of my blog to the Power of Five. Each evening of the expedition after helping Ron prepare for the following day, I took time before sleep to meditate about the sensory “Kodac moments” of each day—the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feels that created memorable impressions during my involvement that day.

Like photographs tossed into a box for organization later, I’m left with a hodgepodge of memorable moments in no specific order. I’m limiting myself to five random memories of each of the five senses. Hence, the “power of five”.

Sights:
– seeing Jodie’s expressive eyes capture the wonder of mussel reproduction when explaining the mysterious habits of glachedia (tiny mussel eggs) that attach themselves to the gills of unsuspecting fish hosts and await later expulsion when their life cycle releases them back to the river bottom.
– seeing with my own eyes, the respiration of a mature mussel that I personally held in my own hand.
— seeing nature’s lush green trees and flowering rose mallow that line the corridors of the river, even during August drought.
– seeing man’s discarded tires, appliances, and automobiles degrade the natural beauty.
– seeing basketball-hoop-sized pipes dumping human sewage into the natural flowing river.

Sounds:
– hearing Jodie identify the various mating calls of birds after listening to their distinctive melodies and rhythms.
– hearing experts like the herpetologist (Jeff Briggler) who is “hell bent” on saving hellbenders or the Mussel Man (Brian Wilcox) who is “mad about mussels” (but even madder about their diminishing abundance).
– hearing the quietness in the sounds of silence sometimes interrupted only by the muted splash of the paddles propelling us gently downstream.
– hearing the deafening sounds of bridge traffic, dredging equipment and motor boats that disturb the serenity of the river.
– hearing the muted conversations of canoe twosomes as they share their daily experiences with this paddle partners.

Smells:
– smelling the summer breezes that rustle the trees and ripple the water.
– smelling the treated sewage that seeps from the pipes.
– smelling the horrific pungency of odors emitted from a decaying mussel.
– smelling the body odor created by the mixture of human sweat and murky river water mixing on a hot August day.
– smelling the enticing aroma of brats being grilled for a perfect lunch on a gravel bar.

Tastes:
– tasting the refreshing coolness of bottled water as it quenches thirst after hours of paddling.
– tasting the Lunchables that reflect the taste temptations of today’s school children.
– tasting the Dierberg’s delicious chicken salad with grapes, celery and pecans.
– tasting the bountiful lunch from Sara’s provided by Wildwood under the pavilion near the Al Foster trailhead.
– tasting the salty sweetness of a margarita at the Pacific Coffeehouse after a hot day on the Meramec.

Touches/Feels:
– feeling the ache of muscles and sun-burned shoulders after days of paddling.
– feeling the power of the river by walking cross stream in seemingly gentle current as we looked for mussels and hellbenders.
– feeling the memory of my bare leg brushing against stinging neddle just by having Bill point out the plant’s natural defenses.
– feeling the joy of watching young children laughing together as they enjoyed being waist deep in water and asking if they could go for a ride in our boat.
– feeling the comraderie of relative strangers who are drawn together by their love of nature, their interest in rivers, and their passion for preserving the Meramec.

The Meramec Expedition provided me with five days of powerful memories based on all five senses. As I await the birth of our first grandchild, I’m hopeful that Ron and I will be able to share the diversity of the Meramec with another generation of Colemans!