The Light House
| The saga begins as a crusty old salt named Blacky climbed the steps his first time to light the beacon atop the lighthouse. The red and white striped pinnacle is well known by mariners who ply the coastline off Fishtauga. Blacky is the fifth keeper to man the light in the past three years and was the only applicant for the job. The others had all mysteriously disappeared, and no one wanted to be the lighthouse keeper. Blacky's weird behavior had everyone puzzled. The townspeople thought it was strange that he wore a black silk stovepipe hat everywhere he went. Rumor has it that he even wore it to bed. Weird too, is that he spends most of the daylight hours walking around the light in a counterclockwise direction. Coincidentally, a pod of sharks always circles in a clockwise motion. Why… is anyone's guess, but it's safe to surmise that Blacky doesn't want the toothy critters sneaking up behind him, thus he walks facing them. So it goes, man and beast circle the light in different directions day after day. To anyone else, the ritual might be boring, but Blacky looks forward to the exercise and enjoys watching the sharks swim by. One afternoon, a large bull shark poked his head from the water and showed a mouth full of menacing teeth. Undaunted, Blacky began to carry a long handled harpoon each time he strolled around the lighthouse. Over time, he and the shark became sparring partners, each vying for his own territory. The shark finned closer and closer to the lighthouse shoreline and showed his sharp pearly whites with increased frequency. The hostility grew, but neither would back down. Blacky enjoyed taunting the shark by prodding it with the harpoon when it came too close. The dangerous game continued for months. Blacky viewed it as a harmless pastime. One night, the beacon didn't come on at sunset. "It's haunted!" was the shout from one patron at the local pub. Blacky's brother was at the other end of the bar. Upon hearing the news, he sobbed, "He's gone. He's gone." The next morning a supply boat was dispatched to search for Blacky. The boat captain scoured every corner of the lighthouse. An eerie feeling came over him when he spotted a thousand or more sharks circling the lighthouse. He began to fear for his life, and left. He found giant shark teeth along the path that led to the dock. Just as he was boarding his boat, he saw something very strange headed in his direction. He hustled to untie the lines and was well underway before turning to see if the "something" was following him. What he saw in the wake was the biggest bull shark he had ever seen. But, even more freighting was seeing Blacky's silk top hat riding on the sharks dorsal fin. Be reminded that small fish have ......Large Tales Captain Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association and a full time Professional Fishing Guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, Fishin' with Gus! at http://www.fishingwithgus.com/ or call 704 617 6812. For additional information, e-mail him at Gus@LakeNorman.com. |
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| July 2006 |