While working in Hannibal, Missouri gathering material for my book, The Rats of Plainville: Tales from the Heartland, I spent many mornings in the Java Jive Coffee Shop writing and drinking coffee. The coffee shop and café is located on Main Street in downtown Hannibal. They serve the best coffee in town and make some darned good sandwiches.

The inside of Java Jive is pretty neat. They sell fun and unique gifts (including some PG-rated socks). The décor is turn of the (19th) century. There are some cool antiques displayed there. This teapot is one of them.

The day I made this photograph was cold and blustery. Colder than I ever imagined Hannibal or Missouri. A strong wind came off the Mississippi River and iced over downtown. There were so many ice flows on the river, one could almost walk from Missouri to Illinois on the river and never sink. This photograph was made from Riverview park, which lies on a hill overlooking downtown.

I walked up the 600+ stairs that lead to the park and a lighthouse that rises above town. I walked back into town, and never saw another person on the streets. The cold reminded me of the time I spent on the north slope of Alaska, working on a drilling platform during the winter of 1984-85. Hannibal wasn’t quite as cold as Deadhorse, Alaska, but it sure seemed close.