Lucy's Revenge is a project in memory of Lucy Plunkett to raise funds for Alzheimer's research and support services while showcasing Mississippi's waterways. All donations go directly to the Mississippi Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
Lucy’s Revenge: The Alzheimer’s Paddling Project set to begin promoting additional fundraising opportunities and events across Mississippi.
June 7, 2012. Jackson, MS.—Keith Plunkett began kayaking in 2009 and quickly developed a love of the sport that some would likely say borders on obsession. Since then, he has become an ambassador for the sport in the Magnolia State, paddling rivers across Mississippi and in adjoining states on trips many might find out of the realm of their abilities. But, Plunkett says that it’s not as difficult as some people think.
“I think people hear of me paddling 30, 50 or 100 miles in a kayak and think ‘I could never do that’,” said Plunkett. “But, part of the reason our state is the fattest and most unhealthy region in the country is that we refuse to push the limits of our abilities. We can do much more than we give ourselves credit for, mentally and physically. Most just choose not to believe in themselves enough. We have a crisis of confidence in this state.”
Plunkett began a project in 2010 called Lucy’s Revenge. Through the project he paddled 500 miles and raised $10,000 for the Mississippi Alzheimer’s Association. The project is named in memory of his late grandmother, Lucy Plunkett, who died in 1993 after battling the disease. As a result of his involvement, he now promotes the Alzheimer’s Association programs as Development Director.
“Everything I have accomplished in my life extends from the lessons I learned from my Mamaw,” he said. “Either as a result of the character passed down through my parents, or of seeing her live a life committed to serving others. I want everybody to share in that, because giving a helping hand really is its own reward.”
Plunkett’s latest incarnation of the Lucy’s Revenge project will take him 50 miles in a 16-hour day down the Pearl River for the Alzheimer’s Association’s The Longest Day on June 20. His trip will begin at dawn from a launch around Highway 25 in Leake County, and will end at sunset at Madison Landing on the Ross Barnett Reservoir.
“I have traveled long stretches of up to a hundred miles over the course of a few days, but never this much in a single day,” he says. “This will be a challenge for me. I’m very excited about it. If I don’t have new adventures and challenges on the drawing board I get emotionally numb.”
Plunkett is also considering several other projects, including a history of Mississippi waterways and how they helped the state develop, promoting Lucy’s Revenge kayak races across the state, and an educational project to promote the teaching of Mississippi waterway ecosystems to students. This is all in addition to his work developing relationships across the state to help defeat Alzheimer’s disease.
“I don’t know any other way to live than to do it fully,” says Plunkett. “That’s the example that was set for me, and that’s what God has put in me. I have to share it.”
To give to the Lucy’s Revenge Team for The Longest Day go to: THIS LINK
If there is ever an easy answer to the often posed question about where to have an worry-free paddle without the worry of shuttling in Central Mississippi, it has to be the Ross Barnett Reservoir. This week Lucy's Revenge, in conjunction with the newly formed Central Mississippi Paddling Mafia, took to the Ross Barnett with a vengeance in an attempt to see what she had to offer. The idea was to find a way to hit the water quickly and put in a few miles after work, or on a quick whim.
We had no problem.
On Tuesday afternoon Kelly McGinnis, Dawn Henderson, Sharon and I launched from Pelahatchie Shore Park for a sunset tour of Pelahatchie Bay. It was beautful enough that my video from the 4 mile trip inspired another paddling friend, David Ogletree to hit the water this past Sunday to see if he could spot a few of the many hundreds of white pelicans we surprised on the north side of the bay.
The full moon rises over the Pearl River on Friday, March 18.
Friday night brought a full moon, and an opportune time for an 8 mile paddle from Ratliff Ferry to Tommy's Trading Post at Goshen Springs. Kelly, Sharon and I were joined by Michelle Blair and Daniel Stuart. We watched a beautiful sunset and moonrise and paddled past a few campsites as people readied for what turned out to be a sensational weekend of weather. We made it in 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Saturday morning I awoke determined not to get caught at the house. So, I and my youngest son Rickey headed out for an overnight trip down the Pearl River from the spillway to Lefluer's Bluff; a 12 mile trip. With the help of my trusty shuttling assistant and oldest son Isaac, I dropped my equipment and Rickey at the spillway, drove my vehicle to Lefluer's Bluff and was driven back to start our adventure.
Rickey Plunkett on the Pearl River.
The launch at the spillway was crowded with fisherman, but just beyond the first river bend the noise of the spillway and the mass of humanity surrounding it was already a memory. The water was pushing at a brisk 4 miles per hour, and we easily floated a quick 4 miles before deciding on a sandbar to make camp.
Rickey spent hours that afternoon sitting in the sand next to the river, digging holes, reading, and just being a kid. There's not a video game in the world that can compete with that. There's nothing quite like seeing your kids lose themselves in the slow pace of the outdoors. That evening, we watched another awe inspiring moon rise over the trees, and after hours of rare uninterupted conversation by the campfire we were serenaded to sleep by a chorus of owls singing along to the background sounds of water churning past fallen limbs.
