William Brand

^ Chicken heart soup. Yep...a bowl full of chicken hearts with the veins still sticking out in a broth that was primarily water. I will never forget that meal. < For the record, I prefer other parts of the chicken. There is a place that serves amazing chicken tamales locally. V Worst beverage ever consumed?

Welcome aboard, mate.

We also need something freshly squeezed.

This morning we are serving Eggs Benedict... ...seasoned potatoes... ...and all of the bacon one can eat.

I asked the wife what she would like in her pirate and she said, "A full set of teeth."

^ I wish it could be less frequent, but I happen to like good food. < My wife often experiments. She finds and alters recipes which are generally so good that my eyes roll into my head backwards. V Favorite food?

^ Sleep. < I often wish that sleep was an option. I would only occasionally indulge in it if it wasn't necessary. V Do you nap?

^ Art. And yes, I am an artist. < I also enjoy photography and film, but I am involved with them less. V Hobbies outside of pyracy?

Still losing the pounds. I'm going to need a belt soon.

She mentioned that she has a particularly nice period phrase she uses as an insult, but I have yet to learn what it is.

Sure, Chole...post something to keep me up another hour. Now I'm looking through trial notes.

Thank you for the legwork thus far. I'm hoping for many more references.

Relaxing after a very long day and pondering on projects.

^ I'm bipedal-ambidexterous. < It's a fine night here. I feel campfire weather in the air. V Can you spin a good yarn?

Tonight's temptation...um...special is... ...pure evil.

^ Both. I was always in charge of inventing wild games for my huge circle of friends. My childhood was chaotic. < Speaking of parks, we spent 3.5 hours playing on equipment today. It was crazy. We found a park with a teeter-totter. I thought the Geneva convention had outlawed them. V Worst playground injury?

My interest is purely philosophical. In a pig's eye. I love the sea, which stems from my youth, for I spent more time near the oceans of the world then. Now, I am landlocked in high desert country and I do not own so much as a raft.

^ Spring - Fall < It was wonderful weather today. The temperature was perfect. We went to two different parks with Liam and had a very good time out of doors. V Favorite park?

Crazy Chole Black. Check. I just got off the phone with Chole. We discussed Pirates in Paradise from top to bottom and our shared enthusiasm at the number of pirates visiting this year from all quarters. We talked about Key West, camping, photos, costuming and all things festival. Now she is talking to my wife Maeve about costuming, that consuming pastime we all love and hate, but mostly love, Harry Silkie Red Cat Jenny Dorian Lasseter Siren, Captain of the Poseidon Red-Handed Jill Maeve Jim Hawkins Kass Ol Man From the Sea CrazyCholeBlack

Since the book was written well after the Golden Age of Piracy, then liberties may have been taken with the illustrations for the piece. There may be too much conjecture present in the work to go one way or the other, but a very nice find just the same.

^ I plant, prune, alter, move, mow and do everything else that a large yard requires and that money and time permit year to year. < I would like to plant more trees. I like trees. V Any big trees in your yard?

The buckets in some of the pictures, but not all, are probably the upper parts of stockings with a garter that makes it look like boots. It is difficult to say. Still...in the picture where the men are breaking down a door of the customs house, the men are probably town folk in pursuit of smugglers, and so the footwear could very well be boots.

And a good morning to you. Today is shaping into a fine day.

July 30, 1704 - Martinique John McGinty was half awake already when the potboy for the inn knocked at the door of his room. The sound went through the door, the room and John's skull. He groaned, and in his discomfort he was moved to shout overly loud in return. This caused him some further agitation, and the boy who entered looked apologetic. "Priez le pardon, monsieur...Capitaine..." John was already nodding, despite the pain in his head. He waved a hand at the boy, gesturing for him to leave and close the door without another word, which the boy did. Then John remembered his guest from the night before and looked over to see that the other side of the bed was no longer occupied. He wondered how and when the house maid had made her silent departure. He then had the presence of mind to be certain that she had taken none of his belongings or coin. All was where he had stowed or dropped it amidst the night's revelry. Relieved to find nothing missing, he dressed and bathed his face at basin on the table. This caused him some irritation, for the mixture therein was actually only two parts water. The rest was alcohol and it stung his eyes a bit. At first he just blinked and smarted, unable to find the proper words to voice his discomfort. He decided to use the first two that sprang to mind. "Damn and Hell!" He almost spilled backwards over a displaced chair. Then, mindful that he might suffer more personal injury if he did not collect himself, he stood a moment, neither moving nor speaking. "Don't become a clown." he told himself, as he waited for the throbbing in his head to subside again. The pain went out like a tide and he blinked away the last of the sting in his eyes. "There." He picked up his things and went out to face the Captain and the day. . . . William and John took breakfast together at ten of the morning, lingering over fresh baked biscuits, cooked ham and the finest cheese William had tasted in years. They talked little of business, but William took the opportunity to pry John with questions concerning all things below decks. He asked John to truthfully tell him how the Dutch sailors were settling in and how the men and women of the 'Dog were getting along. John answered many of the questions briefly and William thanked him for avoiding grand assumptions. They gossiped little, content to eat and keep the conversation simple. The girl who had bedded the night with John served them fare all the while. She also served John with a look that promised an additional rendezvous or two. When breakfast was almost gone, and the girl began to clean up the tableware, John pressed a good sized coin into her hand and said, "For not robbin' a workin' sailor..." William smiled at this, and took the last of the biscuits, though he was too full by half. . . . Later, they stood on the docks of the Cul du Sac Ryal and William let out an airy whistle, shaking his head at the humidity. His frock coat and waistcoat baked the breakfast within him for a second time and he said as such. John nodded at this and looked out over the heavy air which suffocated the harbor, fanning himself with his hat. Then they boarded Patricia with a dozen others bound for the 'Dog. Between five and six bells of the Forenoon Watch ~Starboard Watches on Duty~

Pride goeth before the fall... ...off the ramparts.