Ted the Penguin

Speaking of Pirates…

There is a great article in this month’s National Geographic on Blackbeard, his ship, and a bit about the myth’s surrounding the legend. From the article,

“On a sweltering June afternoon on the Hampton, Virginia, waterfront, a crowd gathers around a makeshift surgery where a hapless sailor dressed in 18th-century rags is about to get his leg sawed off. Held down by four brawny mates, he screams and squirms to the onlookers’ delight until the offending limb is gone and a neat wooden peg is strapped in its place. Suddenly all eyes turn to a big man with a blood-red sash and wild black beard boldly sauntering across the lawn. His bulging eyes lock on a young mother with a stroller, and one bushy eyebrow rises to the sky. ‘Arrrhh, what a cute one!’ he bellows in a voice like a cannon shot. ‘And the kid ain’t bad, either!’”

Indeed.