A Lesson Learned
I was a confident person when I was young. I planned that when I grew up, I was going to be a sailor. More than just a sailor, I would be captain of a fleet of ships. That all got derailed, or in this case sunk, when I took as mentor and teacher the dreaded pirate Yellowbeard.
He found me one day on the wharf staring out at sea, and in my usual daze, I was dreaming of great adventures as a sea captain. He must have realized right away that I was a prime candidate for his crew. I had no idea when he approached me that he was a pirate.
He asked me if I was interested in becoming a member of his crew. I initially declined as I knew that my parents would never let me be a sailor at my age. I was only 12 years old at the time.
His response was a bit gruff as he said, “If it’s what you dream of, then leave your parents. I’ll take good care of you. You look like a fine sea-worthy mate to have. I can show you the world, but you have to take that leap right now. It’s what I did when I was half your age.”
Yellowbeard was very persuasive, and I took the leap.
He took me aboard his longboat and cast off immediately where he met up with his ship, “The Jolly Dodger”. I was then made aware of the fact that this was a pirate ship.
It was too late to leave and change my mind. We left the safety of the cove and went out on the high seas. You need to know that I had never been out to sea on anything other than a small rowboat.
The Jolly Dodger headed off into the wilds of the ocean. We had nothing but bad weather. I was sick most of the time. As for being a sailor, I spent most of my time swabbing the decks and cleaning up the messes I made as a result of my stomach’s reaction to the food I ate and the churning sea. As for my mentor, all he did was drink and belch out orders to everyone.
I don’t think he was much of a sailor, and I learned very little from him in the two weeks I spent on the ship. It lasted only two weeks because our brilliant captain managed to scuttle the ship on a reef just before he was captured by the King’s navy and was able to escape back home.
I got in a bit of trouble with my parents and was forbidden to go to the wharf again, which was fine with me, as Old Yellowbeard totally shipwrecked my confidence in myself, and I decided that I never wanted to be a sailor. I decided to be a teacher instead. I certainly learned a lot as a pirate on The Jolly Dodger about how not to teach.
