Peep Light

Stories of a Mississippi River Boat Captain

Lee Hendrix

• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781496848185
• eBook ISBN: 9781496848178
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

Most people only consider the Mississippi River when they cross it or when it inconveniently abandons its banks. But every year, millions of tons of cargo are transported by towboats on the river. In Peep Light: Stories of a Mississippi River Boat Captain, Captain Lee Hendrix provides unique insight on people who work and live on and near the Mississippi River. Hendrix, formerly a pilot for the Delta Queen Steamboat Co., has worked on the Mississippi for fifty years, first as a towboat deckhand in 1972 and eventually as a pilot of towboats and passenger vessels. In 2014, Hendrix became captain of the towboat Mississippi with the US Army Corps of Engineers, then he later retired to return to passenger vessels. For Hendrix and others like him, he is at home on the river, living and dining with the same people they work with, working with familiar faces for years at a time and yet meeting new people every day.

Demonstrating a fascination not only with the river but also with the passions and dreams of those who live and work on it, these stories range from personal reflections on aging, experiencing one's first night on the river and the complex emotions that come with it, working on the deck, promotion to pilot, the characters working aboard these boats, and the history of the river itself. Peep Light unites humans with the river through engaging storytelling and sheds light on Hendrix's rare experience along one of the most powerful and important waterways in the world.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Riverboat Glossary
• Prologue
• Chapter 1 Between the Sticks
• Chapter 2 One Good Deckhand Can Pull a Dead Man from the River
• Chapter 3 Deadly Decks
• Chapter 4 Splicin’ Line
• Chapter 5 A Warm Cup of Coffee
• Chapter 6 An Insignificant Participant in River History
• Chapter 7 Lock on the Head 49
• Chapter 8 The Search for the Lock and Dam that Never Was
• Chapter 9 Out Here, Man, a Lot of Stuff Can Go Wrong
• Chapter 10 Jimmy Dan
• Chapter 11 Sounding Machine
• Chapter 12 Hubie and the Hawk
• Chapter 13 Ain’t No Such Thing as a Purty Bridge
• Chapter 14 Connecting People with the River
• Chapter 15 Sharing a Passion for the River
• Chapter 16 Of Time and the River
• Chapter 17 Reflections on the 1993 Flood
• Chapter 18 Just Havin’ a License Don’t Make a Man No Pilot
• Chapter 19 An Unscheduled Pit Stop
• Chapter 20 Maneuvering an Elephant in a Bathtub
• Chapter 21 Eulogy to a Legend
• Chapter 22 Government Fleet Blues
• Chapter 23 The Kingfish and the Combat Zone
• Epilogue A True Friend of the River
• References and Credits
• About the Author