The Music Box by the Seashore

By Thomas James Stewart

A retired sea captain that sailed the seven seas has these dream like visions of a floating box, and within it is a mysterious music box. Till this day, its still questionable of its organ or its mystical power of answering prayers. As the chapters unfold, the box travels the seven seas along with two white sea doves to the troubled people of each shore. Different organs of the world and their land mass light houses and their cultures, and most of all, seven prayers answered by the sea shores.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512777895

Thomas James Stewart

Thomas Stewart and his wife have been marred for twenty one yrs and live in Gulf shores Alabama. Three beautiful adult children, Brandi, Brandon,Tamera, and five beautiful grandchildren. Drake, Bailey,Maddison, Colby ,Caleb.Thomas likes spending time at the beach as much as possible and is truly a family man.

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Copyright © 2017 Thomas James Stewart.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-7790-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7791-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7789-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017903236

WestBow Press rev. date: 2/27/2017

I humble myself in the memory

of this book

The Music Box by the Seashore

To Bud Clark, in memory of one of my closest friends.

Over several years of knowing him, I grew to love him like a natural brother with his intelligence and mindfulness, his mental acuteness and his forward, cerebral mind, which transmitted his notable personality. Tammy and I placed this memorable essence of a loving soul in the very top of our family tree. With its many natural branches, it will carry the heavy load of his loving heart. We say farewell to your physical substance, but your heart, soul, and spiritual presence will always be with our family in our love for you.

Tammy’s and my love and support go out to his wife, Sandy. She still resides in Phoenix, Maryland.

When you pray a blessed prayer by the seashore and you receive a spiritual blessing from the divine music box by the seashore, you should honorably return a blessed gift back to the open sea and give a blessed prayer for a safe voyage and passage to the divine music box and for the next deliverance to the next soul that has prayed a blessed prayer by the seashore.

—from The Divine Music Box by the Seashore

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Biography of Captain James Calloway III

As the Story Begins

Information

CHAPTER 1   North Pacific Sea

CHAPTER 2   Mediterranean Sea

CHAPTER 3   Caspian Sea, Ostrav, Chicken Lighthouse

CHAPTER 4   North Atlantic Sea

CHAPTER 5   South Atlantic Sea, Rock Lighthouse

CHAPTER 6   Indian Sea, Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

CHAPTER 7   Arctic Sea

EPILOGUE   The Voice of the Author Gives his Ending of the story

A Note from the Author

Conversation with the Author

APPENDIX   Spiritual Doves and Birds of Different Feathers

About the Author

PREFACE

This is a message from the author about how this story became a book from numerous sheets of paper and collaborations of thought.

As the author, living by the Alabama coastline within a short distance of the fabled historical Fort Morgan, I took this great opportunity in visiting and exploring this masonry fort. I became engrossed by all of its American history, including several engagements in wars and battles that were fought many years past. As I walked through the fort, the voices of old seemed to speak to me in whispers. As I continued to explore this abandoned fort, the bricks looked to be hardened and cracked, as if it had sustained its walls and barriers with a hardened spirit and soul. Its endless passageways seemed to tell of a path worn by the soldiers, weary and torn by the battle that once was concealed within its walls. The fort tells of the protectors of this somber place, which is a story of strength and survival. As the wind blew, the cries of soldiers rang out, and I got a chill that made my skin tingle with awe. I was taken to a time when the fighting spirit of the people that protected this fort was strong and courageous. The fort is now worn and ragged, but its walls still stand, much like a heart that has been wounded and has walls protecting its outer layer from the tearing, piercing stabs of the pains of battle. As I took in all the beauty and mystery of this fort, I understood its importance and the significance that it has within our history. I decided then to dive more into this abandoned yet visited treasure of history.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No one can ever write a book alone without some support. I would now like to thank the following friends and family members who helped make this story possible. Without the help of my family and friends, who gave me the encouragement and support I needed to write Music Box by the Seashore, which voyaged through and around the Seven Seas. This music box gave new meaning and light to the spiritual blessings of deliverance of the souls that have prayed a blessed prayer by the seashore.

