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They are having it in the wrong place. The best place to have Pirate Days is at Fort Knox. Alyson and I just went there the other day. We go ever year, just Alyson and Me.

Have fun anyway Chuck and be sure you separate those pesky Mainer's from their hard earned cash!!

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http://www.railroadmachinist.com/Coastal-Fort-Knox-1.html
 
Yeah looks like you had fun, and yes it is hard to separate cash from a Mainer. In fact I have said it on here many times, though its a very pessimistic way of looking at life.

"In life you have a little pile of cash, and everyone in this world is trying to separate you from that pile of cash. The better you are at life, the more of a pile of cash you have."

It does not matter if its a little girl selling Girl Scout Cookies or a politician looking for help at financing an election...they all are trying to separate you from your little pile of cash. Knowing this keeps your pile of cash intact a lot easier.
 
Frank this is kind of cool, its just a cannon but Alyson is 366 days older in the second picture (hey it was a leap year this year). Someone is getting big. :)

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As for you guys that prefer smaller muskets, checkout three block alley. This hallway faces a dry moat on the inland side of the fort. People attacking the fort by land would have to jump into this dry moat to take the fort, and in defending it, the US Military would stand on these blocks and fire out the specially shaped granite blocks. They were wedge shaped so that only a slit an inch or two wide was exposed to returned fire.

The second photo shows what that dry moat looks like. The gun ports in the background on the far side of this picture are what the outside of three block alley would look like for attacking parties. Pretty intimidating to me. :eek:

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This is in the spirit of fun & nothing is really meant by it.

I'm the bandannaed, brown bearded, non peg legged, non patch eyed,none hooked pirate non scourge of the non bounding Main.What say ye me lads we'll not lay a few broadside against yonder Spanish galleons timbers & we'll not haul over again her & not swing over on these here lanyards with our cutlasses in our teeth & not cut em to ribbons & not split the booty what say ye to the me buck o's.

High falsetto voice in the back ground "I don't like it & I don't want to do it" hmm maybe this is Chuck

YOU don't like it & you don't want to do it!!!!....well what do you want to do???

I want to sing & dance & wear me tight leather shiny pants.

Hmmmm Just doesn't have the same ring as Red beard peg leg patch eyed hook scourge of the bounding main.


From a Ray Stevens tape as close as I can remember it.
 
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Hey Frank, not a picture of a cannon but a picture your kids/grand kids might like to see. It does not look like much but actually its a Hot Shot Furnace. Its of a by-gone era because back when these were built (there was one at battery A and one at Battery B) they would take cannon balls, put them in the hot shot furnance and the Coke/coal fire would get the cannon balls red hot. These would be lobbed at the wooden hulled ships which would hopefully be set a blaze.

As for this fort, it never fired a shot, but was built to protect the city of Bangor, back when Maine was the wood capital of the world. It took 40 years to build but was never finished as it was obsolete before it really even began to be built. As for the cannons...all 137 were scrapped for the WWI and WWII war effort.

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I guess what really impresses me about this fort was the brickwork/granite work. It may not seem impressive, but take a look at this photo and then really look how all the brick arches come together. Also note how the granite blocks were cut at odd angles and shapes so that the brickwork could rest on them and get the arch shapes. It really was some amazing brickwork/granite work.

For anyone who cares more pictures of this neat place can be seen at these links:

http://www.railroadmachinist.com/Coastal-Fort-Knox-1.html

http://www.railroadmachinist.com/Coastal-Fort-Knox-2.html

http://www.railroadmachinist.com/Coastal-Fort-Knox-3.html

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