Last night my wife and I attended the first ever Bonaventure Cemetery after hours tour. This was an event that came to me through a Facebook invitation. I had ridden by Bonaventure several times in my past life in Savannah but I had never entered the gates. When I did think about it the gates were locked. My wife and I love Savannah and want to experience everything that defines her. So after a quick check with Michele I bought the tickets.   They were not terribly expensive but they were not so cheap that I didn’t expect a good tour. In my opinion I got what I paid for.

As with everything I do I arrived 30 minutes early. After watching the others I figured out that I was parked in the wrong place. I was parked inside and the whole point of the event was to be in the cemetery AFTER the gates were locked. After getting the go ahead from Jennifer, a very nice young lady who was clearly an organizer of the event, I moved the family truckster to a spot outside the gates. Around that point I noticed Shannon Scott. At that point I didn’t know his name but his arrival in his Mustang with a Georgia Prestige tag of “SSGHOST” led my mind to believe he had something to do with this. We gathered outside of the pedestrian gate in a circle and awaited the beginning of the event. Jennifer met us with a smile on her face offering water and giving directions on what was about to occur. Something to note; in the entire three plus hours I was there I only ever saw a smile on Jennifer’s face. That means a lot to a customer. I feel better when the people there at least act like they are happy to be there and this staff was nothing but enthusiastic. Shannon appeared and got things started by personally introducing himself to every person there. I had never seen this done before. In my years of going to meetings and training there was always that damn go around the room and introduce yourself. I am certainly glad we didn’t do that. We entered the cemetery grounds and Mr. Bui or Bowie, I don’t know which, locked the gates and Shannon described him as one of the hardest working people in town. As Shannon started to get things started the rest of the crew showed up. It is irritating when people can’t go along with the program and be there ON TIME. But that’s another blog.

Shannon starts the tour with a poem. He gives us the lowdown on the history of Bonaventure and how this whole thing got started. With the first instruction of “Let’s head this way Gang”, we head off to the first grave site. This is the point where I knew I was getting my money’s worth. I expected a tour of many many graves with a one minute explanation of how they passed on to the other side. What I got was a very detailed story of the lives of the people buried there. We covered many graves and every one was explained in detail. Shannon describes himself as a storyteller. That he is. It is obvious that he has done much research and knows his subject matter. He seemed to bring the subjects of his stories back to life with the details of their lives and subsequent deaths. I felt like I was there with Little Gracie when she left us. I felt like I was present when Johnny Mercer handed a new song to Nat King Cole. Shannon clearly takes this seriously. He conducted the tour as a storyteller and not a tour guide. There was no rehearsed script as someone suggested at the beginning of the event.  He clearly needed no notes on his subjects. This, I appreciated. A tour guide is doing a job for a paycheck. Shannon did this as a storyteller who has a close connection with the property and the people buried there. I won’t go into details of the different stories. I paid for that and there is no way I could ever tell it all correctly. Towards the end we were treated to a special surprise that I will not reveal, gotta pay for that too. The tour ended at the bluff which I think is the prettiest. We took the long walk back to the main gate but along the way you get to see the lush moss hanging from the trees. It was a great date for my wife and I.

Back at the main gate we received goody bags and took group photos. My wife and I had many conversations on the way home about the stories and our experience. Michele told me that she had read some negative comments about this event earlier that day. Shannon made mention that there was some resistance to the whole idea. Seeing as how this was the first one I don’t see how anyone could have a negative opinion. I mean it hadn’t happened yet. The thirty or so of us paying FIRST customers have the right to criticize if we so choose. I choose not to. My only problem with the entire evening is that one sand fly bit me. That’s right, one. Shannon promises to add new stories to the tour so you never take the same one twice. That was an enticing bit of information and I am anxiously awaiting another tour. I would like the tour to start later, preferably after dark. I am sure this was discussed and although I don’t know I’m certain some lawyer somewhere discourages this because some poor soul might trip over a root or a rock.  Get over it. Give me a waiver form and I’m there with a flashlight ready to enjoy myself.