We Want Morie

Morie was my sponsor. In the Seafair Pirates everyone has a sponsor who introduces them to the Order and shepherds them through the ups and downs of that long, long Candidate year. Even after becoming a full fledged Pirate, your sponsor remains one of your closest friends. In the case of Morie and I, the bond grew even closer than most, because he had no one else, besides the Pirates.

This sounds silly, but one of the coolest things about being a Seafair Pirate has got to be riding around Seattle on our pirate ship, Moby Duck. Formerly a WWII amphibious landing craft, thinly disguised as a Spanish Galleon, the Duck is now essentially the world's heaviest sports-car. Well, my sponsor, Morie was the Duck driver. This meant getting to ride around in the Duck a bit more than most candidates. (Sometimes a lot more, and in the rain at that.) You know how little kids love to wave at big rig truck drivers and train engineers? Well it was with Morie that I first discovered that all those people who get waved at by kids, all wave at the Duck and we get to wave back to them!

You think that BMW in the driveway impresses the neighbors? Ha! It's nothing compared with being driven right to your doorstep by the Duck!

Morie became a Pirate in 1982 and for much of his time he was the Duck Driver. Trouble with his legs and feet kept Morie off the street, he only ran one parade while I knew him, but he got as big a bang out of it as any new Pirate at his first parade. Speaking of bangs, you could always count on Morie to have some fireworks about him somewhere. Most often his flash-paper charged "finger-flashers" which lobbed balls of flame across any dark & crowded room that the Pirates found themselves in. Morie also carried a little derringer. Now most of the Pirates carry black powder guns at sometime, but Morie's were inevitably loaded with that little something extra; Roman Candle Balls!

Not every "good pirate" is a "street pirate." Morie was typical of this kind of Pirate. He made it his business to pass on as much as he knew of the long history, storied legends and traditions that make up the fifty year legacy that is being a Seafair Pirate. Much of his time was spent with candidates. They could always count on him to be ready with the funny anecdote or timely bit of advise. More often than not it was on Morie's shoulder the candidates cried when we Pirates were "too mean to them," and it was often his slightly woolly wisdom that saved a candidacy in trouble. He easily shed his avuncular role though, Morie loved his practical jokes and jealously guarded his self-appointed roll as the "bestower of nick-names." (Much to the chagrin of many of the newly christened.)

Morie, rather like "Walter Mitty" fancied that people regarded him as a rough, gruff, bad-tempered tough guy. Alas, poor Morie, we all knew you too well. We saw you for what you really were, a big-hearted, sentimental softie, who cared for his brother Pirates just like the family that they were to him.

These last few years Morie's health was in a long decline. There was nothing you could put your finger on, he just seemed to be sort of drifting away. Gradually he came out on fewer and fewer pirate operations, until one day 2 years ago he just stopped altogether. - I was Captain Kidd in 2000. I think Morie was prouder of that accomplishment than I was, so, it makes me rather sad that his declining health never let him see me as the Captain he so very much wanted me to be.

My sponsor, Morie Lohre, has embarked on the last and longest of voyages, down to join the other immortal Seafair Pirates in the safe keeping of Davy Jones. Bon Voyage. ¥ DC Smith, Captain Kidd 2000

¥ DC Smith, Captain Kidd 2000


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