Back before 18-wheelers dominated the highways and overnight shipping was available for those that wanted to pay a few dollars more, there were rivers.

Rivers flowed like lifeblood through towns all over America.

They were means of travel, commerce and leisure and usually meant great prosperity for towns for miles around.

People in Selma know better than anyone those days are long gone.

The Alabama River still gives us a lot. Just ask any company that has floated a barge down the tawny thoroughfare or someone who has gone boating on a sunny afternoon.

But there is still so much more we could milk out of this precious resource.

The announcement of a riverboat cruise is one way to kick start a great movement forward.

This would add to an already interesting slate of events that the city has year round. Imagine the sight and sounds of cannons popping during the Battle of Selma or looking at thousands of people re-create the Bloody Sunday march, all while cruising slowly by on the water. Imagine getting that kind of view of some of this region’s most beautiful and historical homes.

The city’s proposed riverfront park could also get a helpful aesthetic boost with the boat floating by.

There are several possibilities that await and more ideas to hatch.