Arrr! Ahoy there, mateys! Shiver me timbers!  September 19th is “International Talk Like A Pirate Day”. Does anyone else think that is strange? Other international holidays are things like, “World Health Day”, “Earth Day”, “World Red Cross Day”, “International Literacy Day” and “International Volunteers Day”  So, is it just me who thinks a day dedicated to pirate lingo is weird? 

History

     It’s a parody holiday that has been celebrated since 1995. One day, two friends, John and Mark, were playing racquetball. As they often do while playing, they yell out at each other. For some unknown reason on June 6 to be exact, they began yelling out remarks which included pirate slang. They had so much fun with it, that when the game was over, they decided that the world needed a new national holiday, “Talk Like A Pirate Day!” June 6, is however the anniversary of D-Day from WWII, so they decided to choose another date. Mark decided it would be on the same date as his ex-wife’s birthday which was September 19. Now, it is celebrated around the world.

Other Possibilities

     Well, if that’s all it takes to create an international holiday, Karla and I could have done that long ago. Some of the possibilities would be “Talk in Song Lyrics Day”. Anytime someone says anything that is innocently part of a lyric, we belt out the rest of the song. For instance, if someone near us says “bye-bye”, in unison, without planning, we would exclaim, “Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry…”.  We also sing songs related to events. If we walked out of a story and it was raining you might hear,  “I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain, what a glorious feeling….” Beware if there’s a light post nearby because just like in the movie, we might begin to swing around it.

     We could be the founders of “Talk Out Of the Side of Your Mouth Day!”  We have always done this when we’re attempting to tell the other something discreetly. (But I’m sure discreet is the last thing we look when our mouths are twisted half-way around our faces.) 

     Another day we might have concocted would be “Don’t Talk, Just Laugh Day.” This day got us in the hot seat with our parents now and then. There were times we wanted to laugh, but thought it would be better if we kept our mouths shut. However, it backfired, because trying to hold in laughter is much harder than just holding in our words. And when our laughter started, we could not stop.  

Free Doughnuts

     But for whatever reason, some swashbuckler decided to declare “International Talk Like a Pirate Day.” But I can’t totally say it’s crazy, when I can dress as a pirate and receive a FREE box of hot doughnuts. Yes! that’s right. Krispy Kreme will give you one free doughnut if you talk pirate and an entire dozen if you dress as one. So avast ye, matey, better known as pay attention, friend!  Yo Ho Ho, if you have a pirate hat, head on down to claim your booty (or your treasure) from Krispy Kreme. It may make your dungbie (rear end) a little larger, but shiver me timbers…it’s yummy!