TillyGalore wrote:
I assumed your pirate "thing" related to you attending ECU. I know you weren't at ECU in 1987, thus, what precipitated your pirate "thing"?
Nothing that I can recall really precipitated it; I've just always liked pirates. My first pirate memories (and my first memories of any kind in my life) stem from my 4th birthday (1986), when my parents took me to Disney World. Pirates of the Caribbean, of course, but also some other general pirate whimsy really tickled my fancy.
I first read a kids' version of
Treasure Island in kindergarten, and I tried to get my brother to rent the 1950 Disney film version every time we went to the video store for circa six years. Side note--there is also a really good 1990 made-for-TV version of Treasure Island, also available on video, with an
outstanding cast: Charlton Heston as Long John Silver, Christian Bale as Jim Hawkins, and Christopher Lee as Blind Pew!
Also in elementary school, we had "Book Week" every year, and on one of the days, everyone was encouraged to dress up as their favorite book character. I dressed as a pirate from
Treasure Island at least three of the six years I was in elementary school, the first time in kindergarten.
When I turned 7, in 1989, my big gift from my parents was the Playmobil pirate ship:
To this day, this is my favorite toy ever. Someday, I will have it on display in my office (not a joke).
I finally read the original unadulterated (or is that un-kid-erated?) version of
Treasure Island in the 3rd grade. Then I read it again. And again. And again. Finally, my teacher sat me down and told me that, while
Treasure Island is a great book, there are others out there that I should try (true story).
I discovered "The Goonies" (far and away my favorite film) at about age 9. I confess that it rather scared me the first time or two, but the pirate storyline and the kids' perspective also captivated me. By my count, I've now seen it at least 50 times.
So there you have it (or at least a good part of it). I suppose much of the predilection stems from the brilliance of Robert Louis Stevenson, but as you can see, my love affair with pirates is deep and long-running.