Savannah Farewell

January 3, 2009

Attrition to the “real world” left Amy and Bill and DJ and myself in Savannah. We wandered, shopped, drank, till, at my great importuning, we agreed to take the Dolphin Magic tour, which I remembered fondly from my last visit. Our first mate and contact with the sea was Beau, a personable young sea dog who exposed us to a remarkable expanse of his life in a remarkably short time. He described his time at boy-heaven summer camp in Brevard as “Lord of the Rings, with counselors.” We saw, in fact, teams of bottle-nosed dolphins out in the river, including a tiny one identified by Beau as likely the last baby of summer. The baby breached and dived so synchronously with its mother that they looked like one creature with two dorsal fins. When the dolphins first appeared, Beau cried out, “I’m still stoked every time they appear. I’ve got the greatest job in the world!” Beau is waiting for his captain’s license to appear from the Coast Guard, in which he once served. He presented our staying in the river instead of cruising out into the salt marshes as the result of encountering so much dolphin activity close in, though part of the reason was surely that one of the engines had conked out. Coming to shore, we drank, and I got very drunk indeed, and cannot say surely what else we did. Rose in the dark of the morning, cleaned the condo and glided through sleeping Savannah, home. The point where experiences become memories is always sad to me, though I am glad to have the memories. Goodbye Beau, goodbye Jersey Boy, goodbye Ambrosia at the first of morning, goodbye Pirates House, goodbye dark squares and the dim lights of mansions.

Liked the dolphins and the creche best. Liked just about everything. Vacationing in the same time zone has appreciable benefits. Ride home with DJ rich with conversation and silliness. Changes of travel plans and my reluctance to re-assess people who said “yes” with a particular price in mind leave me just under $500 in the hole. Will swallow it in the spirit of the New Year. Will tell anyone who asks where they can go which is not Ireland, "Savannah."