That's CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow.

Today was "Talk Like a Pirate" day at school.  Our school does it as a dress up day, so quite a few students and most teachers dressed up.  Now, I have a pirate history, having played Captain Jack Sparrow at youth camps a couple years in a row about 6 years ago.  The kids then loved it, as it was in the height of the movie popularity.  So, I figured I'd give it a go.  But, I was nervous.  You know that fear you had as a kid that if you dressed up for Halloween and no one else did?  Well, last year we did dress up at church and I was the only one in costume- so I was gun-shy, despite the assurances of fellow teachers.

I still suspect that there may be some hazing coming to the only new man on faculty- but that's just my paranoia.  Or is it?

Anyway, I did dress up after all:

Now, the funny thing was that I was called "Captain Hook" and "Blackbeard" just as much as Captain Jack despite my lack of hook or long, curly beard.  Sadly, it seems a new generation will not know the greatness of Captain Jack Sparrow...unless it becomes my mission to educate them.

And for every mis-identification that made me shake my head at the lack of culture in these kids- there was a  few faces here and there of sheer star-struck "THAT IS SO COOL!"  And some of them were even the kids.

If I have not made it clear yet, I love this new job.  I love that dressing up as a pirate is acceptable and encouraged.  I love that I can teach a kid math while batting beaded dreadlocks out of my face.  I love that I have to remind myself it is not appropriate to sword fight a kid- even if he did challenge me first.  I love that being goofy like today can be the key to getting into a kid's world that needs help and hope.

I am also glad that today is over- synthetic hair is so stinking hot.