Robert Louis Stevenson “Talks Like a Pirate”

Robert Louise Stevenson is the official spokesman for “Talk Like a Pirate Day,” celebrated on September 19, but enjoyed every day. https://catherinesherman.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/official-spokesman-for-talk-like-a-pirate-day/

Catherine Sherman

A portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson by John Singer Sargent. A portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson by John Singer Sargent.

Yes, it’s that time of year again — Talk Like a Pirate Day is coming soon. Brush up on your sailor slang, pirate patois and buccaneer bravado.

My first thought when I saw the 1950 movie “Treasure Island” wasn’t “Hey, me hearties, I love how those pirates talk.” I had a school girl crush on one of the actors — Bobby Driscoll, the boy who plays Jim Hawkins, and I swooned over his more upper crust accent. (By the way, I’m not that old. The 1950 movie was many years old when I saw it.) I became smitten with the fantasy of finding treasure, of treasure maps, of being a stole-away.

I have Robert Louis Stevenson to thank for my adventure fantasies. Stevenson published “Treasure Island” in 1883. Since then, more than fifty movies and television shows have been made…

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Filed under History, Humor, Literature

2 responses to “Robert Louis Stevenson “Talks Like a Pirate”

  1. What an interesting life he, Robert Louis Stevenson, had. (I took a look at your original post.) That was quite an adventurous thing you did to climb that mountain alone with the thought of mountain lions possibly nearby. I probably would have done the same; the ‘prize’ would have been too tempting!

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    • Probably the most foolish thing I did on that Stevenson pilgrimage was to wear flip flops! But mountain lions are always a danger in that area, even though they are rare so I wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box when I made that trek without any kind of protection. But it was a tempting prize!

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