Back in St. Louis

It's hot, July, no rain lately and none coming.  The river is back down and barge traffic seems about equal, going upstream and coming down.  Two bridges across are in my window, a third is just to the south, and a fourth is soon to be completed, but this river is still a real border as it has long been.  An old slave state on one side, an old free one on the other.  Slaves were sold on the steps of the courthouse right below me; Lincoln lived on the other side.  There was a lot of back and forth, though.  Dred Scott's trial, which was also in the courthouse below, was about his going back and forth; Sherman lived here; Grant settled here; Robert E. Lee lived here and built a dam that saved the city from losing its landing on the river.