Pirates in Paradise 2007 - Key West, Fl
Epilogue - In which the ship's surgeon does go on about how much fun he had, despite the fact that he was supposed to have been captured by the pirates of the Mercury.
December 11th, Postscript I hope you've gotten a pretty good of what Pirates in Paradise is like...at least from my perspective. This web page is culled from a series of posts I put on the pyracy.com forums as the event was going on to try and give everyone who couldn't make it an inkling of the way the event unfolded. I thought I could offer a description through the eyes of a first timer, which gave me focus and got me talking to several of the splendid folks who attended PiP.
Photo: Mary Diamond
I'm extremely grateful to several folks including Mary Diamond, Haunting Lily and Michael
Bagley for helping me with costuming my surgeon character. Thanks to Michael
and his wonderful tailoring skills I was able to capture the essence of
the character I had in mind. I only wish he could have been there to see it in
person.
During the event, I saw many movie-inspired pirate outfits in the fort, many period garbed pirates in the campsites outside the fort (which included our Mercury camp) and me, the sole representative of "the lower class gentleman turned surgeon, who also happens to have been abducted by pirates" garb. This fit my concept of the character quite well. Patrick Hand's planter's hat completed the effect. For all my self-proclaimed creative talents, I confess that I can't sew worth a damn. I am thus ill-equipped to enjoy the many facets of period correct garb - its research, its construction, its thread counts and buttons. Fortunately, I do love to research ideas that interest me which is probably why the surgeon gig took my interest.
I also want to mention all the people who generously posted their photos online. My camera was DOA Key West, a fact that normally wouldn't bother me much. (I'm not much on taking vacation photos.) However, at an event like this, you almost need a camera to capture all the amazing things going on and all the interesting people around you. Thank God for the many folks whose cameras were alive and kicking.
In these pages, you find photos from several pyracy.com pub posters. Without their photos, this page wouldn't nearly as interesting. (Next year I will definitely bring a real camera. In fact, I want one just like William Red Wake has...) So by way of thanks to them, I list them below. If you click on their photograph, you will be linked to their albums (if they still exist.)
WILLIAM
Photo: Mary Diamond |
JADED JETTY Photo: Mission
|
MARY DIAMOND
Photo: William Red Wake |
SILKIE MCDONOUGH
Photo: Tony Callahan |
TONY CALLAHAN
Photo: Mission |
Photo: William Red Wake
Photo: Tony Callahan
Above, Billy &
his brother M.A.d'Dogge hold a little debate over who gets to hold the rum. At right, First Mate Braze of the Tortuga Mutineers and Silver Hawk in the fort.
As with most such events, it was really the people who made this one so fun. Everyone was very helpful and gave excellent advice, just as Mary Diamond had promised me would happen when I was worrying about not being well prepared. From the very start, Harry Smid of the fort and Fayma Callahan let me know that I was among friends.
Photo: Tony Callahan
Fayma Callahan & Mad Mary Diamond in the Fort.
Nearly everyone I met at this event was a font of knowledge in
some facet of piracy. Plus they seem to be among the nicest, most
interesting folks; another reason I spent time trying to corner people
and talk to them. I walked with Patrick to get his cigs, had an
incredible dinner at the estimable Cafe Sole
with Keith & Haunting Lily, tried to keep up with Tony Callahan as
he explained the details of effectively increasing photo sizes, dined
with Bilgemunky at the Rum Barrel, got extraordinarily drunk with Stynky
Tudor, sat down with Master Studley to discuss props, mulled life
with Boo over conch fritters, listened to Captain Jim and William Red
Wake explain various aspects of surgery that I had only read bits and
pieces about and planned the campsite with William. (Well, made
appropriate noises as I listened to William plan the site.)
Great people make for a great hobby. I guess I have a new hobby, thanks to a bunch of really cool people I met. At the beginning of the event, sitting on the empty stretch of Australian Pine infested sand, I responded to a question from William that I really wasn't sure if I'd come back again in 2008 or not. By the end of the event, he asked me again, and I said I was certain that I would if I possibly could. Hopefully, having read this site and lingered over the wonderful pictures, I'll see you there. I'll be the guy in the large planter's hat.
