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I enjoyed your history/travel log/bridge/stinky river story. It is fun to follow a rabbit trail of research sometimes.

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I felt like it might have been a bit of overkill but I enjoyed the research and writing so much. All weekend it was the only thing I wanted to do and I had to keep pushing myself back to the novel. Finally, I just said to hell with it, I need a newsletter so just write the thing and be done with it. For now. I want to go to the Missouri Historical Society or other places to get more info. Maybe I can learn more about this bridge or the previous ones. I have no idea why I care so much but I was seriously obsessed by this bridge from the moment I laid eyes on it, and I had to find it. And the more I learn, the cooler it becomes!

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Appreciated the way a random discovery became fodder for your bigger story — that's real "creative flow." (River puns are entirely unintentional!)

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Thanks! It really did work out pretty nicely. And it has inspired me to get out and do more exploration. Before I found the bridge, I was just visiting places I already wanted to use in my novel. Now I want to go to all kinds of places in the city, whether they're for the novel or not, and that's why I created a new section of the newsletter to hold those stories specifically.

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Sep 20, 2021Liked by Jackie Dana

I’ve always wondered what the RDP’s backstory was! Thanks for sleuthing it out and sharing some history :)

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I went out a few days ago to find the origin of the RDP. I located it but I couldn't see it because of all the brush, so I'll have to go back in the winter. I did grab a couple of pics of the river where it's somewhat natural and not channelized (and honestly, that's not easy to find!), and I plan to do a whole photo essay on it one of these days!

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