Mississippi drifters have barrels of fun

Looks notwithstanding, the pair has been well received

By Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian

Jack Mahaffy and John Holden look as rough as the raft they tied up to the Mississippi River bank at Cape Girardeau.

They sport nine-week beards and wear dirty clothes, while their poor-man's yacht is an upgrade from a Mark Twain raft only because it has a small outboard motor.

Remember the Little Rascals? One of Mahaffy's spectacle lenses is a black vertical oval, circling his left eye like the dog in "Our Gang." The glasses are held together with wires and pins.

Mahaffy looks like a mad scientist. Holden looks more like a guy who just returned from the TV hit "Survivor."

And their ride? Think "Gilligan's Island" escape vehicle.

But they don't care what they look like. When their journey is over, they're going to have one interesting story to tell.

Mahaffy and Holden, two well-spoken, easy-going homeless drifters, spent Tuesday in the city picking up supplies. Rafting from Minnesota through both fair weather and stormy waters, the friends are making their way to New Orleans, then will buy bus tickets back to their home state.

Their mode of transportation is a screened-in shack placed atop a wooden platform held above water by 12 barrels. Er, make that 11 barrels. The duo lost one near St. Louis and hope to find a replacement soon.

Holden said he has been impressed with the generosity of people, who are always fixing them sandwiches.

Both men, along with another friend, lived in a shack in Japan while attending school there. They thought it would be fun to live in a shack that floated down the river.

"It's great," Mahaffy said. "You just sit there all day and watch the river go by."