Pirates! Wenches! Wee Jack! Davy Junior!

This afternoon, new friends beldar and the_dark_snack pulled me along to a Pirate Fest not too far from here, hosted by a community arts theater group for kids up to 8th-grade age. It was held at an old renovated movie theater, with vendors out front selling non-alcoholic Hurricanes, coconut desserts, and piratey goods such as wooden swords and POTC kites. (No, I did not buy one. I did, however, buy a sweatshirt and silent-bid on a giftie basket and pay admission to the thing - you'd think *I* had a kid in this show, much as I spent. I've done my part for the arts this season.)

On the walls were drawings the kids had done of pirates and sea beasties. There was a kids' costume show, but not all of the dressed kids took part - I did manage to spot a tiny Jack Sparrow (about 4 years old) and a 7-year-old Davy Jones, complete with crab claw and a tiny stuffed Kraken toy. I almost barfed of teh cute.

A group out of the Chicago area, Bounding Main, led everyone in singing sea shanties for about an hour, and then after that, the main event - the kids' play - began. "Jolly Roger and the Pirate Queen" is not a Playbill masterpiece, but I think POTC taught us all never to underestimate the power of good actors to raise their source material far above its intent. These kids did their darnedest, and it showed - there were three boys in particular who I swear studied at the feet of the Pirate Master Himself (at one point, one fell off a trunk and knocked over a ficus backstage that was part of the "jungle" - he proceeded to save the scene by yelling "TIM-BER!" as loudly as he could. Ah, live theater).

"Jolly Roger" is your classic pirate love story. Rich boy wants to marry rich girl. Rich girl is bored with rich boy and rich life and runs away with her friends to become an all-girl pirate crew. Rich boy takes pirate lessons from old seadog in order to be more appealing to rich girl-cum-pirate queen. "Three's Company" hilarity ensues. Rich girl decides the pirate life is not all it's cracked up to be - how much more interesting IS it to sail around every day with mostly nothing to see or do, after a while, than to sit in the garden and embroider? - and rich boy is excessively relieved to know he can stop pillaging and raiding for love, because frankly, his heart just isn't in it.

One scene I hold fondly in my heart is when the curtain opens on the Rodeo Drive Pirate Ship O'Girls lounging around like 17th-century Paris Hiltons on the poop deck. (Do keep in mind these are 12- and 13-year-olds.) Smack in the center of the two doors leading under the helm from the main "deck" (stage) is a large poster of Wet Will Turner. (I guess they pillaged it from Ye Olde Mart of Wall.) Every time a girl passed it, they would pause and kiss their fingers, then press it to the poster. Their mothers are raising them right, I tell ya. And when everyone took their bows at the end, why Will was still there with them. Cheeky bastard!

Cattle fattened for slaughter are thought better of by their ranchers ...

I was reading angry_biscuit's latest post about a commentator who was accosted by a military wife whose husband is stationed in Iraq, and it got me to thinking about the argument I've seen of "well, they signed up, they should've known better." (To me, that's similar to the "well, they lived in New Orleans, they should've known better" argument.)

Military families since the beginning of time have had to endure this very stress - I feel sorry for them, but if a spouse enlisted, he or she has to expect this can happen, and so does the stay-behind spouse. I don't disagree with that.

That said - when an American signs up to serve in the military, there are various reasons for it. A lot of times, it's because a kid can't afford college or doesn't want to go, and doesn't have other direction in his or her life. Sometimes it is for pure love of country and discipline and order, and the pride of serving. A few select people are simply nuts and want to legally shoot a gun.

The point is, the big chunk of those who do go into the military - if not all of them - figure they're going to be used wisely to defend their country or U.S. allies who are in danger from invasion. I would think not very many think THEY are going to be used as the invasion force, especially for a war that isn't supported or justified by logic. I doubt your average military man or woman wants to be the tool for decimation of a native civilian population (the Lindy Englands of the world aside). It really pisses me off every time I hear someone refer to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan "defending" us. WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DEFENDING FOR US ALL THE WAY OVER THERE? The frightened, scattered aftermath of a hurricane? Bombing on home soil? The continuation of the Christian way of life? (Well, that last one, maybe. Personally, I think it's just stirring up more shit against Christianity.) I'm not blaming the soldiers; they didn't deploy themselves to those places.

My circuitous wandering comes to this: If you're gonna lay in bed worrying if your husband is gonna be killed, shouldn't it be for a cause you can believe in? That we can all believe in? Have we had one of those since WWII? That's the argument I use against people who tell me "well, they signed up for it." Yeah, the soldiers signed up - to serve their country for the Department of DEFENSE. Not WAR or INVASION.

There's an unstated contract between a government and its armed forces that the latter will be treated with respect by the former. I don't believe you have to have served in the military to send other people into war, but I DO believe you should have a proper formal education in history to do so - and make better than a C average at it. It sort of reminds me of the old Native American blessings said over a slaughtered animal before eating and wearing it - the idea is "I may have to see you killed to serve my needs, but I'll respect the loss of your life by not taking more than I need, and only when I really need it." I'VE lost sleep over this war, and I've opposed it since before the funding was first approved for it.

Oh me oh dear ...

(After that last newsbreak of a post, we now return you to your scheduled regular frivolous musings in this journal ....)

When did Sparrabeth turn into a religion? I knew it had a following, but I didn't realize the cathedral had gone up. I must've missed the press release.

What else do you call things like "faith" and "belief" and a good old-fashioned hallelujah chorus to chasten the disillusioned back into the fold? Anything less than a 49-percent share of fandom simply isn't good enough, I suppose.

I thought *I* spent too much time in fandom in my free time. Sadly, it's cheaper than learning the saxophone or getting my pilot's license - which is what I'd really like - and I have a while longer of bill-paying with the new salary before I'm caught up. But gee - I'm alternately afraid of and interested in (in a TWS kind of way) the shitstorm that's coming after May 23-25, when Jesus doesn't step out of the sky as promised, in the form of Elizabeth Swann. Will we become the next HP fandom? Will things simmer down into happy fic writing? (I feel like the "Soap" commentator.)


(BTW, I see where Fandango now has tickets for sale for AWE regular showings. Has anyone seen if *midnight* showings are yet available on there?)

Triple drabble

Drabble Prompt 20 from potc_dogwatch
Title: Time’s Run Out
Rating: G
Pairing: J/E and ??
Disclaimer: Only one character here is mine. The others belong to Buena Vista and Bruckheimer.
Summary: Future, set well after the end of AWE. Can’t say more. Read. (You know Will has to be involved.)
Spoilers: How should I know? I’m not on Disney’s payroll.
Feedback? Of course.


( Her father's smirk upon her lips ... )