A beautiful sunrise the next morning and a couple of hot chocolates, and we were packed and back on the water. An almost 8 mile trip should have taken us a couple of hours, but the Pearl River was pushing us along fast, and we were landing at Lefluer's Bluff in just over an hour. I'm glad I got the opportunity to take Rickey with me on this trip, but I'm accustomed to putting in over 40 miles in a weekend. I still wasn't satisfied and I wanted more.
The paddling gods were smiling. By the time Rickey and I stopped off for a quick bite at my friend Roberto's restaurant, my phone was buzzing with another opportunity. Kelly was sending out a call to all members of "the family" to meet up at Pelahatchie Shore Park for an afternoon of exploration. My reply to his text was a simple, "I'm in."
Rickey stayed at home to shower and rest up in preparation for a new week at school. I headed south out of Flora towards Ross Barnett, yet again. Entering Pelahatchie Shore Park, I found a mass of people walking, fishing, disc golfing, and some just laying out on the grass looking up at the cottony clouds. There were no signs of my crew, so I found a parking place to wait. That's when David Ogletree drove up and got my attention and we began talking about where I had spotted the white pelicans a couple of days before. A few minutes later my crew began to arrive; first David Christopher then, Michelle and her husband Kelvin, finally Kelly and his daughter and a friend.
We stayed away from the boat launch. It was a site of constant action and turmoil from boaters loading an unloading their fishing rigs. Instead we launched from a small inlet with easy access. Paddling around the tip of the peninsula and avoiding the boats, we headed east. The water began to lose it's chop as we found ourselves among a couple of small islands and interior waterways. We crossed underneath Spillway Road and into a wooded area adjacent to Millcreek Subdivision, finally running into an impassable weir about two and a half miles into the trip. Were the water not being released at such a clip from the spillway due to heavy rains, we likely could have paddled another mile. Forced to turn back, we made our way through the wooded area again. The west side of the little tributary provided a little visual entertainment: 10-12 foot tall red blooming azalea's, old forgotten camellia's still showing some blooms from their winter show, and the show of light purple wisteria climbing over and through the woods as if in search of something.
We talked of future paddles; our newly formed band of boating brethren.
The summer days are thankfully long, and opportunities are everywhere on and around "The Rez".
Sometimes things just happen, and you CAN explain why: it’s because they’re intended to. Agnostics and atheists try their best to explain away these circumstances. But, they can’t. Those of us with Faith know when divine intervention happens. Those without faith simply aren’t prepared to recognize divine circumstances, or they are too married to their perception of life as primordial suffering and explain it away as chance. But, life sure is good here on the other side. Over here, every happening offers an opportunity for a response that puts all of us in line with God’s intention. When these marvelous interventions are life affirming, all feels right with the world.
Such was the case for me on Wednesday, July 21.
Sharon and I decided last Tuesday we were going to find a body of water somewhere for a mid-week paddle. We weren’t sure exactly where. We have been discussing a mid-week paddle for a while in order to take advantage of the long summer days. So, despite the unknowns, we loaded the kayaks Wednesday morning. This was the first time we loaded the boats on a whim without specific plans. Sharon took off to her office, and I mine.
At lunch she ran into a paddling friend of ours who, when seeing the boats on top of the vehicle, said, “Oh, you and Keith must be going to meet Scot at Ratliff Ferry this afternoon.”
My wife’s response was simple enough, “Who?”
You see until Wednesday afternoon, we had never heard of, yet alone spoken with, Scot Thigpen. But because of divine providence, within two hours he, Sharon and I, along with six of Scot’s paddling partners, lovingly referred to by Scot as the “River Rats,” were on our way for a sunset cruise on the Pearl River. Had the circumstances stopped there it would have been fortuitous enough, but there was more for me to learn.
It turns out that Scot wrote a book called Chasing Solomon. It is a book about his faith, a book inspired by his grandmother’s exemplary life which steered him towards a path of redemption when he began re-examining his life in his late 30’s.
Any of that sound familiar? If you’ve read any of this website before now it should.
Scot joked that he and I may have been separated at birth. His story and my story very closely parallel. Our grandmother’s examples helped shape both of our lives in such a way that led to new perspectives for us. We both love the water and believe the outdoors is a gift from God. And, we both have been led by faith to rediscover the importance of the legacy we are called to carry forward.
Our group of paddlers launched from Ratliff Ferry and paddled the eight miles to Highway 43 on the north end of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. It was a beautiful trip. We saw alligators, plenty of birds, flowering lilies, and a sunset that only the pictures can hope to represent. We talked about our love of paddling, how the paddling bug bit each of us, and we traded adventure stories and paddling techniques. But, eight miles and three hours aren’t nearly enough time to catch up with someone you were destined to meet, let alone separated from at birth. So, we still have some catching up to do.
