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Fort Taylor Pyrate Invasion Nov/Dec 2012 - Key West, FL
Chapter 12th: An interview with Tury Cespedes; Buttoning up the surgeon's gear (well, not really buttoning it up, but putting it away. I wish I could button it up. In fact, I wish I had a magical bag of holding because the stuff keeps getting heavier and heavier and...); How the Mercury crew made char cloth; The magic of friend-made goods; Eating goat balls (no, not me, others); The group photo and the sub-group photo and How Commodore Poppycock inspired us all.
I went back and retrieved my bone saw from Bartleby Boom and then returned to my surgeon's gear. There I did several presentations, which reminds me that it is time to do another Avis spot! (Wow, that was a bad transition, wasn't it? Oh well, it can't be any worse than this running gag.)
Photo: Mae Harrington
Mission Explaining Cupping (As Promised)
At left, the author explaining cupping and thinking about that time when the Privateering vessel he was aboard - the Totally Sinkable - was sunk off the northwestern coast of Guam during the Another War in a String of Such Wars War between England and Spain. Or France. Or possibly the Netherlands.
As the ship was going down,
Photo: Mission
Where did he get that belt?
he struggled to reach the Northwestern shore of the island, crawling over the broken remains of his ships and twisted bodies of people who had been playing Twister on the ship. There he found a couple rolling around in the sand, totally groping each other on the beach - the woman in a black one piece swim suit and the man in the most outrageous silk white ruffled shirt and bright red breeches that he had ever seen. (Apparently this man thought this was appropriate pirate garb, the author later learned.)
Completely flummoxed, he just stood there gaping. How could they be doing that when there was all this war raging around them? He remained there in stunned shock until someone in a tutu emerged from the forest and, noticing his state, took him to the island's barber-surgeon for bloodletting and cupping. That man saved his life, he did. (It was, of course, Stynky Tudor in the tutu. I'll never forget his kindness. Or that tutu.) And you can get your tutu to be just like him at Avis along with the coconut brasserie and the authentical grass skirts! Today! Yoiks!
Photo: Mission
Tury & My Cigar Box Apothecary Kit
I had asked Tury for an opportunity to talk yesterday. She remembered and returned to sit and chat with me . (I was on her list of things to do because she was leaving soon, which kind of bummed me out. I was already feeling a bit down because fellow twin Mae had decided to leave earlier in the day. Who was I going to be stupid with? Fortunately Brig stepped up.) At most events, I wouldn't give Sunday night the time of day (so to speak) but it's always the best evening at this one.)
Photo: Mission
Tury as a Redcoat. Isn't That a
Buiguiling Smile?
Tury is a friend of Maria De Los Angles, whom I talked with last year. Maria was planning to introduce Tury to the wonder that was FTPI this year, but she got sick and decided it was best not to make the trip. Tury told me Maria gone on and on about it so she was really interested in seeing the event because she loved the ocean and had "always wanted to play a pirate." When she learned that Maria couldn't go, she got in her car and came down anyhow. "I was not going to miss this opportunity.' I love finding that sort of pluckiness in people, particularly women. For some reason new-to-pirate reenactors seem to have it in spades.
Tury is originally from Cuba - she came to the US when she was 17. I asked her about Cuba, because it seemed fascinating to me, but she just sort of shrugged at the question and said it was a beautiful place but it could be a hard life. I also learned that she had an undergrad degree in computer programming with an MBA added for good measure. From talking with other folks at the event she had learned that there had been active pirates in Cuba (during the 1800s as I recall) so she was going to do some research and find out more about them. She told me she was already looking forward to coming back next year.
Photo: Mission
The Kid's Costume Contest
Today was actually Kid's Day according to the schedule. Indeed, there were quite a number of kids wandering about the place, although I had noticed that there were quite a few yesterday as well. I can remember a few years ago when we didn't see a lot of people, much less kids, but this year must have been a record-breaker.
Photo: Mission
"Tell them to sell AT&T short and don't
bother me again. I'm
a-pirating!"