I would also like to thank the following people: my wife, Tammy Stewart, for her endless help in imagination and creativity and for her magic of fantasy that helped her put together her artistic illustrations for this book. I would like to thank my daughter-in-law Briana Stewart for the countless hours of devoted time and her interest in putting this story into proper form and book-worthy format with her naturally given talent for editing and the assembly and release of this book.

I would like to give my final thanks and acknowledgment to David Humphrey, a family member, for his personal encouragement and his provocation for this story. If it weren’t for his motivation for my first book No Body, it would not ever have been published. I will always be grateful, appreciative, and thankful for his support. Last, but never least, thank you to my wonderful Nebraska family, Frank and Vickie Sileder, for their support.

Now, to the readers who make this book possible, into the curious, reclusive life of words in the imagination of one’s mindful conscious thoughts, I give all my appreciation to my many fans for their unfailing support and encouragement.

INTRODUCTION

In the next seven chapters, I will try to convince all of you to believe spiritual and divine voices are prevailing from the music box or possibly from the presence of the Hebrew scrolls, the fine spirits of all the seven rum bottles, or from the two white spiritual doves. I hope to intrigue you, my audience, for your pleasure. As you read each chapter, may it occupy your interest and may it fascinate your mind and pique your curiosity. As these fictional stories are at play, may all these seven chapters bring a bit of humbleness to your soul and warm your heart. May the message to humankind and the Seven Sea Scrolls’ prayers that were found in the spiritual music box bring you inspiration, sacredness, and inspiration throughout your life.

The author would like to thank you all for your time and interest, and most of all, thank you for your diligence in letting me share this story from the Alabama coastline as Captain Calloway takes you through the old fabled fortification of the masonry brick fort, Fort Morgan, which was built in the 1800s, in the seventh year of Baldwin County, Alabama. As we turn the pages, let us begin with old sea captain James Calloway III. Captain Calloway welcomes all readers into his life story, telling of his times as a salty sea captain in The Music Box by the Seashore.

BIOGRAPHY OF CAPTAIN JAMES CALLOWAY III

As this fictional story begins, I would like to offer you a brief history lesson about the old sea captain’s life. Calloway was born in Baldwin County, Alabama, into the family of Calloways that settled in that region at that time. Calloway’s father’s name was James S. Calloway II. He was born in Lafayette, Kentucky. His mother’s name was Brandie Tinker. She was born and raised in the state of Missouri. Calloway received a liberal education during that period of time; he was raised on the Alabama coastline, where he learned to fish with his father and family members. As for his personal appearance, he had the stature of six feet two inches and was a very thick-chested man, with his rounded shoulders that were close to his head. Like most old sea captains, he also carried a rounded head and a very high forehead that gave him the look of natural intelligence and mental acuteness, and his voice carried with it distinction as well as his authoritative conveyance. His eyes were set deep into his forehead and were dark blue, like the evening sky. They seemed to always shine with a bit of humbleness. His ears were very large in size and close to his head. The old captain wore a closed, button-up shirt with a small pin of a ship that was located on the front of his ragged and torn shirt. The hat he wore was designed to shield him from the harsh sun rays, and his pants were held up with a rope, which also gave them a little style. His hat rested on his head with a tilt to the right that showed a glimpse of authority as he walked about the ship’s deck. Calloway, being a tall man, wore a shoe size of fourteen double wide, and as he walked, he had a graceful movement of refinement and a bit of kindness about him with his stride.

He began pursuing his lifelong dream of being a sea captain in the year 1881 at the early age of twenty. As a captain, he started taking on the responsibility of transporting precious cargo with a group of a dozen or so sailors and deckhands, who at the call of his stern voice, would strike purpose and respect to take on any wish that the captain might have. Captain Calloway had a passion and skill for navigating the phantom sea ship, and he called his beauty the Mary C. Whaler. It carried the length of three hundred feet and the span of one hundred feet wide. As he navigated the Mary through foreign ports and canals during his thirty-year career, he had the opportunity to meet different native people, aborigines from the western hemisphere.

