I walked out in front of my classroom peers from the hallway door. I had a hard and crude cardboard paper peg leg attached to my real one, a black mess of a wig on my 9 year old head, a white tattered lace up cotton shirt, and a old ceramic jug -
for my rum of course.
The months that ensued from the day our teacher had given us the assignment, "Write a presentation speech on your idol, or someone you look up to". I spent the time rehearsing and reenacting. Taking every little detail from the history books and making them into me, who would then appease the crowd that I must speak in front of.
I began my tale on the high seas with my back faced to the on lookers. I spun around real fast and with a gleaming eye growled,
"Argggghhhhh! Mateys, have eh en tale til tellyas...
And eh beee Teach himself."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sUaJZX9ZkM
(Video - Black Beard Song)
In my search for the lost treasure, I have decided to set sail down the coasts of my youth. To sail in and out the shallows and shoals was a gifted pleasure. Even venturing in the islands I had camped out on with my family long lost. I find myself in a very familiar place, one where treasure and history made waves in the early 1700's and now waves in the infant years of the 2000's. Queen Anne's Revenge, appropriately named, has been confirmed and located right here off these coastal waters. The salvaging and categorizing still continues. But to think - how amazing our technology, how amazing our dive equipment, how amazing to bring my past time to life for the first time ever. Most of all, my very own pirate ship is safely docked at one of the wanderer's pit stops and here I stand in Beaufort - overlooking once again the very spot where my formidable years passed through often on a whim and a wind. It is still a charming little place, with early evenings and friendly folk. I am glad to see that tourism and greed has not set it into motion to become something bigger and better, I do hope it will never change. I am glad to still see that most of the area has been kept a sancturary by the state of North Carolina, on the behalf of an icon, fellow biologist, and intriguing author - Rachel Carson. It has not disapointed me, and one can still come here to see wild horses and listen to the sea wind. I did take my dingy in the inlets, as I cannot navigate my ship over the riffles for fear of the same fate of old Blackbeard's beauty. But I have found treasure here, so to speak. Not a thing placed here long ago, not a thing one can hold or touch, but a sense of not all is lost to the world as we made it. In addition to it, I have found the ship of the great man himself, Edward Teach - who would of thought I would have such good fortune?
Not much has changed from this self portrait through the years. The hair remains the same, yet bearing more locks and quite possibly more red. Where I currently reside, the black leather is kept to full attire as it is all too cold - yet behind closed doors one might get to see this desire. My dragon has always been my sidekick, depicted of a spiritual creature timeless and always there - he currently is in the form of my canine mate. The Flintlock Pistol is actually a familial airloom in the form of a Glock 17 once belonging to the late Great Sire himself. I currently spend most of my time on the sea, whether near it, in it, or on it. But most importantly, the bijou of a solitaire on my hand (I will admit those hands on the portrait are rather masculine, not like mine at all. I suppose the artist was using his own as a reference). This esmeralda has been a part of the family for generations, set at one era as a ring along with 6 diamonds in Austria by a famous and renowned artisan.
Yo ho Yo ho A Pirate's Life For Me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Z05lM7gYo
(Video - Queen Anne's Revenge Wreck Dive Site)
for my rum of course.
The months that ensued from the day our teacher had given us the assignment, "Write a presentation speech on your idol, or someone you look up to". I spent the time rehearsing and reenacting. Taking every little detail from the history books and making them into me, who would then appease the crowd that I must speak in front of.
I began my tale on the high seas with my back faced to the on lookers. I spun around real fast and with a gleaming eye growled,
"Argggghhhhh! Mateys, have eh en tale til tellyas...
And eh beee Teach himself."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sUaJZX9ZkM
(Video - Black Beard Song)
In my search for the lost treasure, I have decided to set sail down the coasts of my youth. To sail in and out the shallows and shoals was a gifted pleasure. Even venturing in the islands I had camped out on with my family long lost. I find myself in a very familiar place, one where treasure and history made waves in the early 1700's and now waves in the infant years of the 2000's. Queen Anne's Revenge, appropriately named, has been confirmed and located right here off these coastal waters. The salvaging and categorizing still continues. But to think - how amazing our technology, how amazing our dive equipment, how amazing to bring my past time to life for the first time ever. Most of all, my very own pirate ship is safely docked at one of the wanderer's pit stops and here I stand in Beaufort - overlooking once again the very spot where my formidable years passed through often on a whim and a wind. It is still a charming little place, with early evenings and friendly folk. I am glad to see that tourism and greed has not set it into motion to become something bigger and better, I do hope it will never change. I am glad to still see that most of the area has been kept a sancturary by the state of North Carolina, on the behalf of an icon, fellow biologist, and intriguing author - Rachel Carson. It has not disapointed me, and one can still come here to see wild horses and listen to the sea wind. I did take my dingy in the inlets, as I cannot navigate my ship over the riffles for fear of the same fate of old Blackbeard's beauty. But I have found treasure here, so to speak. Not a thing placed here long ago, not a thing one can hold or touch, but a sense of not all is lost to the world as we made it. In addition to it, I have found the ship of the great man himself, Edward Teach - who would of thought I would have such good fortune?
Not much has changed from this self portrait through the years. The hair remains the same, yet bearing more locks and quite possibly more red. Where I currently reside, the black leather is kept to full attire as it is all too cold - yet behind closed doors one might get to see this desire. My dragon has always been my sidekick, depicted of a spiritual creature timeless and always there - he currently is in the form of my canine mate. The Flintlock Pistol is actually a familial airloom in the form of a Glock 17 once belonging to the late Great Sire himself. I currently spend most of my time on the sea, whether near it, in it, or on it. But most importantly, the bijou of a solitaire on my hand (I will admit those hands on the portrait are rather masculine, not like mine at all. I suppose the artist was using his own as a reference). This esmeralda has been a part of the family for generations, set at one era as a ring along with 6 diamonds in Austria by a famous and renowned artisan.
Yo ho Yo ho A Pirate's Life For Me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Z05lM7gYo
(Video - Queen Anne's Revenge Wreck Dive Site)
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