Ghosts

Summer is in the rearview mirror. Autumn’s blowing by us in the passing lane, and the ghosts of Round Lake have returned.

Exiting Leder Bay on the last pontoon boat ride of the season, we passed the small island in front of our cabin. The popular beach was empty, but I could clearly see Bryan jumping for joy. He found the gold wedding band I secretly hid in the sand with his new metal detector.

On the back side of the island, I watched him pull a 30” walleye through the ice.

Turning my head, the ice disappeared, and MJ slid a belated diamond engagement ring on her finger. It was our 25th wedding anniversary.

On Duggan’s rock bar, I watched a big musky rip a brand new G. Loomis fishing rod and Shimano reel out of my father-in-law’s hands. He’s gone now, but October 15 will always be known as “Sinko de Polo.”  

Later we floated past our kids and friends skipping a ball across the lake surface to one another on “Woboba Point.” 

I blinked, and they too were gone.

There are lots of ghosts on Round lake. All of them are friendly.

We’ve owned “The Cabin” for twenty-three years. A former colleague told me buying a cabin was a lifestyle decision. He nailed that one! 

The cabin has a lot of pull. In fact, each summer, it pulls Julia’s family in all the way from Oregon. We were initially concerned Ryan would resist, but he and Adalyn are now firmly in the cabin’s orbit.

Twenty-three years ago, I dug a little white pine out of the center of an ornamental shrub along the house. Mom and Dad watched as I nestled the shin-high sapling into a freshly dug hole in the yard. I snapped pictures of them standing by our little tree on their annual visits. They are standing there now, in the shade of its expansive limbs. 

My buddy Doug said the cabin was his favorite place on earth. In fact, he’s resting under an ancient white pine along the shore at this very moment.

Autumn brought the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. Earlier in my life, I would have snapped dozens of pictures. This year it wasn’t necessary.

All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. And in a strange twist, we become a part of it.

One of these days, I’m going to hang out full-time with the ghosts at the cabin. 

That way, it will be easy for the family to keep track of me!

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