Pirates in Paradise 2008 - Key West, Fl
(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
Chapter 9th - Where surgeon Mission acquires a cool pouch
which he covets, the Mercury crew does nothing (again), Brig explains
what she and Mae were doing up at 4am; Mission talks about how he wound up
on the M.A. d'Dogge cannon crew once again and the third and final
battle takes place including several scenes that he just found out about
and decided to include pictures of anyhow.
2/7/08, Day, I went to the fort with Michael Bagley and Red Jessi soon after I arrived at the encampment. I wanted to bring my camera, so Michael loaned me a leather pouch that I now desperately need. (Re-enacting. It's all about acquiring stuff so you look cool in photos.)
I decided to go ahead and plunk down the cash for a journal. I got a very nice one with things pressed into the pages - leaves and whatnot - bound in leather. It looked about the right size in which a sea-surgeon might keep his notes.
Left: Michael Bagley, master wearer of cool stuff.
Iron Nigel of the Bone Island Buccaneers approached me and told me that my poster
was somewhere in the fort. He wouldn't tell me where my poster was, he
just said it was hanging on a tent. So I wandered around the fort like a
lost sheep bleating at people to help me find my poster. Naturally I kept
running into people I knew or who knew me, so I kept getting sidetracked.
(This happens a lot at PiP.) I eventually spotted various members of the
Mercury crew sitting atop the roof of the fort waiting for the cannon
firing to begin. I yelled at them to come down and help search for my
poster but they razzed me and didn't move. See what I do next time they
need a shot from the old clyster syringe.
(Photo at right of wall loafers: Mission's Collection)
(Photo: Mission)
Fortunately, Silver
Hawk, now of the Bone Island Buccaneers was standing down below and
heard me and agreed to help me search. We spent a fruitless 10 minutes
getting sidetracked by people we knew and not searching before we gave up.
Josh later pointed it out to me from the upper level and it was 5 freaking
feet from where Silver Hawk and I were talking about searching for it! If
he'd have nudged me backwards, I would have run into it.
Left: Silver Hawk telling lies to the tourists.
(Photo: Mission)
I also ran into Animal on my
way to the loo. He is a friendly, capable guy, which surprised me after
seeing his avatar. I told him I thought he would be more of a berserker
type. He said it just took the right stuff to get him there - by which he
meant rum. He had headed down with the better part of a bottle of Pyrat
rum which got him into trouble at the bad ass pirate competition. I guess
he got so into his act that he damaged one of the stage lights while
brandishing his sword and fists and romping about. So now he owes
Schooners Wharf $150 for a new light. He said he was so drunk that when he
called his wife the next morning to see what was going on, she explained
to him that he had already called last night - something he didn't recall
at all.
Right: Animal and me in paradise.
(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
We waited around without purpose until it was time
to start waiting for the third battle to begin. Brig served as crowd control,
which should be pretty comical to those of you who know her. (She's about
5' tall and as slight as a willow branch - with curves.) Before the firing
began, I asked her where Mae
was and she informed me she was still in bed. Sensing a story, I asked
about this and she said they had gone to bed at 9:30 last night. Odd.
Left: Mae and Brig - decided twins for life.
(Photo: Mary Diamond)
When I saw her again later, Mae was there and I asked
again why Mae would still be asleep at 2:00. It seems that M.A. d'Dogge
had walked in the parade and stayed in town
to get himself nice and happy. He returned sometime in the wee hours.
Apparently Mr. Dogge had asked for the gate combination no less than a
dozen times during the weekend. The last time he asked at the Hide
everyone screamed out the answer...except Captain Sterling who said
something different. Of course, that's the number MD remembered, so he
just climbed the fence when arrived suitably lit. Captain Sterling had been over at the pub and was also
well oiled about this time. I understand he was quite belligerent as his
crew guided him back to the encampment. Between he and M.A. d'Dogge, the
whole encampment was roused at about 1 am. Captain Sterling was poured
into the coffin thing he was sleeping in. Since everyone was up
anyhow, they all decided to go on a ghost hunt, possibly fueled by rum,
which lasted until 4 am. So that's why Mae said she was in bed at 2pm.
Sometimes I am glad I sleep in a condo and sometimes I feel I miss a lot.
Right: Haunted dog. No doubt one of the many proven spirits of the fort.
(Photo: Callahan Digital Art)
The third and final battle scenario was that the pirates had taken over the
fort and were to be attacked from the field by the British. They were all to
lollygag around the cannon area, carousing and be obnoxious. The
guns were up to point at each other, into the floor and straight in
the air.
Spike tries to get we pirates to behave. When we won't, he cons the Viceroy, who had been down in the pub drinking, into taking charge of the situation again. The Viceroy demands his wig and authority be returned to him first, which is done and then the cannons fire in earnest. (Poor earnest...) Left: Spike 'convinces' the Viceroy.
(Photo: Callahan Digital Art)
I was going to forgo cannon firing today and just take
pics of the cannon crews, but a somewhat shaky looking barefooted woman
with an unlit cigarette was wondering around the cannons asking the
Viceroy to put her on a cannon team. He was eying M.A. d'Dogge, who
begged me to be on his team before the Viceroy put the woman on his team.
(Cigarettes and black powder...thought by many to be a bad combination.)
So we had the same gun crew today.
Our crew had a misfire today and M.A. d'Dogge, who had either 8 or 14 years on a Civil War cannon crew got us to behave in such a way that the man playing the Viceroy was duly impressed and spent quite a bit of time talking with Dogge after the event.
Above right: Mad Dog & Keith handle a misfire under M.A. d'Dogges' guidance. I just stand there. Below left: The back-up plan - a field weapon manned by a hell cat. Below right: The results. And that is that.
(Photo: Callahan Digital Art)
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(Photo: Callahan Digital Art)
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