After his long career, he retired and returned to his native town in Baldwin County, Alabama, in 1911 at the age of fifty-one. After retirement, his personal appearance showed the heavy toll the sea took on his body. His face carried the hard, withered look of leather, and his face was etched with lines that told of the many journeys, battles, and memories of times past that were embedded in his face and eyes. His nose was pointed outward with the distinction of being worthy, and his skin appeared to show the elements of sun and the harsh salt air that had become ingrained within his very pores.

He kept a long, refined white beard that also showed the outward appearance of a most distinguished fellow, and on his hands, he bore thick calluses from all the years of hard work at sea.

During the year 1879, in the latter part of the month of September, Calloway lost his thumb and index finger while battling a severe storm in the Chesapeake Bay near the reef of the fabled structure of Thomas Point Lighthouse. Shortly after his retirement in the year 1913, Calloway married a beautiful woman named Tammy Crowder. As time passed, he settled in a township called Morgan Town, named after the historical Fort Morgan in Alabama. Together, Tammy and Calloway built a four-room cabin out of native water oaks, which were plentiful at that time around the coastal region.

Their cabin was constructed a short distance east of the old fort by the coastline, and during the construction, they battled several winter storms from the gulf before the completion of their home. Calloway started clearing their land in order to meet the growing need to feed his livestock and have a place for their barn. Tammy started a family garden on the lower part of the cleared land for their survival while they were living on the coastline. After all was finished and Calloway had completed his homestead settlement, he would routinely take a short walk to the shoreline to watch the sunset over the Alabama Gulf Coast and would take a brief respite.

Chapter 1

Locations: North Pacific Sea, Pilot Town, and Old Soul Lam

1. Mother—Renea Clark

2. Daughter—Martha Clark (She was blind.)

3. Brother—Tommy Clark

4. Father—Captain Clark

Chapter 2

Locations: Mediterranean Sea, Town of Gerona, August Contest, Gerona Lighthouse, Boston Fortress, and the Capella Castle

1. Father—Mark

2. Girl—Cripple Franchascia

3. Blind boy—Jerry

4. John Defrank Cuppilo III, Gerona, Italy

Chapter 3

Locations: Caspian Sea, City of Ani, Ostrov Chicken Lighthouse, Silk Road

1. Father—Clark

2. Artist—Andrew

As the author, I would like to voyage silently from this acknowledgment and leave you on the Gulf of Mexico with the endless motion of waves that calms me. I will also leave you, my readers, on the pleasant Alabama coastline that gently surrounds the masonry fortification of the fabulous Fort Morgan and its legendary history, which it embraces.

AS THE STORY BEGINS

The old sea captain James Calloway III was enjoying his brief respite, sitting in an old chair that had washed ashore after a winter storm years before. He relocated the old chair from the shoreline at high tide so he could leave it in the same location for a daily return for his meditation. The old captain also enjoyed smoking his special blend of tobacco in his hand-carved ivory pipe, made from an elephant tusk. He had traded a native in South Africa an old pocket watch for it. The fine, intricate, detailed shapes of seabirds were carved all around the ivory. As the fragrance left the pipe, so did the slow flow of smoke, which caught the south winds of the sea. As Calloway sat and smoked, his mind wandered out to the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf was the color of a margarita, and the breezes were cool and intoxicating along the Alabama coast.

As Calloway sat on the shore, his thoughts were persistently pulled back to his thirty years of sea voyages and journeys, which led him to faraway countries with the great responsibility of precious cargo to be delivered from one country to another. Then the old captain fell into a deep sleep as the dolphins and pelicans turned, twisted, and splashed. As time passed by, the high tide arrived on the seashore, bringing with it debris from an unknown shipwreck. Floating debris of all shapes and sizes—wooden planks and glass bottles of different colors—came in while Calloway was fast asleep. As waves of illumination continued to rush upon the majestic shore, more debris arrived with each wave. As the sun set with reds and burnt orange, in the distance, a wooden box rode the waves. A flock of birds was perched on the old box like it was a special gift sent from the heavens above.

