Ransom

The late afternoon sun baked the docks, and the smell of dead fish, boat tar, and rotting fruit soaked the air. Ioan stood looking at the brig Sweet Temptation, trying to figure out how he could sneak on board. He knew the man from the Rakehell was watching him, but Ioan didn't care. He'd kill the little Italian bastard if he had to...anything, whatever it took, to get off this cursed island. He decided to try the easiest route, so took a step closer, and hailed a nearby crewman. "Oi, mate, you taking on any more crewmen this voyage?" The man shrugged, and kept to his task, but replied, "Have to talk to the quartermaster, ye would. But like as not, if ye got any skill, he'd take ye on." He pointed to a stern-faced man all dressed in black, sweat dripping from his chin, wilting the frills on his shirtfront. "That's him there. Mr. Preston." "I thank ye," Ioan moved down the dock, closer to the stern of the ship, where Mr. Preston was inspecting a sheet of paper. "Mr. Preston, sir," Ioan called out. "Do ye need another hand aboard?" The man looked up, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. "I've no shortage at the moment, but it doesn't hurt to have a few extra bodies. What skills have you?" "I was first mate on my last vessel, sir. Been on the sea for some six years or more." Mr. Preston gave Ioan a good lookover. "Why are you not still first mate?" "Me and the Captain had a bit of a falling out. Besides, it's wrong for a man to have to work for a woman." The man looked surprised. "Your captain was a woman? How extroidinary. Never heard the like. What was your bone of contention with her, besides her sex?" Ioan prevaricated. "We just didn't hit it off, sir. So, I could really use the job, if you can take me on." Mr. Preston mopped his brow with a limp handkerchief. "What is your name, sir?" From behind Ioan, a deep voice answered Mr. Preston before Ioan could reply. "He be Ioan Dyffed, traitor and liar. You don want him on dat ship. He stab you in the dark, and try and take dis boat. Dat what he try on the Rakehell, den he knife her captain in da back. Dat why he and de captain don hit it off." Despite the heat, a cold chill ran up Ioan's spine, as he turned to find Africa looming over him like a huge, black demon. The quartermaster of the Rakehell grinned at Ioan and said softly, " I tol you, I goin' to make corpse powder of your bones. You already a walking dead man."

No one has posted anything about Ojai yet, so here is the heads up. Seems most of the pirates I know are going the first weekend, Sept. 20-21. This is an awesome event, in a really nice setting, so I hope lots of pirates can turn their "ships" in that direction, drop anchor, and have a great time. Lots of vendors, food, music, and battles! (Yes, shoot or gully those nasty Spaniards!) I know Tales of the Seven Seas will have an encampment again this year, so come by and see us!

I remember when TV didn't run 24/7. They would sign off at night (With a poem called "Flight"), and then sign back on in the morning. And not all stations ran the same amount of hours. What you saw in between was either static, or a test pattern with the profile of an Indian chief in the center. Silkie, I know what you mean about what your grandmother saw. I think about mine, who went from horse-drawn buggies, to seeing man land on the moon. — on TV. Pretty amazing.

Rain......sweet, blessed rain. After weeks of 100-108, it is only 79 and glorious. And instead of forest fire smoke in the air, all is clean and fresh.

Take care, Patrick, and have a great time! And yes, be sure to take lots of pictures. Burning Man looks like quite the adventure. But, I still hope you can make it to Ojai.

OV-61601 The Helms Bakery man, with that wonderful truck. He would open the back door, and pull out trays of donuts, jelly rolls, pastries.... OMG, I had forgotten all about the Bookmobile! I LOVED the Bookmobile! Saturday at the movies, where you got a double feature and cartoons — for about 65 cents. Town air raid siren tests every Saturday at noon. Air raid drills at school — shove all the desks away from the windows, crawl under them, and curl in a fetal position, covering your head. Ah, the good ol' days!

"Here's the inventory, Ma'am." Jimmy handed me a list. "Seems we're sittin' pretty good, despite the supplies we had to pitch overboard." I did a quick scan of our situation. We'd taken on fresh water while on the lake, so had no worries there. A good deal of our salt and flour had been ruined in the wake of the hull damage, but the dried meat, peas, and beans were still good. We also still had some of the fruit potted in syrup that we'd added while in Havana. It would last a while longer. All in all, we stood in pretty good stead, and would not have to borrow provisions from the Relentless. I was grateful, as I didn't want any more resentment from Jacky's crew than I already had. "Good job, lad." I gave Jimmy a wink. He knuckled his forehead, and went back to his duties.

Thank you, Blackfoot, for such lovely words. I am glad you were pleased with my work. That's what any kind of artist strives for — appreciation....and a happy customer!

