PUT a parrot on
your shoulder, strap on a peg leg, hit the rum and start bellowing
"Shiver me Timbers" - Wednesday is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp is not the only over-the-top buccaneer allowed to have fun.
September 19 is your once-a-year chance to don an eye patch, sport a ridiculously large hat and keep on saying "Arrrrr".
It
all started back in the 1990s as a cult joke between two American
friends - John "Ol Chumbucket" Baur and Mark "Capn Slappy" Summers -
but really took off when syndicated columnist Dave Barry got to hear
about their surreal festival.
"We tap into that need for
whimsy in people's lives," Summers said of the 24-hour celebration of
quirkiness when they urge all self-respecting swashbucklers to show
"pirattitude."
International Talk Like a Pirate Day (TLAPD),
which adopted Treasure Island star Robert Newton as its patron saint,
now attracts fans from as far afield as Britain and Australia and even
boasts a special Wikipedia site on the Internet.
That's the news from The Herald Sun in Australia. In Oklahoma, The Edmund Sun has this pirate report from Java Dave's restaurant:
Several members of the Redland Rogues from the Redland Fencing
Center in Oklahoma City staged a brawl at the restaurant to get people
in a pirate mood, said Chas Fagans, one of the testy pirates.
The
group acts out stage combat scenes from historical times and places,
carefully choreographing their action with authentic costumes and
weapons. They travel to schools, medieval and renaissance fairs and
other events throughout the metro area.
“But we love doing pirates,” Fagans said.
Steve Shay photo
The countdown continues: 9 days remaining until Talk Like a Pirate Day. Get your swashbuckler cutout now.