"X" Marks The Spot

Kevin Coolidge

“Arrggh, tie the scurvy dog to the yard arm.” I always wanted to say that, but I just don’t have the chance to say it in everyday conversation. Yep, I always wanted to be a pirate. My mother wanted me to be a lawyer, but well parrots and three piece suits just don’t mix, and so I comprised and read about them.

One of the greatest tales of pirates is “Treasure Island” by Robert L. Stevenson. Almost every book and movie since draws from this classic from X marks the spot to “yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.” Long John Silver is perhaps the most famous fictional pirate other than J. M . Barrie’s Captain Hook. Hey, how did Peter Pan get away with not growing up? Yes, there’s “Hook”, but well Robin Williams hasn’t grown up yet either.

Yes, pirates and their way of life as been romanticized, but life at sea was harsh and brutal and pirates weren’t jolly. “Under the Black Flag” by David Cordingly explores the reality of life among the pirates. From the origins of Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Sir Francis Drake, and the fierce, female brigands Mary Read and Anne Bonny to how the Jolly Roger, the pirate flag, got it’s name.

Yes, there were female pirates, though seafaring was male dominated. There was Granny O’Malley, a fiery red head who is still sung about in Irish ballads and whose story is told in “The Pirate Meets the Queen” by Matt Faulkner a children’s book that follows the tale of Granny’s appearance before the Queen of England. But for a historical perspective I recommend “Iron Men, Wooden Women” for women’s role in seafaring from whaling to the role of the captain’s wife on ship to brandishing a brace of pistols.

Pirates were men(and women) of the sea, and were isolated from normal society. Pirate crews developed expressions that have made their way into common usage(see, I could be a pirate and contribute)-such as “hit the deck” “don’t rock the boat” and “to harbor a grudge.” “The Pirate Dictionary defines many of these terms that originated when pirates sailed the seven seas. You know, on second thought I think I’ll grab a cutlass and a compass and head for open water- a pirate’s life for me……