Song of the Seashell – whorl 5

Jonathan was fourteen years old the day he, his uncle Mike and dog, Tipper, visited the Arrow Cave. It was late summer, the time of year when the hardwood trees begin to seed the forest floor with next year’s promise of new growth. They stood close together, facing the cave’s jagged mouth. Tipper sniffed at the cool, dank air and stepped cautiously into it’s maw.

Jonathan wanted nothing to do with cave exploring that day so he reached down, picked something up off the ground and said “Hey uncle Mike, do you know how to do this?” He brought both fists to his mouth and made one of the loudest, high-pitched whistles his uncle had ever heard.

Wild turkeys flew into the tree tops. Deer bounded down the hillside, with Tipper in hot pursuit. Jonathan grinned at his uncle, who was looking at him with eyes full of wonder. Uncle Mike whistled for Tipper, using his fingers. When she returned he turned to Jonathan and said “How did you do that?” Jonathan held an acorn cap in his upturned palm. “Want to learn?” he asked his uncle. “You bet I do” he replied.

Jonathan felt proud to be able to teach his uncle Mike something new. His uncle had taken he and his sister on many camping, canoeing, river rafting, rock climbing and other outdoor adventures, since coming to live with them a couple of years ago. He thought his uncle knew just about everything there was to know about the outdoors.

A friend had shown Jonathan how to whistle with an acorn cap just the day before. The friend’s father had taught his son two days earlier. The father had learned it from a buddy during the Vietnam War. The skill has been passed from person to person, down through the ages, until Jonathan taught his uncle Mike how to do it. This simple gift of knowledge began a series of events destined to alter the history of Music.