Jake Burford

I know Jake through the magic of the internet.  One of the Mobile folks id shot made a post on social media posts about tinyboatsession and Jake reached out and asked if I was still in the area.  I was, and it turned out not too far away..  He was, in fact, at a friend's house close to a place I knew well–Mudbugs.  Mudbugs is a little seafood joint where I have gotten many pounds of crawfish in my life and eatin' them on my grandma's porch by Mobile Bay,  On Dauphin Island, and at my uncle's pier on Dog River.   

Though I had spent some time on Dog River I was excited to find a little stretch of it at the end of a road that I never would have found in a million years.  The house had a narrow boat launch in its backyard and though close to some major roads felt like the back of beyond.  One of the first things I noticed about Jake was that he had a tattoo of Alan-a-dale, the bard of Robin Hood, but specifically the one as a rooster from Disney that sang ‘Oo Da Lally.’  Since I’d heard that song the day before with Johnny and Steven it seemed like it might be a sign I was on the right path.

Jake and I rowed past some sunken sailboats and chatted while two dogs swam and barked around us.  Eventually, we found a great old cypress that had fallen. Spanish moss hung southern gothic-like.  It was the perfect place for a song about a ghost, and not just any ghost, but one on Dauphin Island.   It was sad, and it was spooky, and it made me think of all my explorations there over sand dunes and old Fort Gaines and answered many questions that I've had about that place, but left me with many more. Facebook: Jake Burford