The schedule called for "a fun filled day for the all the little swashbucklers!" It explained that there was an interactive show performed by the crew of Presenting the Past, a Pirate Children’s Show performed by the Bawdy Buccaneers, Crudbeard’s Cannon School, Cutlass Lessons for Little Swashbucklers, Life as a Pirate Interactive Kids Show and a chance to turn pirate aboard the Picaroon Princess. Having recited this laundry list of events, I have to confess that I didn't see any of them. I did happen to wander into the Costume Contest, which you see at left.
I couldn't avoid seeing the Scavenger Hunt because it started across the way at the Main Tent. If that was any indication of attendance, the Kid's Day was a huge success.
 Photo: Poppa Ratsey The Crowd For the Kid's Scavenger Hunt Across From the Surgeon |
 Photo: Wendy Wellman Michelle Leads the Mob of Little Kids (Better her than me.) |
Photo: Jim McGavic
Has anyone counted the Key Deer lately?
Speaking of kids, I had heard from Scarlett Jai that the goat was actually a visual pun played on the fact that Sunday was Kid's Day. Kid? Get it...? Yeah, it's not a great pun, but the effort was there.
Now if this is true, that means that my little discussion about bringing a goat into the event really had no impact on the goat, per se. However, Deadeye assured me that they watch the forums and pick up on interesting ideas coming from the hoi polloi when putting this event together. He said they had read the thing about the goat and it had been a part of what led to it's being in situ. Whether it's true or not, I choose to believe it, because I live in my own little word.
I am always fascinated to see who ends up tending my surgeon's display when I am gone. I should note that this is a wonderful effort on behalf of my crewmates - even when they're not interested in stepping in and explaining the tools on the table, they keep an eye on them which I really do appreciate. But when folks appear hungering for 17th century surgical information, many of my fellow pirates feel compelled to go the extra mile and help them out by going over some of the tools and procedures. (Their ability to do this is aided by having to sit and listen to me recite my surgeon's patter over and over and over....) Below are a few shots of this voyage's surgeon's mates. Thanks to them for pitching in!
 Photo: Mission William Red Wake Presents the Clyster Syringe to the Amazed |
 Photo: Mission Iron Jon Detailing the Intricies of Ship's Surgery |
Photo: Mission
Iron Jon Cuts Linen to Make Char Cloth
It was getting near closing time for the fort (sunset), so I started packing things away in my surgeon's box. While I was doing that, some of the Mercury boys started making fire-starter kits. Iron Jon pulled out a little box of blue and white striped cloth cut about 2" wide and a bag of flax. Captain Jim explained how to make the fire-starter and Jon and William began assembling them.
The way this was done that you took the pieces of cloth, stacked a couple of them together and lit them on fire, letting them smolder without letting them light up. If I remember it rightly, Jim said when you saw smoke, it was time to stop. This created a ashy-looking piece of cloth which was then buried in the highly flammable flax and stored in a little metal box. Being so flammable, it worked well with flint and iron. (And, as anyone who has ever tried to start a fire with flint and iron will attest, anything you can do to help get it to work should be highly prized. I have tried to start fires by working tirelessly with flints and irons to no avail.)
 Photo: Mission Iron Jon and William Red Wake Working to Create Effective Tinder |
 Photo: Mission William Showing an Example of Char Cloth |
Captain Jim is a font of interesting knowledge. He is also one fine wood-worker based on the pipe box he had donated to
Photo: William Red Wake
the auction last night. He has agreed to make my plaster box for me (which is an open box with compartments in it for storing plasters, bandages and gallipots of ointments and medicines.)
This brings up a point that I find interesting about reenacting. Some of the best reenactment pieces you have in your kit are often those that 1) have a story that goes with them - like my newly pig-breast-bone christened Chad Azevedo bonesaw and 2) were made by a friend - also like the Chad bonesaw. Thus, getting a Captain Jim original wood product would be a prize worth having.
Since the event, I have been gathering up the small items I need to put into the plaster box so that he can design the box around them. Cascabel happened to be sitting at our table while we were talking about this and he gave me some excellent suggestions for making realistic-looking plasters. He said to use Vasoline on the fabric of the plaster and add cinnamon to some of them to give them a ruddy brown color. In this way, the plaster box officially become a group project.
Photo: Mission
Greg's Sketch & Greg Sketching It!
