The day was invented in 1995 by a couple of "dinghy-sized" (as they put it) racquetball players, John Baur and Mark Summers. As they huffed and puffed around the court, they simply got to talking like pirates at each whack of the ball. The two decided to make it an "official" day and chose September 19 to mark the occasion, simply because it was Summers' ex-wife's birthday and they could easily remember the date.
For seven years, Baur and Summers quietly celebrated Talk Like a Pirate Day on their own, which meant basically doing nothing about it. Then on a lark in 2002, they fired off an email to syndicated columnist Dave Barry, thinking he might be the "frigate-sized" celebrity who could help them bring their day to national attention. And that he did, indeed.
Barry wrote a hilarious column about Talk Like a Pirate Day in 2002, touting Baur and Summers as visionary, revolutionary, and "...individuals who should be on medication." With Barry's gifted gab, the pirate-talking duo went on to get much more than just their twenty minutes of fame. They got lots of interviews and fun press, and the two continue to keep up their informative website, www.talklikeapirate.com, which was my go-to source for planning FUNdamentally Toys' Talk Like a Pirate Day event. Thanks, you guys!
You'll get a hearty laugh out of Dave Barry's column about Talk Like a Pirate Day which was featured in the September 8, 2002, edition of the Miami Herald:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2002/09/08/100129/arrrrr-talk-like-a-pirate-or-prepare.html
It's the simple silliness of talking like a pirate that makes it so much fun. Who can ever keep a straight face saying stuff like, "Shimmer me timbers!" or "Avast, me beauty." No one knows if pirates really talked this way, but who cares, it's fun.
Aye, to be sure, pirates are and never were nice people. For some reason, they have been romanticized in books, films, tourist attractions, and more. Maybe it's because of their rogue personalities and devil-may-care attitudes. Or maybe it's the a horrid fascination with their shabby dress, rotten teeth, hook arms, peg legs, and parrots on their shoulders - not to mention the monkeys running around the decks. Now that shivers me timbers - not in a good way. Thankfully, Johnny Depp cleaned up the pirate look quite a bit in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies with his fancy clothes. I might even consider dating a pirate if he looked that good, puffy shirt or not.
So here's to a little nonsensical fun!
Join us at FUNdamentally Toys for Talk Like a Pirate Day, Friday, September 19. We're hosting a pirate magic show at 7 p.m., plus kids can come in anytime to follow a treasure map through the store and plunder some FREE booty out of the treasure chest. Or they can pillage through our stash of pirate stuff. We've also been running tutorials on learning to speak like a pirate on Facebook all week. Say the right phrase and you'll save 20% on your pirate purchase this weekend!
Avast, me hearties, I must take me leave ... Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Debbie Scholl.
FUNdamentally Toys
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