I dreamed of French Creek last night. A smallish river that runs through the town I grew up in, French Creek was locally famed because George Washington (so the story goes) threw a silver dollar into it. I don't think I ever knew why he threw it in.

I think I'll try to find out.

He probably did a lot of things in and around French Creek. He probably crossed it several times, (but the Delaware gets all the glory for that.) I expect he peed in it too (French Creek and the Delaware) but nobody really wants to talk about where the first President of the United States of America urinated.

I digress, but I think I will continueto digress: I never went swimming in French Creek myself, (although it is possible that President Washington did.) My brother and I would go down to the river sometimes, throw rocks and sticks, spit off the bridge, look for turtles on the banks, but we never got in, due to a healthy fear of the undercurrents instilled in us by our grandmother.

When my grandmother was a child, she and her little brother used to go swimming in French Creek. One day when he was about 10 and she was about 12, they were swimming. She said the last time she saw him he was laying on one of the cement support structures of the bridge. The next time she looked, he was gone. His body was found the next day. No one can say what happened. He was a strong swimmer. Maybe he hit his head, maybe he passed out, maybe he was sucked down by the under current. My brother and I never went swimming in French Creek.

My dream . . . I was standing near the bank when I decided to fly over the river (because you can do that in a dream) to get a better look. I was using some sort of small hang -gliding contraption. While I was over the river I notice how low the water was. I thought to myself that I had never seen the river so low, but I knew that it was still dangerous to get into the water.

As I was coming back across the river in my hang glider, I looked down and saw a large piece of debris floating down the center. It was shaped like a Star of David. I was wondering what it could be from when I lost control of my glider and plunged into the water. I was afraid, but I grabbed hold of the Star of David and I knew I would be okay until I could get out of the water.

So . . . should I become a Jew?

Should I avoid hang gliders?

Should I learn the history of French Creek?

I don't know.

I do know this: French Creek joins the Allegheny River in Franklin, PA . The Allegheny River joins the Monogahala River to form the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, PA. The Ohio River joins the Mississippi River in Cairo, IL. The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico in New Orleans, LA.

Thank you Mrs. Zeigler 7th grade geography.