There are many places in this world where one might seek and eventually find refuge. For some of us it is refuge from the daily grind…refuge from the human condition. I think that all our problems in life are either love or money…and sometimes we just need to get away. My place of refuge…indeed my holy ground is Cumberland Island. I think God moved me to the island at a particular time in my life when the real world was just a bit much for my simple mind. As an Eagle Scout and a horticulturist, Cumberland’s magnificent beauty captured my heart the minute I set foot upon the shore. The density of the maritime forest, the feeling of adventure while exploring the riverbanks looking for treasures from the past….running game trails dodging banana spiders…these are but a few of the best experiences a young man can have while living in paradise. As I look back I am reminded of a day when my friend Hobbes led me to a place that took me back in time…and revealed to me a story of another man who sought refuge on Cumberland.
Late one afternoon I closed the shop at Gogo’s and decided that a ride to the south end would be a fantastic prelude to cocktail hour, and a bonus cardio session is always a good idea. I rode across the compound to the house of the mentors hoping for companionship on the ride. None of the humans were down but Hobbes was ready to go. My friend Hobbes is a handsome Basenji who has attitude to spare. Hobbes ran out to meet me and we were off. I decided to take the beach as the tide was quite low and accommodating for a hard fast cruise to Dungeness. I raced alongside Hobbes as fast as Swoosh (my bike) could ride but the canine could not be matched for speed. He took off through the dunes like a shot chasing some critter or following some scent. I forgot for a moment that Hobbes knows Cumberland MUCH better than I do and I began to worry if he would get lost. I stopped for a rest to consider the options and decided to let Hobbes be Hobbes and continue on my ride. I pushed up the dune trail that leads back to the ruins and eventually found my way to the boardwalk over the marsh. As if out of thin air Hobbes races past me nearly causing me to fall over. I then decided that following him from then on out was the best course of action. This proved to be brilliant as Hobbes had something to show me.
As a resident of Cumberland…whether temporary or permanent…you cannot resist the living breathing history. I had of course heard of the Greene-Miller cemetery on the compound at the Dungeness ruins, but I had somehow let this knowledge slip to that foggy place in my mind. I would have to spend days and days explaining the deep history of the south end of Cumberland so here I will take the liberty of suggesting a book called “Cumberland Island…A History” by Mary Bullard. There are of course many other books but I like this one.
Once again let me return to Hobbes. As I continued to follow my new buddy we seemed to be headed into the deep of the forest on the very edge of the marsh….a concept both thrilling and terrifying to me as I was a relative novice to marshmuck safety where gators are concerned. Suddenly a narrow trail exposed itself upon a small plot enclosed by tabby walls just about waist high and secured by an iron gate. It was then that found myself absolutely overwrought with sheer joyous emotion. Hobbes had revealed to me the grave site of my ancestor…Lighthorse “Harry” Lee. Let me qualify that as a distant cousin by my mammaw Standifer, family where I come from counts until the counting stops and most of my people are Lee cousins, back in the Cahaba Valley of Jefferson County Alabama. Hobbes looked at me…and I am absolutely certain that he smiled. I was at once completely happy that practically no humans were anywhere near us in the forest. Of course I stood there blubbering like a lost child who only just came upon the realization that I was lost…and the memory of home and family broke my heart. Thanks to Hobbes I felt also immediately at home on Cumberland. Hobbes and I are still good friends even from across the water. Thanks to a dog…who is so much more than just a dog…I began digging for more and came up quite satisfied. To be continued.
