Arrrrrr, matey!

Hi Kevin!

Here's my Halloween costume, I'm a pirate! I'm going to hand out candy later on when it gets dark. I'll sit out on the porch with Grandpa Rock and Bre and we'll wait for the kids to come around. Do you think my costume will scare the kids?

Do you know why pirates wear a patch over one eye? It's so they can see better in the dark! What they do is put the patch over their eye before they board another ship. That way, one eye gets used to the dark (behind the patch your eye doesn't get exposed to the daylight).

Then, once they board a ship looking for gold, they have to go down inside the ship into the cargo hold. It's dark in there. The eye that isn't covered can't see going inside from the bright daylight to the dark. So that's when they take the patch off. The eye that was under the patch is accustomed to the dark so they can see immediately in the dark cabins beneath the ship's deck.

You can try this yourself in the house, or, if you have a garage that doesn't have a lot of windows. Even a closet will work! Get something to make a patch, even a scarf or a hat you can pull down over one eye will work. Wear the scarf or hat over one eye for 30 minutes, make sure it is very bright where you are, outside or during the daytime near a window. (Make sure Mom doesn't need to go anywhere while you're experimenting.) When the 30 minutes are up, open the closet or the garage door and step inside, close the door behind you. Can you see anything with the eye that didn't have the patch? Probably not. Now, take the patch off and you should be able to see the shapes of things in the closet.

In case you were wondering, there's an official 'Talk like a pirate' day. It's September 19th, every year. Maybe you can remember that for next year. Arrrr.

Here are some pirate jokes:

What do pirates drive when they get on land?
A carrrrrr.

Why don't pirates go to the moon?
It's too farrrrrr.

What do you get when you cross a pirate with a zucchini?
A squashbuckler.

What's a pirate's favorite cereal?
Cap'n Crunch.

Some folks think that Blackbeard the pirate buried his treasure on the Isle of Shoals (off the coast of Maine & New Hampshire). If he did, it's still there today.

When your Grandpa Rock was in the Navy, he learned how to 'repel boarders' which is a fancy way of saying he learned how to keep pirates off the Navy ships. All of the sailors had to learn how to do this to keep the ships safe.

Happy Halloween!

YF,

Flat Stanley