Misson

Sorry it took so long! I don't have reliable service at home and I got busy at work today. That work stuff.... The 3rd post has been edited, sir, yes sir! Plus I knew there were a few others I had missed. Spike is not a poster as far as I know, but everyone should know who he is.

What?! There's a coin in the bottom of my tankard! Why is M.A.d'Dogge standing behind me like that...?

I want it noted that I did publicly negotiate your release. (Too bad, too, because I really wanted to try that amputation technique...cut through the outer layer of skin using the point and the inside blade, then flip the knife around with the point remaining beneath the skin. Run the point of the blade along the circumference of the arm being careful not to cut the first layer of muscle beneath...peel back the layer of skin...cut into the outer layer of muscle...hmm...Oh, we may stumble along the way, but-civilization, yes!...I think I could do it...gimme a chance...hey, Jim?)

Fort Jefferson is really neat. It's very isolated and quiet, even when there's a bunch of tourists running around there. The facility is quite rustic, though. You need to bring everything with you and should probably check on the rules regarding cooking and whatnot. When I made the trip a few years ago, one of the people stationed there was on the boat back, so I talked with him a bit. He said it's very peaceful during the evenings when most of the tourists are gone; they infrequently get no more than a few people staying on any given night because of the limited facilities. It's a cool fort, though. It's a pentagon fort built to guard the mouth of the Mississippi. It's more complete than Fort Taylor and there are several spits of land (glorified sandbars, really) that you can walk on outside the fort.

Oops! On the righhhhhhht. (And you folks wonder why I can't button my waistcoat properly?) Fixed. Alas, to make it fit the format I had, Charlie got axed. Sorry, Charlie. (I had to write that. Had to.)

Well...in my defense, I've always liked piracy. I just didn't understand tre-enacting very well. In fact, I confess, I still don't. I'm so grateful to folks like Mary Diamond, Haunting Lily and MichaelSBagley for helping me with costuming. For all my self-proclaimed creative talents, I can't sew worth a damn and, thus, am ill-equipped to enjoy the many facets of period correct garb - its research, its construction, its thread counts and buttons... Michael, if you ever need a reference, let me know. Fortunately, I love to research things that interest me and the surgeon gig took my interest. (Captain Jim...I'm coming for you...) I am currently immersed in Scurvy! by Stephen R. Bown. (See Bilgemunkey's review: http://www.bilgemunky.com/reviews/books/scurvy.php) In fact, it was really the people that made the event. Not a period Nazi to be found from my perspective - they were very helpful and gave excellent advice, just as Mary Diamond promised would happen when I was worrying about not being well enough prepared. Nearly every pub member I've met has been a font of knowledge about some facet of piracy and that interests me greatly. Plus they seem to be among the nicest, most interesting folks. That's why I spent time trying to corner people - walking to get his cigs with Patrick, having dinner with Keith & Haunting Lily, trying to keep up with Tony Callahan as he explained the details of effectively increasing photo sizes, dining out with Bilgemunky, getting extraordinarily drunk with Stynky Tudor, sitting down at the table with Master Studley discussing props, talking about life with Boo over conch fritters, listening (closely) to Captain Jim explain various aspects of surgery that I had only read bits and pieces about and planning the site with William Red Wake. (Well, listening to William plan the site.) [William! I want copies of the prints for our ship - the Mercury! Did you get my pm?] Great people make for a great hobby. I guess I have a new hobby, thanks to a bunch of really cool people I met. At the beginning of the event, siting on the empty stretch of Australian Pine infested sand, I responded to a question from William that I really wasn't sure if I'd come back again in 2008 or not. By the end of the event, he asked me again, and I said I was certain that I would if I possibly could. I wrote all that previous posts to just try and give everyone who couldn't make it an inkling of what was going on in paradise. As I was telling Duchess (who better come next year Actually, I take that back; I'll bet she doesn't do most things people tell her she "better do." ), I have some skills in writing (if not necessarily spelling) and, if I couldn't provide excellent garb like Michael, I could at least offer a description through the eyes of a first timer. It gave me something to focus on and got me out talking to the splendid folks who attended PiP. Really, everyone, come to this event next year. It was fantastic.

Thanks, Diosa! I added those photos to the second post I put near the top with numbers in it. (I keep trying to copy a smaller version of that first bunch of pics, but my website doesn't want to update the stupid thing!) I think I found a good picture of Master Studley in the Callahan's magnificent photos last night, but I wanted to see if I could find pics of the rest of your crew before going ahead. Since I didn't use it: http://www.callahandigitalart.com/photocar...viewImage=14275

Please to note: the ship's surgeon strongly advised against both the jump and the vest.

Hum...I was going to do a hard one, but...no. Easy. "Please, sit down before you fall down."

¡Muchas gracias!

Hey, Stynky, I was just kidding. I think Bilgemonkey left soon after we arrived in the pub when you were there. If you met him, you'd probably remember him. He had really cool garb, IMO. He looks like this: http://www.callahandigitalart.com/photocar...viewImage=14355

Do they have Pub Names?

I was seriously thinking of bringing a large wooden mallet with me next year. (They actually did this!)

You people are just jealous because I have all the laudanum. (I am not finding good shots of Master Studley, Goddess in the Boddess or Hurricane, but they should really be 35, 36 and 37). It was quite a turnout, if you think about it!)

