A Pirate Looks Back At 40

I’ve been putting off writing this for quite a while now. Months, actually…

And, that’s for several reasons. Mostly, because, who wants to hear about anyone getting older. For those who are beyond your years, they’ve lived through it already. For those younger, they think they know better all the same.

What does that leave to be said? What makes it special?

Well, in the end, it’s my 40th birthday coming up and someone gave me the mic. So, there.

I’ll keep it short. At least short for me.

I could write about all of the things that I’ve learned in my time on this earth, but to be honest the older I get the less I feel I know. I mean, when I was in my early 20s, I thought, “I know 80% of everything there is to know.” Now, I think, “There’s so much to know… I’m up to 2 – maybe 3%….”

I’ll just tell a quick little story that encompasses everything I’ve learned. How about that?

They say that ten thousand hours makes you an expert. If you perform any specific task for over ten thousand hours you’ve earned your professional’s badge. I tell you that to tell you this. I’ve been performing since I was a kid. In church, in school, around town. Wherever anyone would allow me to sing.

While I was in college, I auditioned for the musical Oklahoma! I found out shortly thereafter that I had been cast in one of the lead roles: Curly. Like it or not, I was going to be singing about how “Beautiful a Mornin’” it was.

We rehearsed. All of the singing, the dancing, the whole shebang for a little over a month. The cast was as professional as we were going to get (in college). The first couple of performances went off without a hitch. Curly courts Laurie. Will loves on Ado Annie. Everything in between was gravy, baby.

And then…

During one of the shows, I was getting into the song “The Surrey with the Fringe on the Top.” Everyone in the audience knows every note and every word. But who cares? I knew what the hell I was doing.

I was set to climb up the windmill on the stage opposite of Aunt Eller’s house to which the laundry line’s attached. That’s exactly what I rehearsed and exactly what I did.

Except…

When I did it this time, I accidentally knocked the line off and all of the laundry floated to the stage. I was going to fix the line as soon as I could. At least I thought I was, when I realized I had thrown myself off of my game – off of autopilot—and forgot the lyrics to the song. I moved some of the lyrics from the second verse. No harm, no foul.

Then, when I got to the second verse… I didn’t think I should repeat the same lyrics over again. So, I politely took a handful of words from the third verse and plugged them into what I was singing at that moment in time. I had saved my bacon from the fire, off to fight another day.

Then came the most romantic part of the song. Laurie and Curly would cuddle up at the base of the windmill. Love was in the air.

I sat in the glow of the lights from above, my Laurie in my arms shaking violently with laughter. You see, I had forgotten yet another verse. I had no more made-up lyrics left. The only thing I could think to do was scat. Instead of the wonderful words of Rodgers and Hammerstein, I blurted out “skeep bah deep floo gah doop gee gee floo dooh.” This was during the most tender moment of the song.

This was the first of many flubs by the entire cast that night. The 8 pm show on a Saturday night. Props were forgotten. Starter pistols misfired.

It did not go well. So…

There was always tomorrow night though. There was the rest of the run to consider. What is any performance meant to do? I pulled up my overalls, hitched up my big ole brown boots and sang out my cowboy heart for the rest of the run. The show must go on…

That’s life, folks. No matter what happens you have to keep going. It’s one of the many lessons I’ve learned. And there it is.

What else is there to say really?

While trinkets like “live every day as if it’s your last” seem a little hoary, this makes them no less true. I realize that tomorrows are never guaranteed.

But as I procrastinate, this becomes a bit of a paradox. Until we meet again on the raging seas of life, I will remember you fondly so long as I can remember anything at all.

~ Brandon L. Joyner