As the high tide traveled to the shoreline, so did the box and flock of birds. They traveled with each wave as if they were the guardian angels of this special gift. The box traveled its last wave and settled a short distance to the left of Calloway, who was still fast asleep. Then all of a sudden, the flock of birds that had traveled with and guarded the old box started circling and perching on it. They all cried out loud, shrill distress calls, as if they knew the old captain was not aware of the special gift that had arrived. After a short time, Calloway was awakened. He was astonished by all the debris. He was also amazed by the distress cries that came from the birds guarding the box.

As he stood up from the old chair, Calloway calmly tapped his ivory pipe on one of its arms to knock out all the burned tobacco from his pipe. Calloway stood and observed the old box and birds. The sun was still setting over the gulf’s horizon. Then a bright light shined in his face. All the weathered lines from the stress he had endured as a sea captain were visible. His face also carried a hard, leathered look. He stood slowly, awakening from his deep sleep. He wondered what could be inside the box that caused all the seabirds to keep such a presence over it. There is an old saying, Birds of different feathers bring messages.

A thought came to the old captain. There was some kind of spirit that had been cast over the birds. As he walked toward the commotion, he held his ivory pipe firmly in his left hand, concerned about his findings. As he approached the birds perched on the wooden box, they took flight and circled him. He leaned over to remove the weathered lid and noticed that the nails holding the box together were extremely old. Their heads were shaped like none he had seen during his seagoing life. As he looked around at the debris, he found an old rusty rod, which he picked up to remove the box’s lid.

Much to his amazement, he found some old rum bottles that had to date back several hundred years. Their rounded bottoms made them impossible to stand up. As he looked closely at all the contents, he found another container that appeared to be an old music box made of gopher wood—the same wood that was used during biblical times. Historians believed that Noah’s ark was built out of gopher wood. After Calloway observed the box’s contents, he decided it was far too heavy to carry. He went to his barn and came back with a small wagon that had steel wheels with wide rims. On his return trip, he decided to take the old trail that would lead him back to the shoreline, where the beach sand would be harder and hold up the wagon and its heavy load.

As the captain came upon the debris, he removed it and cleared a path for his travel. To his amazement, the seabirds were still vigilantly guarding the music box and rum bottles. As he reached for the old box once again, the birds left in flight, like they had before, as if they had learned the routine. Calloway loaded up the wagon with his cargo and started back down the cleared path onto the hard sand. As he traveled the shoreline to his old barn, he looked up into the darkening sky and saw that all the birds were following him closely, as if they were still guarding the prized box from heaven. As he entered his barn, all the birds disappeared from the night skies, their spiritual responsibility apparently over. At this point, Calloway was tired from his long day of hard work and rescuing the rum bottles and music box from the shoreline and carrying them to safety.

The old sea captain closed the doors to his barn and called it a day. He returned to his house through the back porch. His wife, Tammy, approached him in the kitchen hallway. She could tell by the look on his weathered face that he felt discouraged, in despair, and uncertain about something that had happened during his daily work. Calloway just kept walking past his wife, sat down at the kitchen table, and began talking about his day. Tammy set the table with dinner plates and the meal she had prepared. She listened and expressed her thoughts. Calloway told her about the seabirds acting like guardian angels over the rum bottles and music box. She reminded him what folklorists believed—that birds of feathers brought messages. Now you are the keeper and the guardian angel of the special box that was sent from the heavens above, she said.

After Tammy made that statement, the old sea captain got very quiet. He was spellbound by what his responsibility could be and sat, speechless. After the evening meal and conversation about their days, Calloway and his wife prepared for sleep. Mrs. Calloway went about her normal routine, walking through the four-room cabin and turning out all the oil lamps, because there was no electrical service during 1913 on the Alabama’s Fort Morgan peninsula. The old captain was steadfast in his own nightly routine. He went out to his barn to make sure all of his livestock were in their holding stables. He also checked to see if his milk cows and goats had plenty of feed for the next day. Then he took the five-gallon containers of goat’s and cow’s milk that he had already turned into curd for cheese to the back porch.