Many happy returns of the day, Rogue Mermaid. Sorry this is a bit late, but I was away for the weekend, trying to escape the heat. Hope your special day was grand!

ROTDALMAO ............

Nice bit of work. I like the fact that the flag is such a simple design. No black hearts, no hour glasses, no crossed swords, etc. And of course, I love the color!

A very fine illustration of the term "Ass over teakettle." Fortunately for all, we do not get a close up of the "Ass" in this photo, as we did in the "13th button" closeup.

Welcome, Tomas....I think. I'm sure we'll get to know each other much better...soon. But, I will have a glass of that Madeira, if you will be so kind.

Yeah, the psycho puritan would make a great character. You really ought to roll with that and come up with something. After all, you already have the hat. Something to think about for Halloween as well.....maybe?

^ I've wanted to have a Halloween party for years, but we live so far out of town, and by that time of year the weather is so bad, that no one wants to stay around after dark. And, what's the fun of a Halloween party at high noon? I'd love to be able to do something like what Haunting Lily and her husband do. The pictures they posted were awesome. < I have a friend who lives down in Thousand Oaks, CA, and he always does an elaborate set piece for Halloween. One year he had a witch flying around his chimney on her broomstick. This year he's looking into a machine that makes foam figures through a stencil, then shoots a bit of helium into the foam, so the figure floats away. If he can find the machine, he's going to do ghosts floating around his front yard. V Pass the question.

Oh, goody, I way hoping you'd say that.

SEND SOME OF THAT RAIN OVER HERE!!!!!! In So. Or. it's been bone dry and HOT. Yesterday, at nine o'clock at night, it was still 105. High on our covered front deck was 108. By the time we went to bed last night, around 11:00, it was still 100. This morning, by 8:30 it was already 85. Going to be another scorcher today — at least as high as yesterdays 108. AND WE DON'T HAVE AC IN OUR HOUSE! AHHHHHHH!!!! by around 3:30 our poor place was about 85-90 inside. Gah! Chain Shot will be home by 11:00 this morning, and we are heading for the movies, where they have really good air conditioning. Actually, we may stay for a double feature.

Honestly, Jill, after reading both your posts concerning your adventure in Boston, maybe you should send the Mayor a little synopsis of your trip, and how "friendly" the Bostonians were to a guest. I mean, is this the kind of reception they want to give someone coming in from another state? Especially when you were there to teach a class. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, and bad word of mouth has a ten-fold effect over the good. I have been told that back east, in big cities, it's a different world, even from LA and SF, but sheesh, this is one of the US's most historical cities! They must have tons of tourists. You'd think they would have learned to be a little more polite.

Last night... Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, marinated in lemon olive oil and herbs, then grilled on the BBQ Baked potatoes with sour cream and home-grown chives Tomato, dark blue bell pepper, purple basil (all home grown), and cucumber, diced and tossed with olive oil and red wine vinegar. The bell pepper looks almost black, it's so dark. But it's just the skin. If you cook it, the skin turns dark green. But raw, in a salad, it looks really kewl and colorful. And the flavor is mild.

Wow, Jill, sounds like the city that originated road-rage. Might have been easier to take a taxi, but I bet it would have cost a fortune. As for me, I'm feeling frustrated. I will be so glad when my 1970 Dodge Challenger finally sells. Then I will stop getting calls from: Old farts who just want to talk about how they used to own one, but can't afford to buy one now. Guys who ask to speak to my husband (apparently women don't own classic cars) Jobbers trying to convince me they can sell my car for me — for a fat commission of course! Guys who ask for reams of pictures to be e-mailed, and then never call back. Guys who say they are coming out to look at the car, and never show up. Car collectors who know damn well what the car is worth, but don't want to pay it. Guys trying to sell me parts — for a car I'm not keeping. Etc., etc., etc.

Tea My bedroom, which at this stage is half a lovely dark zinfadel red, and half Pepto Bismol pink primer. CBIL The families of the fire fighters who died in the helicopter crash. Out of eleven men, only four survived, one still in critical condition with burns over 35% of his body. The city memorial service for them is tomorrow. They expect huge crowds to attend.

Thanks! Your answer leads me to ask another question. Due to the amount of time it takes to post a few days worth of story ( it takes months, in real time) do we go by the literal time it would take to send a letter and get a reply, or do we fudge it? In PR time, Lady Violet could write to Ransom's brother, and it would take a year, in real time, for her to get a reply. By that time, PR might have sunk into the sea. So, can we fudge the time, or do we keep it literal?

Ummm, Rumba, most of the ships you list as smaller brigs, are actually schooners.

I may have asked this before, but can't remember. How long would it take a letter, sent from PR, to reach England?