Matty Bottles

Man, the farther out from year's PiP, the more I miss all the great folks that I meet! And then seeing so many of you on the pub just reminds me how geographically diverse we are. I don't know when I'll see all of of you at a another event, but let me tell you it was a real pleasure to get to know you, and I hope you have a great holiday, however you celebrate!

Hey, Harbormaster, not to hijack the thread, but what is your beer can mortar made out of? I know a guy who re-purposed the cylindar barrel from an old hydraulic garbage truck ram (his logic being it is already pressure rated at comparable forces) and made it into a beer can-non.

Why river pirates? There were European explorers in the area during the GAOP. Not a ton, no, but they were there. 'River pirates' makes me think of the early 19th century looters along the ohio and missippi, like Sam Mason or James Ford. Edit: Sorry, didn't realize this was in a crew-specific section. I wasn't trying to insert myself into your affairs.

So I guess What I'm saying is there are @$$holes all over. EDIT: What did you do with the carcass? Moving it over to the suspect's barn and calling the DNR might be an option...* *This suggestion should not be considered an endorsement of potentially criminal activity.

I'm not a hunter, but I've helped a neighbor track his bow kills through the unincorporated land near my parent's house. When I found his deer, it died of a clean shot through the lungs, but carried in its skull, practically in its eye socket, a broad head from a previous the season. The end of the arrow head stuck out of the skin, and it had healed around it and the shaft was broken off. I don't know how long it carried that arrowhead in its skull. I worked with a guy who talked about the time he almost got a ticket because the DNR thought he poached a deer. He had shot it in the back of the head with his bow because, he said, "that was the only shot I had." He unscrewed the arrow shaft but couldn't get the arrowhead out. He took it to be tested for CWD and they gave him a ticket, so he made them butcher it right there to recover the arrowhead from its brain. I told him that it seemed a little stupid to go right for the skull - me thinking about the deer I found with the arrowhead in its eye socket - and I say "what if you didn't kill it?" And he looks at me like I am the dumbest person he has ever met and he says "But that was the only shot I had." Like I said, I'm not a hunter, but I think you might be missing some of the broader lessons of hunting if you can't wait for the responsible shot...

I might ad that to my signature.

One of these days I'm gonna get to meet you, Stynky. It didn't happen at this past PiP, because you were always in conversation. But one of these days, mister... Happy birthday, too.

Daniel, I can't remember - did both captains forbid talking, or only the crazy one from the first part of the voyage. Because as I recall, he was an extreme example even for a captain. I can remember how he whipped the one fellow, and when the sailor started praying and crying out for Jesus, the captain said "Jesus can't help you! I'm your God now!" That seemed a litle crazy to me.

Oh, yeah! I'm so rude. Thank you, everybody, for the kind words and well wishes!

Clint, my family reunions are held only an hour or so from you. I probably can come and get it. Actually, you'd fit in well with my family, since we're mostly drunken Scots who make bad decisions.

It's a good day for a birthday.

You know what? I'm worried about thanking people, because if I try to name everyone individually, I'll leave someone out accidentally, I know it. So I'm going to put it this way: If you are an old friend (and you know who you are), it was great to see you. It's always great to see you, and I am heartily sorry that we don't live closer so I can see you more. If I'd meet you once before (and I think you know who you are), it was great to see you again. I hope we can become old friends. If I'd just met you before, it was nice to meet you. Also, I hope we meet again. Specifically, a big thank you to everyone who demonstrated patience on those occasions when I had too much to drink. Normally I am rather bored by philosophy, but when I drink too much I am SO bored with philosophy that I just have to share it with people. Although it's pretty obvious that the GAoP represents the burgeoning trend of existentialism (or perhaps nihilism is a better word) at the time. Yes, of course I recognize that these trends are more closely identified with the 19th century, but seriously, when have philosphers ever been on the cutting edge of ANYTHING?

The one thing that really plagues this project is what plagues every reenactment I've ever attended: finding the time to get EVERYBODY you want and need together.

Hooray! Congratulations, Nathan. You've finally found the one hobby more expensive than reenacting.

Happy birthday, Mission. How are the old eyeballs?

How did the fading experiment turn out? From my understanding linen and cotton use very robust mordants and don't respond well to RIT color remover.

The twentieth, myself. With a sister born on the twenty-fifth.

oh...we have missed one!...sacre blue...what is this....ow could we have missed.... yours is commin....oh boy is yours commin Man, I didn't even know there was a ceremony until Jack told me about it. Say, I thought I was in town when it happened - in town with YOU! When WAS this ceremony?

Matt, I got to hold some of your wares at the fort - very impressive. Not many folks can capture the lightness and liveliness of the original. Also, my name is Matt as well, so that's, you know, that's cool.

Happy Birthday, Mate.

Okay. Because I wormed on Sunday. I think I was in town when the sun went down, though.

Say, what constitutes a cannoneer?

Of course. I have many more - I just have to sort through them and post the best ones.

Rats was so looking forward to his tropical island experience that he wouldn't have asked for a blanket anyway. All week leading up to the trip he kept saying "You don't need a blanket - it's key west! You don't need a pad to sleep on - it's key west!" And true to his word, he used neither blanket nor pad, though I offered to share. He's actually quite resourceful. He took his extra shirts and filled them with fuzzy caterpillars and made an impromptu featherbed, albeit one that writhed and squirmed. I think he even tossed a few into maddogge's hammock, so he could sleep more comfortably...

I know! It reminds me of that old movie, with Lon Chaney, I think? London After Dark? Anyway, I totally look like some crazy cuban vampirate.