As I was putting the last things away, a gentleman came over from next door. He said he was a friend of Greg's and a fellow World War I reenactor and he wanted to show me something. I wasn't very clear on who he was or why he would want to show me anything, but enlightenment often comes to those who are patient. This man produced a
Photo: Mission
Artist Extraordinaire
pencil sketch and a large, soft-sided photo album. He flipped through the album until he found the page he wanted and then offered both of them to me.
"That's a sketch Greg drew of one our fellow WWI reenactors on a tank. And this - showing me the picture in the photo album - is him sketching it! He's a pretty good artist, but he doesn't like to tell anyone." I enjoyed the art and the moment of its rendering for a bit. I didn't really need proof that Greg had secret, unheralded talents, but I understood that this was important for my guest.
I wish I could reproduce a better image of the sketch than I have done here. It was the only photo I took. (I have a general policy of taking only one photo and then trying to fix it when it doesn't come out. I am farsighted these days and can't make out the little view screen on the camera without my reading glasses. Since I do not like to make a production of things I just take one and hope for the best.) Some times this policy bites me back, as it has done here. I tried to fix the image, but...
With the surgeon's gear all packed and ready for the long voyage home, I was free to wander. So I wandered over to the forge where First Mate Matt and his girlfriend Maria Elizabeth Barriga were making leaves. "I wanted to see something other than nails and pot holders made up here this weekend," Matt told me. He is a sword forger by trade. I told Maria about my forier, which is to be nature-themed, and how I wanted to have metal ivy climbing the balusters. "Oh, let me get your information!" she said brightly. "You don't need to get Mission's information," Matt told her with a chuckle as he worked on his leaf a bit more.
 Photo: Mission Matt Reveals the Leaf as it is in Progress |
 Photo: Mission Maria Gives us a Close-Up of a Similar Leaf |
 Photo: MissionMatt and Maria Putz Around the Forge |
It was getting near time for the pig roast. Usually I try to escape the fort for the Sunday dinner because the food is not really Mission/vegetarian friendly and it's often cold by the time you get up to it. However this year looked to be quite different and I was actually looking forward to the Sunday Pig Roast. As I touched on briefly, the food this year in the fort has been both good and reasonably affordable.
Photo: Don Dunbar
A Pre-Dinner Snack, Up for Auction on Saturday
Before we get to dinner proper, however, I want to mention William and Iron Jon's pre-dinner snack. It seems that Mamasabi had cooked the goat's balls from the auction, slicing them quite thin and frying them or something. (Maybe they were breaded, but I never saw them, so I can only report second-hand info here.) Both William and Iron Jon tried them and noted, almost simultaneously, that they tasted like, you guessed it, leather. No! They tasted like chicken!
This reminds me of a story. I used to work for a natural gas pipeline company as part of a team of software engineers. We occasionally needed to visit compression station sites to install software and check the results at the location. For those who don't know, compressor stations are loud and so are located in the most out-of the way places the gas company can find.
Two of my co-workers, Terry and Jim (not related to anyone in this Journal) were at a particularly remote remote location and decided to try some local cuisine. They found a little backwater restaurant that served something called "Mountain Oysters." Daredevils that they were, they ordered them and found they really liked them, although they tasted nothing like oysters. So they asked the waitress what they were eating. She said, and I'm stating it to you exactly as they stated it to me, "Them's hawg's balls!"
Photo: Mission
Organizing the Group Photo As Seen From the Front Lines
Before dinner could start, we were all corralled over to the sally port near where the Pyracy Pub flag was hanging. It was time to get the group photo.
In previous years this has been a rather rag-tag, disorganized event that took longer to set up than the Battle of the Bulge. This year was refreshingly different. It was assembled quite quickly and only took about five or ten minutes to shoot. For some reason we were supposed to be in groups, so we Mercury crew members all got in the center- right of the back row. We did our best to try and look handsome and debonair instead of tired and sweaty which we really were.
 Photo: Poppa Ratsey The Group Photo - No, I'm not going to try and identify everyone. Nor will I make the ubiquitous 'Where's Waldo?' joke. |
Back at our encampment, Poppa Ratsey came over and took a group shot of the Mercury Crew which came out much better than it had a right to, given our current state.
