I wanted to write something about the Seafair Pirates- and after much consideration  I thought it would be fun to write about the terror we looked forward to ( this would have been in the late 60’s early  70’s ) when we would head out to the Torchlight Parade in downtown Seattle.

We used to ask our Parents ” Will the Pirates be there? Do you think they’ll carry people off? Will they have swords? Do you think they’ll cut anyone’s feet off this time? ( When you sat on the curb the Pirates would come by and scrape their swords along the ground and you had to pull your feet up off the street OR ELSE ).

My Mom, always the voice of reason would say about the feet getting cut off thing- ” Well you know, accidents happen.”

I would  shake with joy. ” Oh no. ” I would not exactly be whispering as my family buried their fingers or whatever was close at hand into their ears.

When I got to the Parade I would try and would force myself to scream in terror to run to my Mom or my Grandma and cry like the other kids did. I must say, I did put forward a darn fine effort. But at some point it would all fail and I’d take off down the street after the Pirates waving whatever I had in my hands over my head like a sword and yelling  on the smoke filled street” Come back here you Scullywags”.

So over 40 years later I am at the Tour De Terrace Parade in Mountlake Terrace when the Seafair Pirates come by and this little girl- I mean a tiny little girl steps off the curb with her water gun, she steps in front of  a Pirates- and she shoots.

One of the Pirates stopped  leaned forward and dared her to do it again and she did.

She got her Pirate stickers and turned around and looked up at me- she looked a little nervous and a little scared and I told her with absolute certainty:

” That’ll teach that Scullywag. “

 

Because You Can Never Enough

Here Are More 

SEAFAIR PIRATES

PHOTOS

BY

A.M. MOSCOSO