Howdy, Its been a while since I watched the message board.....been wrapped up in so much lately...periodically, the past six months I come up for air and will try harder this year. I love watching the postings by everyone and love the new format. Easier for someone like me to navigate.
I read with great interest and should have spoken up sooner. The "Magic" of the Queen series. I don't know many folks with the DQSC and don't have long relationships or ties with them. So, I see what our citizens see. To us it is "Magic". These river boats/steamboats is what our heritage is all about. Where these things started....thrived.....were the intregal part of commerce. When I got my DQSC schedule listing I was as thrilled as getting a Lands End catalog for Christmas. I contacted the media and towns up and down the region and told them of our good fortune in being listed in the 2007 schedules. Our area was all abuzz. I contacted the media and the radio folks carried the story. To us, it was "Magic". Folks slow me down on bringing boats here: I think that is odd, I fight to get them here, they fight to not have them here, but I've kept onward. (actually, I've not handed money to anyone locally on the side and I don't allow politicians to gloat in bringing in boats are the key issues.)
Many times. folks believe that I'm "Disney...on Ice"....for the moment, if you will, as our river region slowly gets our docks ready to grace the entrance of any steamboat that comes. We get excited in hearing a calliope even though it doens't ring for any of our towns. Our region folks wave back as they want you to stop here sometime. It is "magic" to us.
So, I don't know the past employees, or the 'good ole times' but for us, we're now going to make our memories and it is all fresh to us and we are anticipating great times ahead. A new generation of young faces of our school children will get to see these boats and also wave to them as they grace our river fronts. I always told our local CVB that I wanted to create, since 2004, a Disney World on the Ohio River---and I mean it. Eventually, you'll see Owensboro, Ky with at $1.5 million dollar water fountain display from the Bellagio folks water designers, you'll see new marinas up and down the region, you'll see new landscaping along the river for our many and new RIVER GUESTS, as our city even has an ordinance on it, and we're now learning what we really need to dock you all. The current marinas and docks aren't and haven't given a care to do it....so, there are those of us that do care and we'll get you docked in great settings and in great locations.
Yes, it is "magic" for us as we believe. I keep believing and haven't ever stopped. Our area of the country....it is our "magic" because it is new to us and we want a part of our heritage to remind us where we came from and where we are going. It brings comfort. It's MAGIC. Mary