Ransom

Thought you guys might get a laugh out of this. It was sent to me by a friend in England. If you had purchased $1000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you will have $0.00 today. But---- if you had purchased $1000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund, you will have received $214.00. Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily and recycle. It's called the 401-Keg.

Drat. Looks like I'm going to have to make another set. Dang Postal pyrates.

A most hearty birthday wish to you, Patrick. Birthday toastings at Nor Cal will be lively — between you, Eyes, Jill and myself. From PC to airship, I hope all your piratey birthday wishes come true.

A most happy natal day to you, Lilly. Hope your day is grand.

I just gotta say, awesome work, everyone! Syren, you need to start selling your hand painted stuff on either Ebay or Etsy. Seriously! It's just really great! Lady B — The ship's log is very kewl. Keep it up! I feel like such a slacker!

Numb (which is slowly going away) and sore, which is getting worse as the numb wears off. Just spent two and a half hours at the Dentist, getting an old crown removed and the spot readied for a replacement. Lots of shots, poking and prodding. I have a small mouth, and it was the furthest back tooth on the bottom right, so my jaws even ache from being pried apart for so long. And for all that fun, I got to pay the man about 1K. My insurance only pays half, so I still got stuck with a $475 dental bill. NOT fun.

Oh, buggar. Well, let me know, and if they are goners, I'll make another set. I did scan the cards, so could print them out, but that doesn't give the same effect of the originals. Dang postal service!

Hey, Michael, just wondering if you have received my cards yet? It's been a week since I mailed them.

It took more than a downpour for the dock foreman to call a halt to work. Ioan, soaked to the skin, hefted a cask of pickled fish and carried it aboard the Maid of Gibralter. As he did so, he eyed the great black ship which had just arrived. For a fleeting moment, he thought it would be a good candidate for his escape. Then he observed that her captain was a woman. All ideas of finding work on the vessel left his mind. Never again would he take orders from a woman. Cursing under his breath, he stowed the cask, and returned topside. Rain beat against the deck, loud as kettle drums. Squinting his eyes, he crossed the plank connecting ship to wharf, and returned to the nearby warehouse. A dozen bedraggled, tired, and wet workers huddled in the doorway. Ioan joined them. Suddenly, from behind them, a voice boomed out, "Get back to work, you vermin! The Maid's due out on the first tide, and there's still two dozen casks to load. Besides, a great soaking will wash some of the filth off you lot. Now get to it. No one lounges until that ship's hold is full and I've been paid for our services." Resisting the urge to throttle the foreman, Ioan picked up another cask and headed back to the ship. But once this job was done, he decided, he was through being a wharf rat. He'd find a way to get off this island, or die trying.

Oh, I don't know. It's better than Marion (John Wayne's real first name).

I think this whole thing is going to be a lot of fun, and very interesting....coming up with alternate histories and all. I have some questions for you Patrick, which I will PM you with later. Just some logistic stuff. Oh, and I am going to do my best for my first kilt inspection. And remember, Patrick....I pinch! In a friendly, fun-loving way, or course. LOL

Too funny, Bess. You answered my question before I had a chance to ask it! Chain Shot and I just watched Donovan's Reef last night, and I was wondering which ship that was. Chain Shot got it right then, because he guessed it was owned by Ford. Don't feel too bad about not appreciating the ship. Chain Shot got a chance to go on John Wayne's boat when it was moored at Newport, CA. And yes, John Wayne would have been on board. He turned the offer down. Regrets that decision to this day.

A slice of cold pizza.

MacTavish, caught between two ships, seethed with anger, but had to admit he was powerless to do much more than grind his teeth. It did not help that the Spaniards were now aboard the small sloop, safe and sound. Time, he thought, to cut his losses and get back on course. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to the captain of the other brig, "I'll up anchor and be aboot mae business. Nae guns. Nae need tae block mae way. Agreed?" Before the other captain could answer, MacTavish turned to his first mate. "Stow the guns, and get this bluidy ship out o' here, afore I puke, being sae riled. But I'll nae forget the names o' these two sea hounds." And he committed the names Relentless and Rakehell to his prodigious, and vengeful-prone memory.

Rainy and cold.

Thank you all for your wonderful birthday wishes. And Stynky...thanks for the nic-name. I've never had one before! My birthday lasted all weekend, and I spent most of it eating LOL Chinese, pizza, champagne brunch, then Italian yesterday, when my best friend and I had a girls day out hitting the craft stores, then lunch at Olive Garden. I think I need to fast for the next three days. Once again, thank you, everyone, for making my birthday extra special. You guys rock!

Glass of wine, jalapeno cheese curds, and olives.

Rumba, Sjoroveren, and Jamie... Thanks so much for the BD wishes. You guys are great. And Rumba, you have no idea how many people I have shocked with that little parrot! I have named it Potty Mouth. LOL

I like all the stuff called Quack Medical...usually involving an electrical shock. One "box" was advertised as "Shock therapy/torture?" I stay away from the syringes. Needles give me the creeps.

I really like the vintage look of yours, Lady B. I think I might try and cook up something for myself, using an a photo of me in garb. Maybe we can start a whole trend of exchanging cards at events. Wouldn't that be kewl!

A most happy birthday, Mary. I had no idea our birthdays were back-to-back. Hope your day was grand!

Have you ever typed something into the Ebay search, just to see what would come up? I did two today, and OMG, what a bunch of weird stuff. LOL Vintage brass Vintage medical Who knew..... Actually, some of it was pretty kewl. But a lot of it, especially the medical stuff, was just....weird/scary.

Lady B and King's Pyrate, your cards look great! Maybe you should sign on for the next PTC round, if we do one. As for pictures of the cards, there is a PTC picture thread where some of us posted pictures of the cards from the first round. That will give you an idea of what kinds of cards we do. We probably won't post pics of this rounds cards until they are all in to Michael, and then mailed out.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, you guys. Going out to lunch to day with the women from my writing group, then a quiet evening at home, I think. Sunday is when I get taken out for a champagne brunch. The real celebrating will come when Jill and I get together while crewing on the Aldebaran, come June during Nor Cal. Like she said in her BD thread...rum, sailing, and cannons. How much better can it get? (Oh, and JT. About that mold breaking...I think the true story is, the molder saw what he'd done, fainted in shock, and fell on the mold, smashing it to bits. But thanks for the nice wishes.....DR)

I know you have chosen Lake Tahoe as our safe hide-out kinda port, but, during the winter, wouldn't we need another place? One not affected by winter storms? Heading south into Nuevo Mexico might be kinda exciting...and warm. Also, been thinking of a good tavern or pub name. A place where airship pirates would hang out. Kinda on the idea of the Monkey Bar in M&C. I thought the Condor Tavern sounded kinda kewl, and condors, being all black and kinda menacing, look pyraty. (For some reason, I see Condor Tavern matchbook covers. ) Anyway, just thinking out loud.