For anyone who has ever fallen under the spell of the Mississippi, it is hard not be a little jealous of Bob Deck. A deckhand as a teenager and a Harbor Captain by the tender age of 22, Deck worked the big river during the 1970's and 1980's, a boom time for the Twin Cities barge business. Like Mark Twain and George Merrick before him Deck paints a vivid and nostalgic portrait of a working life on the river. And for budding river rats, he also provides practical tips on how best to guide barges through certain tricky stretches of water in St. Paul. -Mike Mosedale, reporter and river lover Ride...