Kansas Acoustic Arts Association

Well blow me down! I've been given a chance to write a column for this fine
publication and that be just what I plan to do. Don't be expectin' this here
column to be appearin' all regular like, that's just not likely to happen, it
would seem way too much like work if I had to meet deadlines and such - if you
know what I mean.

Mostly I was wantin' to sorta capture the nature o' bein' a pirate on the
prairie - far from the sea don't ya know. And while I was at it, I'd like to
enlist as many as possible into the fun o' bein' a pirate.
What, you might ask, is the good of being a pirate out here on the plains? The
only reasonable answer is, to have fun! So what type of fun can a prairie pirate
have - without hurtin' anyone that is? Well, I'm glad you asked. What I would
like to promote is acoustic piracy! That's right. Steal someone else's songs and
play 'em like you own 'em. Then brag on who you stole 'em from. "Plundered this
little diddy from Brian Masters, I did.." Aaaarrrrr.

As some of you (the lucky ones who know me personally or even casually) know, I
haven't always been a pirate. No surprise there. No indeed! Although there may
have been some inclinations early on, like putting a sail on me Western Flyer
and an eye-patch on me G.I.Joe. The true turn of nature happened coming on two
years ago when me family and I went to Bahamas for spring break and I visited
the Pirate Museum. I was suddenly struck by all that I'd been missing. BLAST!
All those years squandered behind the corporate façade of responsibility. I
immediately said to the missus, "Let's pitch it all and buy a fifty foot
schooner. We can live out our days plyin' the high seas and strikin' fear into
the hearts o' stout hearted seamen from Vera Cruz to Havana."
She wisely replied, "Sit in the shade, dear and let me get you another beer."
That seemed fairly reasonable to me, so I sat down for the moment, and had
another Kalik (Bahamas' local beer).
The idea kept haunting me though. The first chance I got, which I might note,
was later that afternoon, I bought a Jolly Roger at a local souvenir shop, The
Pirate's Cove. It was a good place to start.

One thing I had learned at the Pirate Museum was that pirates appreciated
musicians! That's right! They showed real appreciation to those among them who
could play instruments or sing songs. I read in one of the captains Articles
(there on display in the museum) that the musicians didn't have to work on
Sunday. Now that may not sound like much to you, but sailing a ship is full time
business. And it's hard work too. So not having to work on Sunday was a fine
thing indeed! I think that it was necessary that the rest of the crew considered
you a musician before you got Sunday off. More than one accordion player was
keel hauled (no offense meant Bob).

Another thing I learned at the Pirate Museum was that all of the great pirates
had their own special Jolly Rogers. Edward Teach, known to such folks as favor
pirate lore as Blackbeard, had a Jolly Roger that was a standing skeleton with a
lance spearing a bleeding heart. Calico Jack Rackham wasn't all that successful
as a pirate. If it hadn't been for his notable cavorting with Anne Bonny, no one
would have ever heard of him at all. Ah, but he had the most notable Jolly Roger
- a skull with sabers crossed beneath. Aye, now that be a fine statement in
pirate fashion.

All that being said, I thought if I was goin' to be a pirate, I wanted to be a
great pirate. So I asked meself, "How am I to come up with a unique Jolly Roger
200 years after everybody else has had their turn?" Well, I did come up with
something, but I am not tellin' what it is yet. Instead, I be invitin' each of
you to send in your own ideas as to what a unique Jolly Roger should look like.

Send your ideas captured in Adobe format via email to fixadad@sbcglobal.net.

Maybe if they let me write some more later, I will be able to show a few of the
notable designs imagined by a fine bunch of new prairie pirates.

Well that be the whole of it all for now.

Keep yer colors flyin' and your riggin' tight.
Black Roger Cash