QUARANTINE BLOG # 240

November 25, 2020

In Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, Khan Noonien Singh told James T. Kirk, “Revenge is a dish that is best served cold.  It is very cold in space.”  In that spirit, here are a trio of very good payback moments:

If you’re struggling to find parking in a crowded lot, there’s nothing more annoying than a fellow driver who decides to take up two spaces.  While there’s often little you can do to remedy the situation, this person decided to send a clear message about their fellow driver’s poor parking job.  When the owner of this vehicle returns to their car, they’ll have trouble driving away with a shopping cart zip-tied to their door handle. That will teach them to park over the line and take up two spots.

After a couple got into an argument, the wife was faced with the problem of packing her husband’s lunch the next day. She did pack him a sandwich, but it wasn’t quite the sandwich he was hoping for. When he bit into the bread, he quickly realized that she failed to take the plastic wrapper off of the cheese. Not only that, but she took the time to let him know she wasn’t at all sorry for that. What a petty, genius way to win a fight.

This woman got revenge in more ways than one. After finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her, she uninvited him from the football game they were supposed to attend together. After she deprived him of the experience of seeing his favorite team on the field, she also decided to publicly shame him for all the world to see. You go, girl!

👉  At the request of a reader, I started a series of stories about pirates from my cruise talk series “The Golden Age of Sail.”  The most successful pirate from the Golden Age was Black Bart Roberts, born in Wales, around 1682, and christened John Roberts.

Eventually Black Bart rose to the rank of captain, and consolidated his position by proposing a list of articles that all crew members had to agree to follow. Roberts’s Rules of Order were notable in what they did not allow. No gambling was permitted onboard. Swearing was forbidden. Lights out was eight o’clock in the evening. Any man found to have brought a woman onboard would be executed. Sunday was to be observed as the Sabbath.

Like all pirates, Roberts needed a distinctive flag above his ship, the Royal Fortune. His flag displayed the figures of himself and death holding an hourglass between them as a warning that time was running out for his future victims.

For a time, Roberts took to North America. From Nova Scotia to New Jersey, Roberts raided towns and captured ships – over 200 vessels. No other known captain approached this number of captures in such a short period of time.

The beginning of the end for Black Bart began when British Commodore Chaloner Ogle, was given an ultimatum by the Admiralty – put an end to Black Bart Roberts.

Four days before the fateful day, Roberts took an English ship, and invited the ship’s commander, Captain Willard Hill, and his men to join the pirates on the beach, sharing rum and wine. 

On February 10, 1722, the hung-over pirates spotted a sail. Roberts led his crew into battle, but unfortunately the ship, HMS Swallow, was Ogle’s ship. Survivors said that Black Bart was killed early in the battle, and his body was heaved overboard to prevent its being taken by the British.

But Roberts may never have been on board. There is evidence that he struck a deal with Captain Hill to take him onboard his ship disguised as a common sailor. Whatever the case, Bartholomew Roberts was never heard from again.

Black Bart Roberts’ legacy is unquestionable. In just three years, he captured 450 ships, the largest number of captures by any pirate of his era. His estimated haul of treasure would be worth one billion dollars today. With the end of Bartholomew Roberts’s career, the Golden Age of Piracy came to an end. All of the great pirates were gone.

Next time, “The Most Successful Pirate of All-Time” (not from Puerto Rico).

👉  Before we close, here are a couple of songs you won’t find on any jukebox.  I learned them many years ago, one of the at Camp Potomac, the Boy Scout camp for Potomac District of the BSA (back before the bankruptcy and all of the law suits – and shame on the offenders!).

The first of these is, “Do Your Ears Hang Low?” and the accompanying video definitely does not feature a Boy Scout.

The second is definitely a Scout campfire song, “Pink Pajamas”.  While searching for a musical version for this blog, I learned there is a second verse (not the same as the first): “I wake up in the morning with the sheets above my head.  My little tootsie wootsies are a-stickin’ out of bed.  And three times out of four times I wind up on the floor.  So I’m not drinking Coke before bed anymore!”

👉  Today’s close is from Bill Bright.

The story is told of a man who traveled to a certain city on one cold morning. As he arrived at his hotel, he noticed that everyone there was barefooted, including all the clerks and guests. In the coffee shop, he noticed a well-dressed fellow at a nearby table and asked, “Why aren’t you wearing shoes? Don’t you know about shoes?”

“Of course, I know about shoes,” the patron replied.

“Then why don’t you wear them?” the visitor asked.

“Ah, that is the question,” the patron returned. “Why don’t I wear shoes?”

After breakfast, the visitor walked out of the hotel and into the snow. Again, every person he saw was barefooted. Curious, he asked a passerby, “Why doesn’t anyone here wear shoes? Don’t you know that they protect the feet from the cold?”

The passerby said, “Believe me, we all know about shoes. See that building? It’s a shoe factory. We are so proud of the plant that we gather there every week to hear the man in charge tell us how wonderful shoes are.”

“Then why don’t you wear shoes?” the visitor persisted.

“Ah, that is the question,” the passerby replied. “Why don’t we wear shoes?”

When it comes to prayer, many Christians are like the strange people in that city.  They know about prayer.  They believe in prayer.  They know how wonderful it is and what a blessing it can be.  They frequently gather at the church to hear sermons about how wonderful prayer is.  But if you ask them why they don’t pray more, they would say, “Ah, that is the question.  Why don’t I pray more?”

Prayer is an indescribable privilege.  As you know, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to speak with the mayor of your city, the governor of your state, congressmen or President.  What is amazing is that you can speak with the all-powerful, all-wise and all-loving Creator, God and Savior anytime, day or night, 24 hours a day – no appointment needed!

In my study of God’s Word and in my travels throughout the world, I have become absolutely convinced that wherever people really pray according to biblical principles, God works in their lives and through them in the lives of others in a special way.  

Let us be praying Christians and not like those people without shoes!

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