Once Upon A Time ......

......  there was an ornery ole sea captin' whose Daddy named 'im, Lawrence Bartholomew Johnson.  Friends an' Mateys were allowed ta call 'im  Captin' Bart, BUT OWNLEE IF THEY SAID IT WITH RESPECT!  Now, Captin' Lawrence Bartholomew was a pirate an' a good one at that .... well, he wasn't exactly good, but he was good at what he did.  And that, my friend, was bein' bad!

A good pirate sails the seas with vengence an' whenever he comes upon another pirate ship, he raises the jolly roger flag.  This means, "Surrender....or else!"  Somehow, when the canon's stopped roarin’ and the balls stopped shootin’,  it was always Captin' Lawrence Bartholomew’s ship that sailed away with the loot!  To keep all of 'is stuff,  the ole captin' had a huge room down below the deck, where all of 'is treasures and loot was stored.

One day, 'is first mate Sully said, "Captin' Bart, what you gunna be doin' with all that stuff?"

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr", said the Captin', That be me own business an' you jes' pay it never mind!"

So, the Captin's treasure room grew bigger and bigger ..... and fuller and fuller!

"Don't ye think ye have enough stuff now, Captin'?" asked Jacob, 'is second mate, after coming back from another sucessful raid.   Ole Lawrence Bartholomew just gave 'im the evil eye and payed 'im never mind!

  Pretty soon, the treasure room grew so full that it began ta take over the whole ship!  There was no room left fer sailer’s quarters!

"Don't ye think we have enuff Captin'?" asked his third mate, Aloysius.  Can't we be sortin' through some of this here stuff and see’in what ye have?  Me thinks we can be sharin' it with some of our pirate brothers who aint been so lucky!" he said.

"Lookie here," said the Captain.  "This be my stuff and I be deciden' what to do with it.  Ya hear?

Well, what they began hearin' were creakin' and crackin' noises comin' from boards all over the ship.  Seems, the weight of the Captin’s cargo was jest too much!  But the stubborn old man paid it never mind,  en jest kept on addin' more and more loot!  Sailors began packin' ther bags en leavin'….. because there were no more room for them ta sleep!  Only his dog and loyal first mate, Sully, stayed behind.

"Captin' sir," said Sully one day,  "this here ship be sinkin' soon,  Davy Jones' locker be it’s destination!”

“It be my ship,” said Captin' Lawrence Bartholomew, “and ye be minden' yer own business!”  That is all he said.

The day arrived when the Captin' found a note from 'is friend.  It read, "I be goin' now sir”,    And it  was signed, your First Mate, Sully.

“Go, then be on yer way,” shouted the stubborn ole man, waving his arms in the air.  Now, Captin' was all by 'imself except for 'is faithful ole dog, Dawg.  Dawg stayed close by and never left 'im.   This was the first time the ole captain 'ad ever felt a feelin' of bein' alone.  Fer the first time he got ta thinkin' …. “Hmmmm”, he said.   Maybe 'is friends were right!

Then it happened.  I really don’t like ta talk much about this, but thanks be to God that it 'as a happy endin'!  It could have been so much worse!  A big crack appeared across the ship’s helm and poor Dawg fell into the ocean and nearly drowned!  Sorely devastated, the ole Captin' sat down ta think.  His sailers were gone, his friends were gone an' now ….. he 'ad come so close to loosin' his faithful dog, Dawg.

 Sully, his first mate 'ad taken' a job repairin' ships and workin' with orphans on a little lighthouse island back home.   Captin' wanted to go visit im, but he was jest too darn proud ta admit it!  Well, one night, that choice was made fer 'im.  The wind rose so strong that it nearly ripped off the sails from 'is ship.  The sky was black – not a star dared ta shine!  All captin' could do was hunker down an hold 'is faithful dog, Dawg close,  while he tried ta steer 'is ship away from the terrible storm.  But the storm followed im!

Then he saw it.  A very bright light in the distance.  Captin' Lawrence Bartholomew followed that light an found it was the lighthouse from Lighthouse Island where 'is friend an first mate Sully lived.  Sully was takin' care of the lights that night and when he saw 'is old friend’s ship he prayed ta God, asking Him ta bring Captain Bart’s ship safely ta shore.  God answered Sully’s prayers an the tired ole ship finally came into harbor an found a safe place ta rest.  The weary ole Captain and 'is dog, were surprised ta see their good friend Sully comin' out to meet em!

Next day the sun rose as though nothin' had ever happened.  The people of the island came out ta see what the storm had done.  They all hugged each other tightly an promised ta help each other rebuild.  Seems there was a problem though.  They needed money ta buy supplies an the people of Lighthouse Island were very poor.

Ole Captin' looked around.  The people’s faces were sad but they were speakin' words of hope an encouragement ta each other. One small girl, in particular,got his attention.  Handing out scones, she made sure every one had something to eat!

"God bless you," she would say!

    "Mighty peculiar," the Captin thought to 'imself.   Imagine, loosin all of yer stuff.  Just the thought made  Captin' shudder.  He looked over at 'is ship and then he had un unexpected idea.  He 'ad all the stuff right there on 'is own ship that the people needed to rebuild.  The ole Captin' smiled a smile so deep that it tickled 'is toes and wiggled 'is ears!

Walkin' over to 'is ship, Captin' Lawrence Barthalamew went straight ta 'is room full of loot.  Then he began bringin' it all out an settin' it where the people could see.  He motioned to 'is old friend Sully fer help. 

“Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr”, said the Captin', with his head hangin' low.  “I be ashamed te be looking at ye all today.  Ye see, this here room full of loot which I be offerin' ya to keep …… I be a wonderin' if there be somethin' in there that be yours already!  Captin' snorted an' wiped his cheek.  I be wantin' ye all to take what ye need now and use it ….  an the coins an treasure will be used fer buildin' a new school an a hospital fer this here town. 

“Captin Lawrence Bartholomew Johnson, Sir”, said the little girl with the big heart, “When I grow up, I want to be jest like you.”  The ole Captin' pulled on his beard, puzzled by what the little girl 'ad said.

"What be yer name Lassie?"  he inquired.

"Haley Blue," replied the little girl, rosy cheeks smiling. 

“Don’t you see it?” said Sully, “It doesn’t matter what ya were or what ya did in the past.  What is important is, who ya are and what ya be doin now!” 

Captin' Lawrence Bartholomew knelt down and looked into the little girl's eyes.  A salty ole tear rolled down 'is cheek.  Everyone watched to see what would happen next.  Little Haley smiled as the ole Captin' reached into 'is torn pocket and pulled out a handful of pearls.  “These be yers” he said as he fastened them 'round her neck.

“Thank you Captin' Lawrence Barthalomew Johnson sir,” she said with a smile and the ornery ole sea captin' smiled back and said, “Call me Captin' Bart ….. jest, call me Captin' Bart!”