Some kids want to grow up to be doctors, some to be pilots, some to be cowboys. Me, I always wanted to be a pirate. Give me a tall ship and a star to steer her by. I devoured tales of Florida's buccaneers, both real and imagined and the hearty mix of both that mostly prevails. Gasparilla, Calico Jack, Anne Bonney, Mary Reed, Black Caesar - their stories and the names they left on the keys and islands (Captiva!) still roll around in my brain like cargo burst free in the hold. Sure, they were violent, murderous villains. But damn, those pirates I loved sure had style.
Anyway, today is Talk Like a Pirate Day. So crack a few pirate jokes, dig out your cutlass, and do what you can to resist the temptation to "to spit on your hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats."
9 comments:
And please find some buried treasure.
Mr. Jimmy Buffett said it best:
"Yes, I am a pirate.
200 years too late
The cannons don't thunder
There's nothing to plunder
I'm an over-40 victim of fate
Arriving too late
Arriving too late..."
We recently checked out Peter and the Starcathers unnabridge audio CD from the library. We've listened to the first two and can't wait to hear the third. It makes roadtrips with the kids short and fun. Jim Dale narrates the series and he is as good as they get.
I never was a big Peter Pan fan even as a kid. But this prequel was an awesome listen. It's dark and exciting and has no resemblence to the Disney tale yet it explains everything plus more including the meaning of Stonehenge. I mention it here because the pirates are brilliant. I would recommend this as a read or a listen even if you don't have kids.
Mama: don't I wish.
BE: Jimmy's done pretty well at leading a pirate life, especially for a guy from 'Bama.
aucillasinks: I'm actually a huge Peter Pan fan, and I'm not talking about the Disney version. Ever read the original stories by J. M. Barrie? They're dark and fairly evil in places. There's a reason his last name is Pan - he's depicted as amoral, laughing about his friends being killed, deciding on a whim whether or not to rescue people he's supposed to care about. He's even shown to kill off the lost boys as they get too old:
The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out; but at this time there were six of them, counting the twins as two.
It's bloody and frightening in the way that the best old fairy tales should be. And the pirates! The first thing we see Hook do is slash one of his crew to death for stumbling against him as they walk through the jungle, hunting the indians.
As they pass, Skylights lurches clumsily against him, ruffling his lace collar; the hook shoots forth, there is a tearing sound and one screech, then the body is kicked aside, and the pirates pass on. He has not even taken the cigar from his mouth.
Read the original versions and see how the new ones compare.
aucillasinks: Okay, I looked up the Starcatchers books, and I can't say as I think I would like them. Peter Pan already has a back story, and it looks like they change too much for me to get into them. I'm sure they're great for folks who aren't already fond of the originals, though.
I used to run the Pirate Haus hostel in St. Augustine (link). I'm actually staying with a skipper in San Francisco that I helped build a boat back then, though neither of us has ever been a pirate. I mentioned to him that it was national Talk Like a Pirate Day today, and he smiled politely and said, "So, lunch?"
Argh, indeed.
That place looks awesome. Maybe next time I get over that way I'll check it out.
Looks a bit gay - that pic
Could be. Go to sea for months at a time, the cabin boy starts looking pretty good.
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