Steven V Johnson wrote:
> - Jed -- a descendent of pirates in the Caribbean (really!)
I bet in a former life you were a pirate, Jed - probably the elected captain.
I wouldn't know about that, but my father's mother's side of the
family is from Bermuda, and half the Islanders seem to be related.
Uncle Ulrich told me we are descended from pirates and smugglers on
the Isle of Wight who were caught and given a choice between hanging
or being sent to an island with balmy weather year 'round, gorgeous
pink beaches, and unlimited tropical food. So they went with Option
B. I like to think it's true. Chris Tinsley thought it was hilarious,
and used to send me faxes with a hand-drawn skull and crossbones letterhead.
Read the history of Bermuda you will see that smuggling remained a
major source of income there into the late 19th century, so evidently
they stayed in the trade.
There is a certain laid-back ambience or attitude or whatever you
want to call it associated with the Caribbean, which I believe has
rubbed off on me. It is about not taking things too seriously, not
rushing around all the time doing things you don't want to do, and
not getting all worked up about stuff like sex, money, success, or
other people's opinions. My father's mother died when he was young,
and he grew up in Bermuda with his grandmother. That is why, for
example, in the middle of the day doing tedious work in an office in
Washington DC he would sometimes say, "to hell with this, let's go to
the ball park, or go sailing off Hains Point." And off we would go.
Roger Stringham also lives in Tropical Standard Time in Hawaii, where
"no unit of time shorter than a season" has meaning. Which I guess is
why the paper is only a year late. His message sent with the manuscript said:
"Coming from Kauai, it is not fair toooo ask, how is the weather?"
- Jed
