The Red Shirt
Long ago, when sailing ships ruled the waves, a captain and his crew
were in danger of being boarded by a pirate ship. As the crew became
frantic, the captain bellowed to his First Mate, "Bring me my red
shirt!" The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt, which
the captain put on and lead the crew to battle the pirate boarding
party. Although some casualties occurred among the crew, the pirates
were repelled.
The men sat around on deck that night recounting the day's events when
an ensign looked to the Captain and asked, "Sir, why did you call for
your red shirt before the battle?"
The Captain, giving the ensign a look
that only a captain can give, exhorted, "If I am wounded in battle, the
red shirt does not show the blood, and thus you men will continue to
fight unafraid."
The men sat in silence, marveling at the courage of such a man.
The next morning, the lookout screamed that there were two pirate
vessels sending boarding parties. The crew cowered in fear, but the
captain, calm as ever, bellowed, "Bring me my red shirt!" Once again,
the battle was on, and the Captain and his crew repelled both boarding
parties, though this time more casualties occurred.
Later that day, however, the lookout screamed that there were pirate
ships, 10 of them, all with boarding parties on their way. The men
became silent and looked to the Captain, their leader, for his usual
command.
The Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, "Bring me my brown pants!"
Email: aaronsteinmetz@yahoo.com
