Welcome to 90 Days Of Summer! What’s your name and what fills your time?

My name is Lee Richard McCormick. I was born at Baptist Hospital in Jacksonville a long time ago, 1956 LOL! I’m of the old beach McCormick clan. My dad was Ben McCormick. My Mom was Pauline. My sister was Barbara and my brother was Skipper. Reid, Wade, Patricia, Suzanne and Haden are my first cousins as well as Geordy, Abby, Norah, and Shawn Murphy. I say all that because family was a big presence in my life growing up. I loved my family and by the time I was 17 or so I had to go somewhere that was clear of all that. While I did and do still love the beach and the woods of old Florida, life felt like there was so much more out there and I wanted to see what was going on beyond the world as I had been taught. The beaches have always felt like home though. Even after 45 years with my legal residence in Tennessee, Florida still feels like home in a way Tennessee never has. These days I have to drop beneath the surface of all the development and people but that energy of the real Florida is still there. I prefer cypress ponds and black water swamps to country clubs and golf courses.

I was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago and ended up at Mayo in Jacksonville for treatment. My niece Lisa Shad Mantock lives at the beach and she made me a home away from home while I went through the year of treatments. I could never thank her enough for being so good to me. We’ve gotten closer than I think we ever were growing up. Life has its way of bringing full circles back around again. I have 4 daughters and 5 grandchildren.

I’m married to an amazing woman Mee McCormick, you’d have to google her. She’s a chef and author and a force all her own. We still live in Nashville but our youngest daughter Lola goes to Ole Miss this August with her sister Isabella who will be a senior this year. Once Lola has moved, who knows where we might wander but one thing is for sure we will be back around the old beach a lot more.

Anything special going on for this summer?

This summer is busy. I’m working on a 4th book focused on all I’ve experienced and learned over 25 years working with people in the recovery and Life change journey. Mee is taking Lola to Europe for three weeks and Bella and I are staying in Nashville. Bella is a very gifted singer/songwriter. I love seeing her follow her heart and she’s got the magic to be whatever she chooses. 

I’ll be visiting my daughter Anastasia Rowe and her family, yes I named her after Anastasia Island, in Beaufort South Carolina. My first daughter Alexis and her three not so little any more babies and I are doing a road trip together to Beaufort for a week. After that, I’ll come back to the beach. 

How do you like being from the First Coast?

I’m very fortunate in my life that I have pursued the things I have loved. From Music to ranching, I have been in the cattle and quarter horse business for 40 years, to creating recovery centers and blending healing ways from indigenous ceremonies, and medicine plants to modern mental health modalities into a congruent experience to inspire people to go deeper in their lives. Honestly, I love it all and between the different worlds I have lived in there is a balance there. My passion is really for life. The textures, tastes, colors, feelings, magic and mysteries all keep me wanting to show up. 

What’s something cool, funny or different that people might know about you?

As far as something people may not know about me? Not many people know me as a whole. What I mean is they know me as a creative in the mental health /addictions treatment realm or they know me as a cattleman or as a surfer beach guy or as a music man. Some people think I’m a jackass, others think I’m a magician. I’m all of it I’d say. Hell I don’t take any of it personally anymore, it’s all the relationships that have inspired me in life. Sometimes I’m asked how can you do all that stuff? Well, I’m 68. I’ve lived a lot of life. I’ve really followed my heart and I tend to stick with something when I believe in it. One thing I got from my Dad is I don’t give much, if any, attention to other people’s opinions when I’m focused on something I believe in. That makes life much easier to navigate.

What I love about the first coast is the coast. I love the history from St. Augustine to Fernandina. I miss those days when we all knew each other or were only one degree of separation from each other. Walking the beach is still walking the beach. I like to walk with my feet in the water and I look out to sea more than I look at what’s been built along the beach. Most of what’s called progress is a mess to me, not a blessing. We humans get so indulgent in our “stuff” it’s really the hungry ghost that the Buddhists talk about.

Underneath all the frenzy and development and money and crowds there’s still that energetic imprint of before it all got to be too much. I can still find that feeling and it will keep me coming back as long as it’s still alive. The sunsets over the Guana, the sunrise coming up out of the ocean. the clouds and that sea breeze they are like old friends.

Anything else that you would like to tell the community?

What I’d like to say to the community hmmm, well, just that word community says it all really. Our culture has lost its heart of community over the years. Community is the best of us as human beings. People heal in community more so than any therapist or medication or treatment center. In community we are all related. 

A healthy community is a diverse community not a single-minded or singular beliefs group. Diverse means all the people. All the colors, genders, faiths, talents, the more diverse the greater the spectrum of life we hold together and life is a vast spectrum of life. Fear and fearful judgments have caused us to tend to create communities based in fear. We stick together out of defensiveness or a need to be “right”. That’s too bad because it’s our hearts that hold our gifts and our greatest value in this life. In diversity, we can better see ourselves as a whole and we see God’s creation for all the unique ways we are each created.

Life’s a trip and we get to ride this ride by our choices and actions. That’s quite a deal really.

Meanwhile, back at the beach the tide will come in and out and the breeze will blow and life will roll on.

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Mike Kaufmann

Mike is a native First Coaster and was a leading figure in surfing and skateboarding for most of his life. After promoting music for many years on the local music scene, Mike now brings a unique perspective to FirstCoast.Life as a contributing writer.

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