Why Do We Have A Fascination With Pirates?

I do. But why? If you dive into what real pirates are all about, it's not a good thing. Pirates were nasty people, attacking ships, taking lives and stealing whatever they could. By the way, according the the National Day Calendar, Saturday (9/19) is National Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Modern day pirates tend to concentrate on taking over cargo, container and tanker ships, stealing what they can, and in some instances, transferring the crew to another boat and taking the entire ship.

But we tend to put pirates on a pedestal, especially pirates from the era of the 1500s to the 1800s. Just look at all the movies that have been made about pirates, especially Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise. I will admit, I have seen all the movies and yes, I have them all on DVD. Go Captain Jack Sparrow!

I even have some pirate items. I have a pirate blanket given to me as a funny gift for Christmas (don't judge me, please), a pirate flag that flies every day on my campground site, and a pirate license plate on my golf cart at camp. I think I also have a Halloween pirate costume somewhere in one of my closets at home that I purchased for on of our past Halloween parades. A couple of years ago, my family decided to have a pirate theme for my birthday, including the cake you see above.

Speaking of pirates, the first ride I ever went on at Disney World was Pirates of the Caribbean. It was my first trip to Disney World, and as far as I knew, the park was similar to any amusement park. I had no idea how different Disney was compared to something like a Six Flags park.

When we arrived at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, I was confused about what it was all about. I figured it would be some sort of a roller coaster with a simple pirate theme. I had no idea that many of the Disney rides involve a detailed story, walk through and then a ride of some sort that is so much different from a regular amusement park ride.

Oh how, up to that point, I had led such a simple life. After taking the ride, we turned around and did it again before checking out all the rides in the rest of the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The Pirate ride continues to be my favorite.

via National Day Calendar

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