Freedom
04/16/2020
Cuttyhunk
"For to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others"
-Nelson Mandela
There is a small island at the end of the Elizabeth Islands, dwarfed by the nearby Marthas Vineyard, here, nearly 120 miles by boat, I am at home. Theres something about being on an Island with less than 50 permeant residents, and on the busiest days tops off at less than 1,000. Its a small fishing outpost in the middle of Buzzards Bay, a sanctuary for fishermen. Originally we vacated there with a few friends, for its prime fishing, the "Dump," a large spot where the US military dumped many ships, planes and tanks after WW2, a perfect spot to catch 100 pound Yellowfin Tuna, 5 foot long Mahi Mahi, sharks, and many other large fish. We have made the 100 mile trek out to that fishing haven many times. Occasionally we will end up skunked, no fish, barely a bite, so we make the 3-8 hour drive back. But there are days when its bite after bite. When the weather doesn't permit a journey to the middle of the ocean, which is fairly often, there are many magical spots less than a mile from the Island, Bluefish big enough to pull a man overboard, which did happen once, Stripers longer than me, Flounder all over the place, than we head back to the island. Most of the time we sleep on my boat which can fit 3-4 and we make room for 5. But last year our friends rented a house, so I stayed with them and left the rest of my family to suffer on the boat. The island has great fishing, but our narrative story comes on shore.
One sunny afternoon we decide to explore. We means me, and 4 friends. We first walk down to the small pier on the islands mooring field, theres ice cream, the smell of fish, and seagulls. We pool together the money our parents gave us and got a healthy helping of ice cream, but our adventure is not over. We walk, and walk, and continue walking. By now we have made it to the highest point on the island. Its incredible. It hosts a 360ยบ view of the island and the endless sea around us. From our vantage point we see a dock, probably as far from us as possible, but we have nothing but time. We make the long trek, probably a mile, to the dock we spotted. Its perfect. The days we have been here we have looked and looked for a dock to jump off, this was it. It was about 10 feet tall, and the water was deep enough, the jumping started. After nearly an hour a few parents came to tell us to come home soon, the sun was starting to set, so we tried something. A flip train, we all have been flipping off the dock for a while, no bellyflops, yet, and we decide to test our skill, by all flipping in a line. I went first, no issues, than the next person, by now I'm swimming to the ladder and I look back to see how its going, I looked at the perfect time. My friend tripped on the lip we used to get extra high and was racing down towards the water, belly first. It was the bellyflop heard around the world. He called it a day, and I don't blame him. We headed back, the day was still young so we went on to our next adventure. We took some small fishing rods, and grabbed our skateboards and went down to the spot with ice cream, the smell of fish and seagulls. We walked around the docks, got some more ice cream and spotted a small fin. A 2-3 foot long sand shark, we decided to test our luck with catching it, until we realized that none of us want to unhook a shark. So we did the smart thing, run back to the house and get an adult to unhook it if we catch it. We didn't catch it, but spotting that shark, laughing as we got our lure stuck in mountains of seaweed, and another healthy helping of ice cream was the perfect end to another great day.
Its days like this, no phones, no parents yelling to not do something, freedom at its finest. I would do anything to have more days like that, but the sad truth is that it is impossible. Between school, a global epidemic, and poor weather, its hard to find time to make the long journey out to that tiny island on the tip of the Elizabeth Island chain. But the memory is sometimes enough to satisfy me. Days of complete freedom, endless laughs, and ice cream, there is nothing better.
What a great post! It is so beautiful in both its writing and in the descriptive power of the story itself. Are used to sail into Cuttyhunk, but I never actually got off the boat. If I did, maybe I would've seen some version of you doing all these things in the name of freedom. I love this and would love to hear your voice in Podcasts telling the story. Awesome work!
Posted by: Fitz... | 04/20/2020 at 06:50 PM