Aren’t we all just fairies in the thicket? I’m sharing one of my many short stories today
Fairy in The Thicket
Sitting here at the Crooked Library Cave in the Cascades, now 83 years old, I realize that I truly don’t know anything.
Many of you came here today for a spiritual retreat and to gain insights and knowledge. Let me tell you, I’m from out of town, and don’t know shit. We will, together, create a space and time for you to discover your own path and your own story.
Listening to the recorded calls of Harvey, an elusive Hump Back whale that was my guide and mentor for many years, I now realize how little we truly know. If a star fish can regrow most of it’s body and grass springs forth from a concrete block on the face a stone wall, how can we pretend we know anything?
Looking back on my life, I realize now that Fairy in the Thicket, or Capricorn, or Harvey or Hubbard we’re all names that fit. My legal name is McIntosh and until I was 32 yo, McIntosh was the only name I knew. My Grandfather Quntin, an Irishman, had told me as a child that I was truly a Fairy in the Thicket. The Irish believe that we are all connected to the spirit world. Until I met Harvey, the spirit world was an illusion that my Grandfather created. He would allude to Bigfoot or elves or other spirit beings and Fairies in the woods, hills and dales. He would often say, Look UP there, it’s a Bigfoot. But I never saw the mythical creature. He would often tell me that the spirits disguise themselves as creatures both great and small, and when we are ready, they reveal themselves. I always called him Grandfather. It was the opposite with my Dad, he was always, and still is Charlie to me. I always knew that I was adopted, but was told there was no way to find my birth parents due to privacy and legal issues. Part of the adventue was to finally know my birth parents, thanks to Harvey. That’s another story
Grandfather Quentin was my hero, mentor and head cheerleader. He would often tell me “You my friend are not flawed or broken. You are a child of God, and he Don’t Make no Mistakes. The Doctors label you with as a person with a disorder, ADHD.. You my lovely grandson are not a disorder or broken. There was a time, when these were not abnormal traits, but a beautiful manifestation of the Fairies in the Thicket. Don’t let your Dad shame you, believe me, shame is a dead end alley.”
Grandfather went on to say, “ Your middle name, Bruce, means “Fairy in the Thicket”. The Celtic and Druidic people knew, just as the First Nation, Native American, Buddist and many other ancient shamanistic practitioners that there is more to the world than what we see. You see Trevor, the grass at your feet knows more than any of humans can ever imagine. We in this world measure knowledge with college degrees. How many professors can regrow a part of our body like a starfish? No, we humans really know nothing.”
Sitting here today, next to the statue of Harvey, with the recorded calls of Harvey echoing, I know that my Grandfather McIntosh was faithful and wise. For someone who said they didn’t know anything, it seems like he had lots of stories that were full of knowledge. Grandfather Quentin often said, “Puccas are ancient Celtic beings that live in the oceans, the thickets, the rivers and mountains. They surround us. When you are ready, your spirit being will introduce himself.”
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You came here today to listen and learn. Where do I start? At the beginning? Well the beginning is an ill defined point in time. Even the Big Bang had a precursor, so Harvey tells me. Well, since my mind is wired differently, you will have to follow along the circuitous path of our lives together, let’s start on that fateful Day Chim Chim and met each other, and Harvey.
Ironically, the day I met Chim Chim, Harvey introduced himself that same day.
Chim Chim is short for Chimanuya. I remember when she introduced herself, I was charmed be her sing song accent. She told me, “I got this accent from living in Atlanta, Georgia.” Of course I laughed and asked her if she was Jaimacan. “No, I am from Nigeria.” I am here to be your camera person. I have amy Photography degreee from the University of Georgia. I uderstand you are needing to document a new Humpback whale. “ And by the Way, I am African, NOT African American
Harvey was an illusive whale, Yes, we have seen him from a distance, but no one has any pictures. He appears quite elderly, but we would like to catalog not only blood samples, but pictures and videos to identigy Him and study age, sex. We call him a Him as he is alone here in the Alaskan waters.”
She looked at me for a long moment and said, “You can call me Chim Chi, before walking away abruptly”
The next day we were slowly cruising through the waters West of Juneau Alaska. The Sound engineers were playing the call of a whale that seemed to be literally following us. Humpback whales have unique calls, but no one had heard or could identify this series of squeaks, moans and sounds as a known whale. We needed pictures of the whale to confirm that this was a newly identified whale. I had not cataloged a new whale since 4 years ago when I took a photo of a whale in this same stretch of water. It was one year ago ast year of my PhD thesis program. My Father Charlie, had ridiculed me for being an “idiot, You could have been a Cardiac surgeon like your Mother by now, but you are chasing whales like an idiot. You are just like your Grandfather, always chasing Fairies.”
Over the next few weeks Chim Chim and I talked, and every-time she spoke I was becoming more enthralled by her beauty. Not only was her accent a sing song cadence of the most charming and magical style, but she was likely the most intelligent person I had ever met.
Chim and Chim and I were sitting on the Bow observation deck, near the surface of the ocean, hoping to catch a glimpse of a fin or tail to document and identify a new whale. We had only so far identified the as of yet identified Humpback whale song. We had seen the tail fin a week earlier, and no one could identify it, so we thought this was an older whale and a not yet identified Humpback Whale. No one was able to document the sighting with camera or video.
I had named him Harvey, in honor of my Grandfather who told me that Puccas were real, and came in all shapes and sizes. “Trevor, you should know your Pucca immediately, as you are a Fairy in the Thicket.” I was beginning to think that maybe Grandfather was not so crazy.”
Chim Chim said, “Trevor, I think I hear him coming, your Harvey is speaking to us.” The sound engineer at that moment said, “Trevor, I think Harvey is coming to say hello, that’s his call.” In the same moment, inexplicably, Harvey breached, only a few feet from the observation deck, and purposefully turned his head to look me straight in the eye for what seemed like an eternal quantum moment. I wept silently, knowing, without any doubt, Harvey was my Fairy in the Thicket. This Humpback whale was more than a mortal being.
For 5 hours our team interacted with Harvey, getting blood samples, measuring girth and size, and Harvey posed for Chim Chim’s camera, as if Harvey knew exactly which fins and profiles were needed for proper identification. The sea was unusually calm and we were able to follow Harvey all day as he breached, and showed off his skills as an acrobat all day. Chim Chim said, “Trevor, you won’t believe this, but look at this tail fin profile, it is exactly shaped and shaded matching your birth mark on your temple.” I can hear Grandfather whispering in my ear, “Aptly named, Harvey was a Pucca too. You see, now you are complete.”
We stayed up all night after the first encounter with Harvey. Chim told me, “How can we pretend to be intelligent after seeing the eyes of Harvey? He has the wisdom David emanating from eyes and infusing our souls.” All I remember about that night was weeping with joy, and falling in love with Chim Chim…..
So this was the beginning of the great adventure of life.
Let’s sit and listen so we can together find our own Pucca.
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