 Photo: Poppa Ratsey The 2012 FTPI Mercury Crew Pose in Front of Their Standard: Beowulf, William Red Wake, Captain Jim, madPete, Mission and Iron Jon |
Photo: Mission
Commodore Poppycock
and Youngblood
Some time later, Beowulf appeared in his Commodore Poppycock outfit. Seeing this, we members of the Mercury crew decided that it wasn't proper to have The Commodore dine with the unwashed, so we agreed to use Iron Jon's tent fly as our dining area, arranging the tables so he could eat with his own group of unwashed. (It was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday so we were really pushing the limits of decency as far as unwashedness goes. Trust me here.)
Photo: Jim McGavic
The Dining Arrangement for the Mercury Tents
The surgeon's tables and Iron Jon's slat table were assembled into the reasonable proximity of a long dinner table. Since our camp was directly across from the meeting tent where dinner was served, this worked out quite well.
Being in Jon's tent, it also meant we would be treated to some of Jon's fine victuals while we waited on dinner. He produced cheese, meat and other assorted snack food while we waited for the pre-dinner festivities to start.
Stynky, Braze and Cascabel appeared and sat down at our table to wait with us (and maybe have some cheese, meat and other assorted snack foods.)
Speaking of Braze, I decided to interview him for the Journal this year. He sent me such interesting and well-thought out responses that I am going to do something I have never done before - put his answers in here verbatim, interview style. (It's a very particular interview style, in fact.)
Surgeon's Journal Interview: DAVID "BRAZE" FLEMMING
a candid interview
with one of the pirate reenactors who helped shoot Mission's Mug
|
David Flemming is a quiet, but self-possessed and even austere pirate reenactor. You can tell he's been doing this for a long time, from the the way he commands the respect of his fellows to the easy way he loads and fires his blunderbuss while chomping on a signature black cigar. "Braze" can often be found with his friends Stynky Tudor and Cascabel, enjoying a laugh. Originally from Detroit, he's moved around quite a bit. We caught up with him in his Atlanta home. PS Journal: How long have you been reenacting? PS Journal: Do you reenact any other period? PS Journal: Why did you choose to reenact pirates? What first got you interested in pirates? PS Journal: What do you like most about pirate re-enacting? |
bickering. Then there is the chance to play so many other characters, to let your crazy side out and have fun with it. Add to that my love of guns and ships and it’s a full house. PS Journal: Why did you move to Atlanta? What do you like about it? PS Journal: What do you do when you're not playing pirate? PS Journal: How long have you been going to the Key West Pirate Events? PS Journal: What's the best story you can think of from the Key West Pirate Events? |
roamed the streets in and out of all the bars. They wanted us to come to their bars and cut up because we were a draw for customers. That’s when you could not buy a drink for yourself. Sing a song, tell a joke, act like a pirate and someone was always buying you a drink. We fired our guns on Duval Street and the police paid us no mind. If they showed up they would just go “Oh it’s just you guys, have fun and be safe.” and drive off. Well one night we were at a bar that is gone now. We had been out front firing up in the air at the request of the barkeep for drinks of course. That was before I stopped wadding my pistol and long before I had the blunderbuss. Anyway we were across from the old courthouse firing up in the air. I fired and stood there proud of the fact that yet again my flintlock had gone off on the first try. I looked up again to see my wad still burning as it slowly floated down, down, down clearly heading for one of the Harley Davison motorcycles parked in a line in front of the courthouse. Plop it landed on the leather seat! The things that run through your mind in a mill-second. Motorcycle bursting into flames, gangs chasing me down Duval Street. As my life flashed before my eyes, a man with a bottle of something in one hand sprang from the steps of the courthouse and batted away the burning paper. He and his drinking buddies gave me this big “How ya like me now?” grin and all I could do was nod thank you and duck my dumb ass back into the bar. |
 Photo: Poppa Ratsey "Sing a song, tell a joke, act like a pirate and someone was always buying you a drink." |
 Photo: Wendy Wellman "Well I am retired so I get to do most anything I want and can afford." |
 Photo: Poppa Ratsey"We are a family with all the family love and bickering." |