Sir, yes sir! (Hey, I'm a surgeon - I can cut and paste.) Here's some posters who are not in the picture. (Some of them are new, post-PiP.) There are probably more, but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head... 31. Abbington M. Normal (Archangel) 32. ScarlettRai (Bone Island) 33. Mae (Archangel) 34. Willie Wobble (Port Royal/Mercury Camp, Cook) 35. Goddess in the Bodice aka Diosa (Port Royal) 36. Bootleg (Port Royal - not on Pyracy.com. Yet.) 37. Capt Morgan aka Touche' (Port Royal) 38. Master Studley (Port Royal) 39. Hurricane (Port Royal) 40. Sheila (Port Royal) 41. withoutaname - Shana (unknown affiliation) 42. Justin - lurker! (unknown affiliation) 43. Cascabel, (Bone Island, Pirate leader) 44. Spike (Bone Island, PiP Point Man) 7a. Harry Action Figure Resculpt - British Soldier Garb (Photos from Captain Sterling and the Callahan's collections.)

1. Sarah Sterling (Archangel) 2, Joshua Merriweather (Archangel) 3. The estimable Amanjiria (Archangel) 4. Gunner Tiger Bill (Archangel) 5. Barbara?? (Vendor, Not a pub member that we know) 6. Tom?? (Vendor, Not a pub member that we know) 7. Harry (Ft. Zach) 8. Haunting Lily (Mercury) 9. Paula - Iron Jon's lovely lady (Mercury) 10. vintagesailor (Port Royal) 11. Gareth - Welsh lurker friend of the pub (Fort Taylor) 12. Elizabeth - Welsh lurker friend of the pub (Fort Taylor) 13. Captain Sterling, self-proclaimed dumb blond (Archangel) 14. Bilgemonkey (Mercury) 15. Maddogge (Archangel) 16. Silkie (Archangel) 17. Edward (Mercury) 18. Nigel 19. Mad Mary Diamond (Archangel) 20. Fayma Callahan 21. Stynky Tudor 22. William Red Wake(Mercury) in the golden rod waistcoat. 23. Greg Hudson(vendor extraordinaire) 24. Mission (Mercury surgeon...watch out!)(For what? I'm a dammed good surgeon. Ask Captain Jim!) 25. Capt. Rusty "Wild" Rice (Mercury) 26. Capt. Jim (Mercury) 27. Old Man of the Sea (Mercury) 28. Lawrence (Artillery) 29. Iron Jon (Mercury) 30. Every pirate's pirate, Patrick Hand (Mercury). (Note: Captain Sterling did all the hard work identifying people, but this may simplify things...)

Or maybe you were too drunk! (Actually, Bilgemonkey came in with me and then left before I sat down. I think. Maybe I was too drunk!

Holy Shit Bilge, I didn't realize that you were on the Pub - and I must have walked by you I don't know how many times at PIP. Considering all the chatting I've done at you during your radio show, I was really looking forward to having a drink with you. Damn! Why, you did, Stynky! Right before you guys abandoned me in the pub and left that obscene phone call. Don't you remember?

"Oboe leader to oboe flight... we've flown smack into the middle of a war!" Tora! Tora! Tora! They were flying into Pearl Harbor to refuel and the Japanese attack started right before they got there. "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Best line in the movie.

He actually did post late last week, but it's been a few days. The Mercury and Arch Angel crews at each other's throats: http://www.callahandigitalart.com/photocar...viewImage=14987 This is my favorite photo so far, though: http://www.callahandigitalart.com/photocar...viewImage=14985 The whole crew: http://www.callahandigitalart.com/photocar...viewImage=14886 (Didn't William do a great job on that banner? It's actually brown, although it looks black.)

Hey, there's a place in Philadelphia where you can get Goldfinger banana plants! Check it out: http://www.banana-tree.com/ Got mine ordered. (Pennsylvania?)

Well, I never did find a banana plant this year. However, I was surprised to see that my little palm-sort-of tree grew flowers out of one of the offshoots. They're a pale yellow. (And it's 20 degrees here and every thing's literally covered with ice! Ah, the tropics in Michigan...right in my little soon-to-be Key West themed dining room.)

Ya' know...that sounds like every media outlet I know of! I just remembered the Citizen connection because people were going on about it when I was there and I thought it was an odd issue. (I used to stay at the Colony Cottages (a moment of silence for the loss of a great (and affordable) place to stay in Key West - it got turned into condos.) They had a Citizen waiting at the door of my cottage every morning, so I read the comics, police reports (which were sort of like the comics) and then skimmed the rest of it. They did have a nice shot of Scarlett Rai in the sports pages last Sunday. (Although they spelled her name wrong.) So they contributed something we could use. My vague recollection is that the ruling only applied to wild chickens. So I guess we could import chickens (and roosters) and kill them.

Be careful, Harry...you'll wind up in gaol! The Citizen was hopping up and down mad about this issue on one of my previous KW trips. I remember reading several editorials on the topic. http://www.shanmonster.com/chicken/news/news019.html (Why is one of my local papers reporting on the chicken law in Key West? And just where is the questioning smiley that Stynky created for posts such as this?)

Just playing with one of Lily's pics. The James gang around the campfire at sundown. Thank God for Keith and Leigh - without them, I don't know what I would have done, so I begged them to take a pic of the three of us. To good friends.