 Photo: Tony Callahan Nicole Andreyko and friend. |
 Photo: Tony Callahan Harry Smid and Mark as red coats. |
 Photo: Tony Callahan Fayma's son of the Sacred Heart Crew. |
 Photo: Tony Callahan A scurvy-looking lot if ever there was one. |
 Photo: William Red Wake Going... |
Photo: William Red WakeGoing... |
Photo: William Red WakeGone! |
JACK ROBERTS Photo: Jack & Brig |
August 2011: I just can't leave well enough alone. I needed some photos for the photographer credits and I found a whole slew of shots that I really liked. At the time of this event, I didn't know a lot of these people, so I didn't include photos of them. Many of them are now good friends who have appeared repeatedly in the Surgeon's Journals. So I'm adding a bunch of new photos in the usual Epilogue style. Some of these photos are from albums not used elsewhere in this journal, so I am also going to add to new photographer credits, just so everyone gets there due. :) |
IRON JOHN
Photo: Iron John |
First, I want to stick the banner I created for the original PiP '07 journal. Although, in truth, this is the second banner I created. I did that when I upgraded this Journal. (If you are any bit of a perfectionist, never start a web page. You will forever be finding new ways to 'fix' it.)
 Photo: William Red Wake, the graphics are Mission's fault |
Below is the real original banner; the title is sort of a take off on Geoffy Chaucer who died centuries before the GAoP even started. (What can I say? Ya' gotta' start somewhere...who knew there would be other ones?)
 |
Iron John and Paula are now great Mercury crew mates, but for whatever reason I never really talked with them during this event. My loss.
 Photo: Iron John You know Long John Silver? This is Long John Iron |
 Photo: Iron John Could Paula BE any more anachronistic? |
Photo: Jack Roberts 
Photo: Jack Roberts
Back in
Chapter 2, I had talked about Willie Wobble's wonderful cooking setup, but posted a really lame photo of it.
(Note that I am providing you with a link so you can go back and see how lame that photo was. Lucky you.)
It turns out that I didn't look hard enough for a good photo, however, because Jack Roberts had actually taken one, which you can see here at left. Unfortunately, it's tough to take a good photo in the shade of the Australian Pines under a canvas fly. So you still only have a vague idea of how cool his camp set-up was. Too bad for you.
Above right we have a photo that is is no way related to Willie's cooking set-up, but I needed to fill space here and I really liked the shot of imprisoned Diosa. I suppose I could have made something up like, 'Diosa was jailed by the redcoats for insulting Willie's cooking' or 'Diosa was caught stealing the squirmy spoons Willie makes and was in prison awaiting the cutting off of her hand.' But I won't. I don't want to start rumors. For the time being.
Below are a couple of photos that give insight into the true Archangel spirit.
 Photo: Silkie McDonough "So your kid lost his contact here? We'll use the secrete power of our tricorns to find it!" |
 Photo: Jaded Jetty (jetgoff) Sarah Sterling and Abigail M. Normal relax while Captain Sterling isn't around. "Oh! Here he comes! Look busy!" |
Every organization has it's groupings and cliques and so forth; even disparate gathering of pirate re-enactors. Below is some insight into the social groupings.
 Photo: Jaded Jetty You know how there's a place where cool people hang? This it the PiP equivalent: Harry, Mark, Patrick and Jim. |
 Photo: Iron John The place where loners hang. (I look like a folk singer.) |
 Photo: Jaded Jetty The place where babies hang. (That's Charlie, awaiting delivery.) |
This brings us to some random photos. (What do you mean, "What were all the rest of those photos up there?" Each line had a theme. Sort of.)
 Photo: Jaded Jetty William Red Wake & Old Man of the Sea |
Photo: Jack RobertsMae and twin sister Brig with PC hair extensions |
Photo: Jack RobertsA forlorn Mae searches |
 Photo: Jaded Jetty "the power of Christ compels you!" (Now that is one priest/possessed combo that will put you off your feed for a day or two.) |
 Photo: Jaded Jetty Crudbeard and Oreo the Mynah bird. Is Oreo picking things out of Crudbeard's beard or what? |
 Photo: Mary Diamond "One sickening sensation -every clumsy step they take. One frightening combination -ev-ry move that they make." (Say, why is there only one girl in this dance line?) |
 Photo: Jaded Jetty Stynky behaving just as you expect him to.. (He should be in the chorus line.) |