The Tale of John

The fog from the sea rolled across the small harbor town of Port Sealaes as the loud horns of incoming barges roared through the air.

At the docks pelicans huddled up as the cold follows the fog, and small crabs crawl into their holes underwater.

Inside the dock restaurant, a sailor sits at the bar, throwing back his fourth drink of the night as he stares inscrutably at the fog outside. He shakes his head as he slams the glass on the bar, signalling Joe, the bartender, to give him another.

Joe strides over, towel-drying a glass in his hand as he looks with pity on the old sailor.

"Mike, I'm gonna have to cutcha off, it's gettin late"

Mike grunted, the tattoos on his arms twitched.

"C'mon Mike, it's late, you need to get home."

Through the growl a simple sentence could be heard, "Ain't no one there but me"

"Yeah, well, I wanna go home, I'm tired"

Mike only grunted.

Joe shook his head and placed the dry glass on the shelf behind the bar as a light flickered above him.

Mike just kept staring outside.

Joe sighed and went into the back room to get his coat, when he came back Mike said something,

"Dyou know bout that ship out therr wid da sail dat neber comes down?"

Joe stopped, "Yeah, you know who owns it? I was thinking of buying it"

"I'm not be recomenden dat"

"Why not?"

"Dyou know oo used-ta own it?" Mike hiccuped

"Can't say I do." Joe sighed and pulled up a chair, sometimes the older sailors just needed someone to talk to.

"Well, u'll tell ya, 'twas a pirate, a mudden-day pirate"

Joe raised his eyebrows, "Really, what was his name?"

"Nobuddy erver knew his name, erv'ryone culled 'im John, like Long John Silber."

Joe listened as Mike began his story

Mike adjusted himself on the bar stool and tugged at the belt around his rotund waist that was pitifully sagging under his gut. “Well then, therz a bad beginnin to hiz pore life, tho ‘e never told nobuddy ‘bout ‘imself. ‘is mum wuz only sisteen win she ‘ad ‘im, and she left ‘im in a fler basket at the dock.”

Joe squinted, “Fler basket?”

Mike sighed, “Yeh, yer no, flers, the pretty smell-goodies that girlies like teh pick.”

“Oh, flowers.”

“Thaz wut I sed. Ineewayz, ‘iz mum leaves ‘im and the flers git dumped inteh the ocean, but ‘e fallz inteh a shrimp net, full uh fresh shrimp. He gits takin aboard an’ the sailor oo found ‘im takes an immeeyit likin to him, most people say twas cuz of the spirit of the sea that wuz in’abitin both of ther spirits.”

“Spirit of the sea?"

“That’s roight, they say that if two bein’s with the same intense spirit of the wide open seas were ever ta meet, they’d become fast friends, er in this case, fast kin. So, az I wuz sayin…”

As he continued, the fog over the docks swirled, revealing the scenes of his story.

The sailor Ben, a big brawny guy with rippling muscles and a tender heart, heard the soft giggle of a baby as the shrimping net was swung above the ship. Just before the net was dropped, Ben called out the operator, “Hold ‘er fast Ed, I think there’s a baby in there!”

The cantankerous coot behind the operating machinery craned his neck to get a good look as he called back, “A what? You best not be pullin me leg or ah’ll drop this net straight on top of ya!”

Ben laughed as he climbed the arm of the crane to the top of the net.

Immediately he saw the baby nestled on top of the squirming shrimp, perched there as if it were the most natural cradle in the world. Ben hung himself upside down from the arm of the crane to grab the child from on top of the shrimp. He swung back up, making sure not to make the baby dizzy. He then swung from the crane with one arm and landed deftly onto the deck of the ship.

Ed saw the baby in Ben’s arms and immediately abandoned the controls of the net, almost hitting an unsuspecting sailor as it dropped onto deck, leaving the mass of shrimp flopping and squirming on deck. “Weeeeeell now, what’s this?” the old man said as he strained his old eyes to get a good look at the child.

His leathery, wrinkled face cracked into a semi-toothless smile riddled with gold and silver teeth as he started into a croaky giggling. “Lookey here everybody!! Look what we caught in our nets today! A baby! Must be the son of Neptune ‘imself, comin from the sea! He’s a special ‘un alright, ah’ll tell you that raht now!”

He jumped and clicked his heels gaily and beckoned the other sailors to take a look at their catch. Soon there was a crowd surrounding the small child, who giggled happily at all the unexpected attention. He never once cried, giving the sailors another reason to like him. Ed was in the center with Ben, circling the child like some kind of buzzard without the ominous presence.
“So now, Benny boi, what we gonna call this ‘un. Shall we call ‘im Shrimp Boi, or maybe something a little more acceptable on land?”

Ben laughed heartily, “Shrimp Boi…that’s a good one. Let’s leave it up to the rest of the crew! We’re all on this ship together! What do you think?”

Immediately a fracas erupted on deck, with everyone shouting names and everyone striving to be heard.

“I say Eli! That’s what me father’s name wuz!”

“George! A good, historical name! Haw haw!”

“What about Thomas? I like that name!”

“A course ya do, ya great buffoon! That’s yore name!”

“That don’t mean I can’t like it!”

“Yore just a great wallopin idiot, that’s what you are!”

“Hey! You stay out of it! This wasn’t your business anyway!”

“So? You can’t tell ‘im wut the do!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

Soon the fighting came to blows until a piercing whistle rent the air in two. Ben stood, holding the baby aloft, “We’ll figure the name out later, look!”

...to be continued...