This park, before it flooded and remained closed for about nine months, was one of my favorite places to walk. If the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh had emigrated here as a young man, say, after the publication of The Great Hunger, his statue would be located alongside the Missouri River instead of at the Grand Canal in Dublin. I don't know which place is more picturesque, only having spent one damp evening in Dublin when I was a teenager.
Although not likely, if I were to open a restaurant, I think I would place it alongside the Missouri River. It would need to be located on a bluff high enough to avoid any flood water, of course. That's assuming that people would be interested in eating the food that I prepare most often--rice concoction, aka broccoli bake, mild chili, barbeque ribs baked in the oven, and Irish stew. My wife imagines the creation of a glass walkway that would make it possible to walk out over the river. Sitting out on the desk on a summer evening, after the cicadas had stopped their nightly refrain, and while hearing the water driven south by the current, would be a great way to relax with friends. The idea is far more pleasant than actually creating the experience.
