GBM enters to the strains of her theme song,
"Now many moons and many Junes, Have passed since we made land. Yes, a salty dog..."
Teetering on remarkably impractical Jimmy Choos, and likely having already sampled the rum, she has a bit of a Jennifer Lawrence moment.
Oopsy-daisy! Seems I'm a little off-balance. I might have started celebrating a bit early. But I've always believed a balanced diet consists of a bottle of rum in each hand. In fact, throughout TNP history, during all of our wars, rogues and assorted usurpers, we were always fueled by rum. You could call it Tradition.
It may have all started with my most infamous offspring. One day TNP was chugging along with UPS Rail, and the next day Great Bight had replaced the RMB's forum link with a 6th grade pirate site. That's when the "Yaarring and Arrghing" began. How well I recall - there was Gentleman Pirate, the Cabin Girl, and of course, that SOB, Great Bights Dad, Flem rest his soul. The more nations were banned, the more rum we drank. The blockade continued, the bannings went on. We ran out of food, but we didn't care. We always had boatloads of rum.
Time and again our shores were befouled by the oafs of Gatesville. They were easy marks for Flem's lampooning. It was really some of his best work. Finally Gates admitted they just came for the rum. Roman bribed him with the promise of tankers loaded with TNP rum. Eventually, they drank themselves to death. You could say we were saved by the rum.
Now we have peace and prosperity. The McMasterdonian Sugar Mill has made McM a very rich man. The DD Distillery is thriving. Everyone loves the Silly Spiced Rum, the Captain COE and of course r3n-rum. Some newer varieties are Dark Tomb, Flap Jack and Paul Hits the Wall. That last one may not be for everybody, but I like it. You can say this about TNP, we love nothing more than a barrel of rum.
So as I look out over this dusty red clay, I can envision, with Flem's blessing, the tall stalks of cane, their leaves blowing in the tradewinds. I look forward to the glow of the burning fields at harvest time, with that sweet, smoky, unforgettable aroma. And mostly, I anticipate the lively, dark sipping rum that is TNP's finest.
Cheers!