Bowling Green’s cave is a fascinating one, featuring a huge room large enough to hold several hundred people and an underground waterway that runs some 7 miles (only part of it accessible for tours). Once used as a dump site, in its more exciting days it was a night club and in an earlier century a Civil War camp. Its first inhabitants would have enjoyed it as a shelter and source of water. Maybe they camped there during the hot summer months.
In “Lost River,” Derek, Cecily’s ex, is trying to put his life back together, though he still pines for Cecily. Its through his eyes that we learn of the explosion of a meth lab that likely scared them both straight. He is scarred, literally, from bits of glass hitting his face. Now, in current time, he has finished his education degree and teaches 3rd grade. On this day, he has taken his students on a field trip to Lost Cave. (The image, below is shared with permission of Maura Gerard, thanks so much!)
When they arrive, they pause on the path to the cave, which
led them past a blue hole, Ripley’s shortest river, running only 400 feet to the cave entrance. Once believed to be over 400 feet deep, the pool was actually only ten feet deep, linked with the underground river, where a current once deposited things miles away.
The guide’s voice got low and he looked around, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear. “In a similar incident three soldiers went swimming, one didn’t come back, and his two friends, one by one, dove in to see what they could grab hold of. They were never seen again.”
Forty round eyes met his.
“Is that how come they call it the Lost River, ‘cause of people getting lost?”
The guide turned a page in his mental notes. “Late in the 18th century, some people found sawdust that was dumped into the water here in a pond about three miles away. That’s when they realized there had to be an underground river connecting the ponds all along.”
Lucy peered over the railing, into the greenish blue water.
“It don’t look anything special,” she said. “Looks like my grandma’s pond.”
“I don’t care what it looks like. You wouldn’t see me dive in after they didn’t come up!”
This was met with a chorus of “Me neither” and “That’s straight” and “I would . . . for a million dollars.”
Inside the cave, once settled on their boat, Derek has a panic attack but manages to keep it together. Below you can see that the ceiling is well above your head; however, at other points, you have to duck.
Derek is a kind man, tolerant and patient. The story takes place on a single day, a strange one, including a traffic accident involving Lucy, a trip to the hospital where he sits with Lucy’s mother, Mrs. Jackson, and where he sees and talks briefly with Cecily. It’s a story of coincidences, the kind you might describe as “stranger than fiction.” But that’s how life works, in my experience, and especially when we’re paying attention, not lost in our thoughts, rehashing mistakes, planning that lottery win, worrying over bills or why no one takes us seriously.
You can purchase Letters from the Karst at your local bookstore or on amazon, here.
Jane Olmsted 