Calloway made sure all the cheesecloths properly covered the containers’ necks. After placing them on the back porch for his wife so she could process cheese to sell at the local market, he went back to his barn, closed both of the big doors, and locked them for the night. Calloway returned to his cabin and raised one of the four windows on the back porch. As he walked through his cabin, he realized Tammy was already fast asleep and raised another window in their bedroom. Raising both windows let the cool ocean breeze pass through their cabin for the night. Calloway also enjoyed hearing the roaring of the ocean waves. This set his mind to his seafaring days and would put him to sleep quickly.

The next day, Calloway and Tammy were both awakened by the sun shining brightly through the raised windows. At the same time, two of their yard roosters loudly made their presence known. Sea doves were also perched on their wooden box. Both Calloway and Tammy began their day in the kitchen by preparing breakfast and enjoying small talk. While they ate, the captain looked out the kitchen windows and saw a pelican, two seagulls, and several skimmers. They were all perched on the fence railing outside. Tammy calmly walked to another window and stood in amazement at her findings. She began to rub her shoulders in distress. The cabin was quiet for a short time, as if there was a bad omen or a warning of further occurrences. Then Tammy turned away and went back to the kitchen table.

The captain, at this point, still had a lost look on his face. Tammy asked him, Are you all right? Is something wrong? As she sat and gazed upon her husband’s distraught face, she spoke in a soothing, calming voice that seemed like a whisper on the ears, and she began to tell him about another old folklore belief. Birds of the same feather flock together was the quote and basis of the story that came from her lips. The old captain agreed with her statement, and she replied very softly, But they’re all of different feathers that have flocked with one another.

Calloway told her in his own way he had never seen anything like this in his seafaring career before. Then he gave it a moment of thought and told her he believed the gathering of these different seabirds had a spiritual omen. The task of guarding the music box and rum bottles had been cast upon them …

The old captain finished his breakfast and then helped Tammy clear the table for their daily events. There was a still quietness between them. Tammy noticed that the captain was pondering what to do next. She told him that the birds were still outside and were very vigilantly waiting for him. Calloway had a lost look on his face.

What to do next? He pondered whether to venture about his day’s work or check on the old wooden box that held the rum bottles and music box. Then he asked his wife, Would you like to go see the findings in the old box?

She replied quickly, Yes, I would like to go with you and take a peek.

They both stopped what they were doing and went outside onto the back porch.

As they were walking very hesitantly toward the barn, all the seabirds started making their presence known by blurting out in each of their own native characteristic cries, which made both of the Calloways uneasy about continuing on to the barn. With their bravery and courage, they did not hesitate at all or stop. Both Calloways were uneasy about opening up the barn doors, but once the old captain opened up one of the big doors and started to enter the barn, all the seabirds stopped their cries. Then the two white sea doves landed on the captain’s shoulder. The old box was still sitting on the kitchen chair, where he had left it the day before. As they were both looking at the contents, Tammy noticed how all seven bottles and the music box were tightly packed within the fine straw, duck feathers, sea oats, and sea sponges. With all these different materials used for packing, none of the contents had been damaged during the box’s long voyage to land. The captain then asked his wife why there were only seven rum bottles instead of twelve, as was the normal unit of packaging items.

She replied, The number seven was used in the Bible hundreds of times. It was considered a holy number. She explained it to him in different ways. Like seven days of the week, there are seven seas, there were seven wise men, and the list goes on and on.

That gave the captain an understanding of why there were just seven rum bottles and the old music box was made of gopher wood. Then he gave a moment of thought to all the contents that were before him. Then he replied to her, as he was scratching his forehead, with a voice of uncertainty, All of the other contents must be from the biblical times as well.

Tammy, in her wisdom, agreed with him. Then she began to remove all seven bottles and lay them down on their flat side—because of their rounded bottoms—on a table beside them. Removing all the bottles first freed up the tightly packed box so the music box could be removed. Then Calloway began removing it very cautiously from all the different packing materials that were around it. He set it