FATHER, SON TAKE 'AUTUMN'S JOURNEY' DOWN RIVER

In a small rowboat, two men are taking a long journey down a mighty river, all in the name of a little girl.

Autumn's Journey, a 14 -foot rowboat, was anchored in Cape Girardeau Friday as Erik Maklezow and his father, Viktor Maklezow, took a break from rowing from Kenosha, Wis., to New Orleans to rest, clean up, resupply and spread the word about their mission.

That mission is to raise awareness and money for the American Brain Tumor Association and for Autumn Jensen, Viktor's 5-year-old granddaughter and Erik's niece.

Autumn was given only a 10 percent chance of surviving a brain tumor diagnosed about a year ago. But she seems to have beaten the odds. After treatments that included radiation, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, a recent scan revealed no signs of the tumor. But the child still faces years of therapy to overcome the effects of the tumor and the treatments.

To help with the medical bills facing his sister, Erik decided to raise money by rowing down the Mississippi. His dad jumped at the chance to go along as a way of doing something positive to help his daughter, Katrina Jensen, who lives near Kenosha, and granddaughter."Knowing the horror this child has gone through and the horror for her mother who stayed by her side, I felt like a helpless bystander," said Viktor, who lives in New Orleans. "Now I feel like I'm doing something that is really helping them."Everywhere the duo is stopping along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, they are handing out flyers describing Autumn's illness and asking for donations to be split between the American Brain Tumor Association and Autumn's medical bills, which have exceed $1 million so far, Victor said."If this was 25 years ago, Autumn would have been buried in five days," Viktor said, noting that research funded by the Brain Tumor Association has meant an extended life for many of those who develop such tumors."The more research is done, the more people have a chance to live," he said. So Viktor and Erik have spent eight to 10 hours most days since Oct. 5 to raise money and awareness for that cause. They hope to end their 1,600-mile journey and reach New Orleans by Thanksgiving.

If you doubt how much rowing the pair has done, Viktor will gladly show you his calloused hands."This isn't like Cleopatra flowing her barge down the river eating grapes. There are days we've spent fighting for our lives," said Victor, who is retired from the manufacturing business.

On Thursday as they were trying to row down the river to reach Cape Girardeau, they were fighting a biting wind and choppy waves."We've had days that for every five strokes of the oars, we'd get one boat length ahead," Victor said.

There's also been the struggle of father and son spending so much time together."It's like we are on a postage stamp. We can't walk away from each other," Viktor said.

So far, though, the biggest point of contention has been the type of music chosen to row by. Dad Viktor prefers classical music. As for Erik, "sometimes when I'm rowing I need an electric guitar and some drums and yelling," he said.

As for the best part of the journey, Viktor said it's been the people they've met on the way."Every one has been hospitable, kind and generous," he said. For instance in Cape Girardeau, Kidd Fuel Dock let the Maklezows tie up their boat and camp at the dock, the pair took showers at Salvation Army and Jim Williams at Model Hair World gave Viktor a free hair cut."I never figured on meeting such wonderful people," Victor said. "That's become, for me, a bonus reward." To donate, send checks to ABTA/Katrina Jensen, 8001 107th Avenue, Pleasant Prairie, Wis. You can follow the Maklezows' journey on the Internet at:www.geocities.com/heartland/village/8984