What would you say?

[shadoes]

Finally got some information back from the place. They want me to speak about what I would do as a pirate in every day life. Heh the short answer is same thing everyone else does I just occasionally rob someone. But that isn't what they mean. They want me to talk about everyday sailing life which again is rather boring most of the time just like any other job. Can probably focus on the things we popularlly think pirates did and bring it to reality that way. So with those things in mind any more advice?

[Red Sea Trade]

Know any Oklahoman pirates? 

Well, my mother was from Muskogee, does that count?

Actually, my mother was more to be feared than any pirate. She had hands like country hams, was a dead shot and subsisted entirely on a diet of gin, black coffee and Lucky Strikes.

[Rumba Rue]

I started by asking them to tell me all the things that they would expect a pirate to wear.  I got all the usual, then asked them to imagine the following--

A man walks toward you with a peg leg, hook instead of a hand and an eye patch.  What does he do for a living?

They all answered, of course, "He's a pirate!"

"No", I replied.  "He might be an EX-pirate, but he wouldn't be any use at all missing a hand, a leg and an eye.  Whatever he does for a living now, it isn't piracy."

I then addressed my own (very, very unromantic) garb.  I explained that I was dressed as a typical English sailor of the era.  I then said "Want to see me change into being a pirate?"

They all vigorously assented.  I picked up my doglock.

"There, now I'm a pirate."

They groaned with disappointment.  I made a simple analogy-- Do present day criminals walk around during their daily life wearing cartoon-style black "robber" masks and carrying huge sacks with dollar signs drawn on them?  If not, why not?

Now that's a funny idea....

[Iron Bess]

By the way.. do we get to see the finished product??

[Red Sea Trade]

Can probably focus on the things we popularlly think pirates did and bring it to reality that way. So with those things in mind any more advice?  :lol

I often start with a recruitment pitch, trying to entice them to sign aboard my ship. Plunder! Rum! Adventure! Then, once I have an eager crew, I like to bring out some interesting visual aids-- preferably a hunk of rock-hard ship's bread and a piece of either salt cod or salt pork, perhaps with some dried whole peas on the side for color. Then I spin colorful yarns about the delicious, healthy fare to be had aboard ship. Yes, nothing better than a piece of slightly green codfish on a hot, tropic night...

[shadoes]

Well today went well. Basically they still didn't really know what they wanted so I sort of went out in character and started asking the kids questions and pulling them in a bit. Asking them things like 'would you like to be a pirate? great here is your job. How about you? great well here is what you will get to eat once we get on the ship...then we discussed a bit how we glamorize pirate life. How we think it was great, but in reality it was a hard life.

Fielded the usual questions about my accent,"Is that a real accent? Does it sound real? Then I guess it is real" Actually it does sound real if a bit modern but it works.

After that I told stories of two battles, one of Edward England and then the last fight of Bartholomew Roberts. Told them in that order since the first fight pirates actually got a bit of shiny and in the second they mostly died. Used how Roberts died to illustrate what happened to a lot of pirates and went into what happened when you got tried and convicted , then ended the whole thing with a quote from PoTC, what happened to most pirates.. and what was funny was at this point a good portion of those watching actually chanted with me without prompting.. "A Short Drop and a Sudden Stop". I took some more questions thanked them for listening and sent them on their way. hehe what I didn't know was that one of the ladies listening was part of the crew that put this thing together. Didn't find that out till the other lady whom I did know was part of it came over and said " I hear you were great". Which made me feel good.

[Capt. Sterling]

.. "A Short Drop and a Sudden Stop".

Um actually that came about later... GAoP... was a "pull the cart out and you strangle slowly to death" for about at least 15 mins or longer...if you were fortunate, loved ones came and pulled on yer legs to hurry up the process...

but hats off to you and the wee ones...sounds as if you all handled the time brilliantly!!

[shadoes]

They knew the line :) And after a half an hour attention starts to wane with so much going on around them.