A River Campus gem

My wife and I so enjoyed a wonderful Friday night at the foot of Bill Emerson's congressional contribution to my hometown: his beautiful lighted bridge, which started the night with a Christmas feeling of epic proportions.

Inside the River campus, a very meaningful American art exhibit opened at the Crisp Museum featuring Hayti native Alfonso Branch; a master of pastel and charcoal, if you like your art silky smooth refraining from the abstract, this is the exhibit for you. Every work clean and thoughtful in detail encompassing African color tones with a strikingly All-American attitude. One will enjoy more than a few gems in the exhibit: wildlife, beloved family and the world we live in; weighted in honesty and detail produced by God-given natural talent.

Alfonso brilliantly edged on hot topics such as George Floyd and Colin Kaepernick backgrounded in American flags, as if to say, "It's still America, like it or not." These works reflect a talent working to change hearts in our much divided nation.

Take the time to visit this exhibit running through Dec. 23 as the Crisp museum lives up to its role as a comprehensive repository of the Southeast Missouri art, culture and history.

My favorite pieces were of his grandchildren holding the sign's: "I matter." And yes, Alfonso, you expressed it well. We all do.

Richard Flentge, Cape Girardeau