Return To Teal Lake
James Flanigan
©
Copyright 2025 by James Flanigan
|
Photo courtesy of the author. |
For
sixty years, I harbored a desire to return to Teal Lake in the
Northwoods of Wisconsin. I wasn’t sure why. Was it to evoke
memories from my past? Was it to find something I was looking for?
Perhaps something I had lost … or maybe never had. Regardless
of the reason, I kept a return to Teal Lake on my “to do”
list for six decades.
The
weird thing is that I didn’t have many sharp memories of Teal
Lake from when I vacationed there as a child with my parents. All I
have are some hazy recollections of the lodge where we ate some
meals, our rustic cabin, wading in the lake water (I was a
non-swimmer at that age), and boating with my father over its glassy
surface early in the morning on our way to weedy parts to catch some
fish for that day’s dinner. I do clearly recall standing with
my father, both proudly staring at the skull of a twenty-four-inch
Northern Pike mounted over the barn door, in recognition of that
being quite a catch for a young boy my age.
That
was before anyone knew just how sick he was. Lung cancer claimed my
dad shortly after I turned eight-years-old. I had no clue what the
ramifications of losing my father would be. Looking back, I see them
all too clearly now.
He
would have been the magnetic north I needed for my life’s
compass to work properly. Without my father, I was all over the map.
No guidance. Questionable choices. Poor decisions. General
unhappiness. Culminating in hitting rock bottom. With the support of
friends, I started over. My wife took a chance on me as a reclamation
project. I’ve done my best to validate her decision.
My
mother never took me back for a Teal Lake vacation. She was even more
lost than I was without my father. Heck, she didn’t even know
how to drive when he passed away. Once she learned out of necessity,
my mom was unwilling to make the eight-hour drive back to Teal Lake
or afraid of the memories awaiting her. Perhaps both. From my
perspective, I was interested in a return to Teal Lake to dislodge
some memories from my subconscious to land in my conscious mind.
Once
the proprietors of Teal Lake Resort realized the need to establish an
online footprint many years ago, locating the resort and planning a
return became easier. I found it situated twenty miles east of
Hayward, Wisconsin. It grew over the years of my cyber-stalking, to
where I wondered if it indeed was the property I had enjoyed as a
child.
The
resort owners added a pool, along with a golf course. New cabins
popped up along the shore. Guests could choose between additional
recreational opportunities like beach volleyball, paddle boarding,
and kayaking. There were few resort vibes when I stayed there, but it
sure had grown to become one. I don’t regret not returning to
the Teal Lake Resort in its heyday. It would have been unrecognizable
to me. My career, five children, many foster children, home
maintenance, property upkeep, and looking after aging parents kept my
family and me from visiting Teal Lake for years. And perhaps I was
apprehensive about what I would find upon my return.
But
I never forgot about Teal Lake and fantasized about a return to its
shores and maybe glimpse ghosts from my past. Over the decades apart,
Teal Lake Resort’s popularity waxed and then waned. Today,
their resort business is just a shell of what it once was. Private
parties purchased most of the cabins. The lodge is now used for junk
storage. They filled in the pool with dirt rather than water. Nature
has reclaimed the golf course. The barn with the mounted skull of my
prized fishing catch collapsed long ago. Some older rental watercraft
and the lake waters provide the only remaining recreational
opportunities. The constant has always been the lake itself, awaiting
my return.
In
a smaller house with a smaller yard and fewer people for whom to
care, I floated the idea of a Teal Lake vacation to my wife and
youngest child. I was not sure how they would react to spending a few
days in a rustic cabin. They indulged my flight of fancy and agreed
to a vacation in one of the few rental properties remaining at Teal
Lake … as long as it had Wi-Fi.
I
remembered arriving at Teal Lake as a child after an undulating drive
through woods. Well, that experience was no longer available as road
improvements have reduced the travel time to a smooth six hours.
Pulling into the resort, I immediately recognized the property. That
was definitely it. I had finally returned to Teal Lake. However, no
ghosts and few memories greeted me as we explored what remained of
the resort and along the lake shore. The best option seemed to be to
make some fresh memories, and so we did. The property exuded
tranquility. Sunsets were glorious. Sitting by the water was an
immersion in serenity. And oh, that water. It’s inviting to
slide into or glide across by boat.
I
took every opportunity each day we were there to explore Teal Lake by
boat or swimming its open waters. It’s a “no wake”
lake, so it was safe to swim anywhere in the lake with boats going at
slow speeds. Raspberry Island was directly across the lake from our
cabin, inviting us to swim or boat across to explore it. When we did,
we didn’t find any raspberries on it, but plenty of terrain to
hike. Bird Island was directly on the left side of Raspberry Island
as I looked from shore. I wouldn’t know why it was called that
until I swam to it.
Before
we left for home, I was determined to get in one big swim. I had swum
out to Raspberry Island several times, but to make a memorable,
challenging swim, I took a left at Raspberry Island to head toward
Bird. As I approached the smaller Bird Island, I noticed a duck
floating in the reeds just off Bird’s shore. At that point, I
needed a rest, so I slowly approached the duck. We enjoyed a moment
together as the duck allowed me to get very close to it before
becoming bored and slowly swimming off. I saw no more birds on or
around the island, but that single duck encounter was enough for me
to appreciate the Bird Island name.
Swimming
around Bird Island without knowing exactly how big it is may have
been a questionable decision, but I figured it was worth the risk and
went for it. Circumnavigating the island added significant time to my
swim, but I enjoyed the challenge and being serenaded by the calls of
a lone loon bobbing about in the middle of the lake.
It
took me about an hour total to return to the water just off the pier
outside our cabin. I had previously experienced what is called
runner’s high. If someone told me there was such a thing as
swimmer’s high, I would have believed them. Exhaustion and
exhilaration consumed me as I laid back and floated. Perhaps
swimmer’s high is the reason for one special moment after the
swim that I’ll never forget.
I
stared at the white, billowy clouds overhead as I relaxed on my back
in the water. After a few seconds, they seemed to come closer to me.
Were they coming down to envelop me, or was I rising toward them? It
wasn’t clear to me. I thought I was still in the water, but
wasn’t entirely sure. I sensed definite movement, and my
rendezvous with the clouds seemed very real and imminent as they
loomed larger and larger. As I stared at the clouds, they seemed to
open their puffy arms to welcome me.
It's
funny how your senses can deceive you. I decided against being
swallowed by the clouds and perhaps being magically transported to a
parallel universe, an alternate timeline, heaven, hell, or somewhere
in between. At what seemed to me like the very last moment, I blinked
and looked away. I found myself still on my back in Teal Lake with
those mischievous clouds far up in the sky. I felt content to be
right where I was with chapters, or at least pages, still to write in
my book of life. With fresh memories of Teal Lake to complement the
old, faded ones.
I
started writing late in life just a few years back. I have had a
little success with limited submissions. I took second in a short
story contest in 2023 and received some awards for online
micro-fiction in 2024. I have
started to focus more on writing this year after semi-retiring toward
the end of 2024. This will be the second nonfiction I have ever
submitted. The first was a piece sent to you about an encounter with
a praying mantis.
(Unless
you
type
the
author's name
in
the subject
line
of the message
we
won't know where to send it.)
Another
story by James
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