Jimmy Buffett and the Governor Stone (Part 3)

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Well, it happened to be true. JW did know Jimmy Buffett and he was also a man of his word. Had I not taken the picture, I truly believe he would have given it to the stranger across the room. “Where did you come up with this picture?” I asked. “Jimmy brought it to me when he came through one day. He was looking to purchase the Governor Stone to  restore her. I think he just hated seeing the second oldest ship in the United States die a slow death. So the artist, Robert Payne, put this deal together to help raise money to restore the old lady and Jimmy Buffett was part of the fund raiser. Jimmy was going to purchase the ship and restore it himself and was just about to do it when the government decided to buy her and restore her themselves.  They had printed up 300 hundred of these prints and now you own one of them.

Words could not describe how I felt at that moment. JW had made a huge sacrifice just to honor his word and there was no way he was going to take the picture back. I was honored to have the artwork and Jimmy Buffett’s signature proudly affixed to it, along with Robert Payne’s.

“So where is the Governor Stone?” I asked. “I don’t know.” JW  replied, “somewhere in the panhandle of Florida, I guess. If the government has her, she is probably in some ship yard rotting away.” I was wondering if JW was correct about the old girl just tied up to some dock rotting away. With my love of the water and boats I was hoping he was wrong.

About a year had passed and my wife, Chrysse, and I were taking a trip on our Harley Davison across the panhandle in Florida. We had been driving most of the day and starting  looking for a place to spend the night. I don’t recall the name of that little town we were in but there was this old hotel that was at the bottom of the bridge we had just crossed. Both of us were so tired that hotel could have been a tent and we would have stayed. When we walked into the lobby it was like stepping back into time. The old floors creaked with each step and and the air smelled of years gone by. Off to the right was an old-fashioned bar that look like it was built at the same time as the hotel in the late 1800′s or early 1900′s.

As I was checking in, Chrysse was looking at the brochure rack. “Look!” she said, “This brochure is about the Governor Stone. Isn’t that the picture you have hanging on the wall in your office that Jimmy Buffett signed?” It was indeed one in the same. But what was that brochure  doing here in this little town of probably 2500 people? “You guys interested in the Governor Stone?” asked the front desk clerk, “It’s docked just a couple of blocks away at the marina.”

My mind was flooded with questions. How did she get here? Was she restored to her glory or was she rotting away like JW had suggested? Could I go on the docks where she was moored? It felt like JW had just handed me the picture all over again and I could not wait meet the Governor Stone in person. Truth be told, I think Chrysse was just as excited.

Stay tuned for Part 4!