Capn Bob

I posted this on the limerick page back about a year ago, but it bears repeating, so: Rum's a wondrous drink, d'ye see... And can be had for a minimal fee. Ye guzzle it down, Wi' never a frown, And all the day ye say, Tee-hee!

Right now? Right this very minute? I'm at work, waiting for it to rain (its very humid...I can feel it inside...90%), and keeping up with the US/Brit-land match by way of the FIFA gamecast...at this moment, we're losing. And I want to see us smash England!

Currently seem to be stuck on Greece...must be all them gyros I been eating... Reading "The Western Way of War", by Victor Davis Hanson... will soon be reading "A War Like No Other" by the same author... And I picked up a copy of "Lords of the Sea" for me very own. And I bemoan Greece's loss to S. Korea in the Cup...Belgium, man...Belgium!

Yes, but at least they'd be all natural Booby booby-traps...no artificial filling at all. sorry, still thinkin' of them mermaids...

I call this...The Captain calmly awaiting the start of battle... But its actually the Captain calmly awaiting the start of the Cuyahoga Falls Memorial Day Parade, 2010...and a hot one it was, ye may be sure... Ignore all the cars in the background...just regard them as so many ships, instead.

My father was in WW2 (Stateside), Korea, and Vietnam. 24 years of service. He was in the 56th Trans Co. in Vietnam-"Find 'em. Fix 'em, Fly 'em"...helicopter mechanic. They would fly out to a crash site, land, get the crashed chopper in flying condition, then fly it out back to base where further work could be done in more...secure...conditions. Family's been in a lot of wars...my great grandfather was in Civil War (1st Mich. Infantry) , likely saw action at First Mannassas before mustering out due to him coming down with just about every camp sickness it was possible to catch...despite that, Nelson Hill Curtis made it into the 1920's.

Thought I had responded to this...but it seems not... Okay...I am Robert Alan Curtis. I am the second Robert in the family...we tend to use names more than once. Family has been on these shores since 1637. Meaning...Robert, according to those who actually get paid to know these things, is Old German (I knew an old German once...Herr Schmidt, principle of the school I went to when we were stationed in Germany) for "Bright Fame". I'm still waiting to become famous...I'd even settle for "Dull Imfamy" Alan is also Old German, for "Precious" Awww... Curtis is Old French, for Courteous, and is possibly a court name, and was brought to England during the Norman Invasion. I suspect the family might have been involved in that...one of Billy-boy's (William I) hackers and slashers. One of Blackbeard's boys, killed at Ocracoke, was a certain Joseph Curtice. I suspect him of being a distant relation (based on no evidence whatsoever), and I have adopted him. Trouble is, he never calls, never writes...family, eh?

Got several going at once: "Lords of the sea : the epic story of the Athenian navy and the birth of democracy" John R. Hale "Jingo"-Terry Pratchett "Bahamas for Complete Dummies" by someone... And I'll be starting "Over the wine-dark sea"-H.N. Turteltaub I'd post their covers, but I'm at work...

Well, I regret I'm jumping into this late, since it seems most of what can be said has been, but I found this on subject, which looks to be pretty comprehensive: http://babelstone.blogspot.com/2006/06/rules-for-long-s.html Personally, I've never had any trouble mistaking the long s for any other f'n letter (cough), but then, I'm a throwback anyway...(altho my parents may disagree, since they obviously didn't...)

Hope it was good rum...of course, quantity has a quality all of its own...

Me dad always warned me about the chiggers and such in the backwoods of Charlottesville, Virginia, behind our house. There was some construction/excavation work being done there, and we'd go out looking for "devils dice", a suitably piratical name for iron pyrite in cube form. Ye can see what Devils Dice look like here... http://www.greatsouth.net/minerals/p-M821.html And at no extra charge!

Well, I just found out there's only 16 seats left on the tour bus I'd be riding in to get to Baltimore for the cruise, so I am now *officially* signed up for: http://goanderson.com/toursched.aspx?ID=1733&sid=6&tour=Carnival%20Bahamas%20Cruise Rum and banana ketchup, here I come...

This is what Frommers sez: Frommer's Review These crumbling remains of a watchtower are said to have been used by the infamous pirate Edward Teach in the 17th century. The ruins are only mildly interesting -- there isn't much trace of buccaneering. What's interesting is the view: With a little imagination, you can almost see Blackbeard, who also purportedly lived here (though this is hardly well documented), peering out at unsuspecting ships. Read more: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/newprovidence/A24830.html#ixzz0mDIHZYEE And this is one of the reasons why I think there needs to be a *Pirates* Guide...for *we* be the lads who'd want to dig into these myths, legends and stories to find the truth behind them...admittedly, it's largely to see if there's any treasure, or at least some rum to be found.

Oh yeah...that museum is, ye may be assured, definately and decidedly on me "To Do" list...

I might be taking a cruise to Nassau and Freeport in October, and I just picked up a couple of guide books. But they;re all pretty pedestrian, with fairly common information. What we need, really *need*, is...A Pirate's Guide to Nassau (or the Bahamas), containing not only the usual information that would make anyone's visit to the islands more enjoyable, but would also contain the sort of tidbits that would gladden any pirate. For example, does "Blackbeard's Tower" have any connection at all with Neddy Teach and the Sweet Trade, where was Execution Point (in case anyone wants to place flowers there...or better, a bottle of rum), and where you can get some good rum and grub.

A few days ago, I ordered a pair of wool felt hat blanks from Jas. Townsend and Son...they arrived today (bloody fast!) while I was grilling.One I plan on tacking up for a new tricorne, the other will be used as a round hat, shaped more for the 17th century. Planning on rubbing them a bit with a sanding block, to hopefully give them an aged and abused look, and I'll be getting some Sno Seal or similar to waterproof them. Me current hat is straw, which is good enough for warm weather, but not at all good for winter. And its got so many holes it lets the water in when it rains.

According to the book "If a Pirate I Must Be", Richard Sanders (bio of Roberts), the governor of Martinique at this time was de Feuquieres, and he was not given a "necktie party", as't were. According to the book, the origin of this story was a letter written to London by Governor Bennet of Bermuda (page 161 of the hardbound edition) A quick and somewhat incomplete perusal of the chapter of Roberts in the General History does not mention this hanging at all.

Fiction? In addition to those titles already mentioned, add: The Pyrates, by George MacDonald Fraser.

Hoping this is the right place for this, I have discovered the following item that has valuable info for any pirate. I don't suppose the chapter on the bayonet is of much use for the likes of us, but there's single stick, cudgel, quarterstaff...as well as saber and cutlass... http://www.gutenberg.org/files/31214/31214-h/31214-h.htm

I got a garage. Just the usual stuff you'd find in any garage...along with some rather more curious items. There's the bits and pieces of me inflatable 8 ft pontoon boat...some broken pieces of glass...broken pieces of stone (but its a very special type of stone)...pressure flakers...copper boppers...my trusty Ishi Stick...a couple of atlatls and darts thereunto...

Yeah, shotguns don't really do much for Texas mosquitos...when we were in Fort Sam, they were starting to use ground-to-air missles... They also tried to breed with the Hueys, but I wasn't allowed to see that. My father was a helicoptor mechanic, and it was hard work, getting all the...mosquito love out of the choppers...

I been listening to all the bloody construction noises...poundin' n hammerin' n drillin' like 100 dentists all workin' on the same tooth, belike! Renovation at the library...it's gonna be a looong year...

Happy geburtstag!