Ahoy Mateys!

Ahoy Mateys!  Michigan Recognizes “Talk Like A Pirate Day”!

For those of you looking for a way to emerge from the doldrums of realizing that summer
is almost over, let me suggest that you circle Thursday, September 19 on your
calendar. No, it isn’t Sweetest Day which coincidentally is October 19, another important day on the Autumn calendar.   But I think there is something more important and compelling occurring, at least in my warped mind – it is “International Talk Like A Pirate Day”!  Now what could be more exciting than that!
 

For you landlubbers who have been unaware of this Holiday, it will be the 11th
anniversary of Pirate Day.  It is now considered an international event and if  you search the “Talk Like A Pirate Day” website, you will quickly discover that pirate wannabes are celebrating this
day in as faraway places as Rome, Auckland New Zealand, Tokyo and of course
numerous locations in the United States.  Many of these towns are featuring costume contests and pirate sailings. In fact, the Michigan legislature recently passed a resolution that will officially recognize the day in the Mitten state.  Senator Roger Kahn representing Saginaw Township presented the resolution while wearing a black eye patch.  His rational was that since Michigan is known as the Great Lakes State it would be appropriate to recognize “Talk Like A Pirate Day” as a “maritime initiative”.
 
Now before we get sidetracked concluding that pirates are evil, “Talk Like a Pirate Day”
is dedicated to the friendly pirates found in most children’s movies.  Film flicks such as “Muppet Treasure Island”, or “Scooby-Doo In Pirates Ahoy”, or any of the “Pirates of the Caribbean”
adventures present the friendly side of these sea goers.   So having said that let’s return to what
makes this day so special.

 First of all it gives us pirate wannabes an opportunity to inject some swagger in our
conversations.  Who can resist greeting friends either on the phone or in person with words such as “ahoy” – “avast” – or “arrr”.  So for all you swashbucklers out there, this is a time to maybe don an eye patch and assume a new identity for just a day.  What could be more fun!  As
an added bonus, the “Talk Like A Pirate Day” website also features Pirate
Pick-Up Lines, pirate advice from Cap’n Slappy and of course an opportunity to
subscribe to the Poopdeck newsletter.  And what with all the confusion we are
undergoing in a troubled world, isn’t a little silliness most welcome.  I sure think so!

In the past, people have asked me how to celebrate the day at work if the boss frowns on any falderal.  Here is my take on that:  I think you have to try the subtle approach. Walk around the office with a limp pretending you have a peg leg - each time you encounter a fellow employee yell - "Ahoy" - and when you are at a meeting voice your approval to various initiatives by saying - ARRR! - and finally place a post-it note on your coffee cup that reads - "pirate grog".  If all fails - find another employer!

 
So now I’m off for a swig of grog along with a pirate’s favorite cookie – Chips Ahoy -  while I prepare to scrape the barnacles off the rudder of my skiff.  And just for the
record, I am almost 98% chum free.  So shiver me timbers!  ARRR!

Bill Kalmar