So seeing as I am stuck at work on this glorious Saturday night with nothing better to do I figured I would share about while I was in the Solomon Islands during the summer of '07. I was there for about a week during the humanitarian deployment that we did that year and it really was a wild a crazy time. We were sent ashore here to re-build the clinic that was destroyed during a tsunami but quickly realized that there was going to be much more than building...
This was our welcoming party! Here we were showing up to build a clinic and they came out to greet us wearing war paint and armed. All in all though this was pretty cool, I mean how often does one get to see something like this? Being met by the war party really set the tone for the rest of the time we spent there. We not only got the clinic done ahead of schedule but we also found time to make a slip-n-slide for the kids, held movie nights for the entire Island. Of course there was plenty of fun times to be had like our three hour trip, in a leaky boat, to go buy beer from the Sheriff on a differnt island, or the snorkeling with the reef sharks. Of course the most memorable adventure we had during our free time was the hike. We had learned that there was a couple of Japeneese planes that had crashed on the island back in WWII and we decided that we needed to find a guide to take us there. After hiking through the jungles, for hours, we arrived at the crash site only to find that so many tourist had been there and taken peices that only the engine block remained. So feeling like a waste of time we headed back towards camp, well after sunset, only to learn that we had to cross a river that was known for having salt water crocs! Now to make us feel better about it the guide did send his 8 year old son across first, you know just to make sure it was safe. It was a crazy week indeed and one that I will never forget.
I mean look at these guys! There are no hats, no skull and cross bones and since when did "Pirates" not carry swords?
These guys have successfully taken everything that was awesome about Pirates and destroyed it. Being a pirate used to be a dream of mine but now I want nothing to do with it. And for all of you that are wondering how I can just sit and watch the news and have come up with this from their 5 minute clip you would be greatly mistaken. Back in summer of '06 good 'ol EMac here had a run in with these fake Pirates, but at least those ones were in a motor less boat. Back in the day Pirates were something that stuck fear into people and now everybody knows that the mighty US Navy can just rescue you without any real risk. What kind of "Pirates" so these guys think they are? Yes I did put Pirates into quotes because who really carries an RPG? Terrorists, no pirates! Pirates use cannons, and a flag to strike fear into you before swashbuckling and commandeering your vessel. These guys are just Terrorists and I think that it is time they begin to be labeled as such. So now I leave you World with just this one last thought. When the cut of Black Beard's head, the most feared Pirate of all time, his body continued to run around. Could any of these guys do that if they were decapitated?
