Week 14: Race & Race

20 Years & Pirates!

I completed a 20 year circuit this weekend. The legendary Jimmy Buffet passed away between Friday night and Saturday morning. Of all the things I could put into this little high school cross country newsletter Jimmy is the one thing on my mind. I can’t shake it, Jimmy’s Essentials Album on Apple Music is my current playlist. It’s all Jimmy.

20 years ago I had to write a book report for a college class. So I went to the college book store and picked up a copy of the New York Times Best Seller Jimmy Buffett: A Pirates Look at 50. I can’t remember how the report turned out but I do remember thinking this would be a funny way to say I don’t like book reports. If I had to guess I would bet my report read something like this:

For the millions of fans of Jimmy Buffet's music as well as his bestselling books, Tales From Margaritaville and Where Is Joe Merchant?, here is the ultimate Jimmy Buffet philosophy on life and how to live it.  As hard as it is to believe, the irrepressible Jimmy Buffet has hit the half-century mark and, in A PIRATE LOOKS AT 50, he brings us along on the remarkable journey which he took through the Southern hemisphere to celebrate this landmark birthday.
        
Jimmy takes us from the legendary pirate coves of the Florida Keys to the ruins of ancient Cartegena.  Along the way, we hear a tale or two of how he got his start in New Orleans, how he discovered his passion for flying planes, and how he almost died in a watery crash in Nantucket harbor.  We follow Jimmy to jungle outposts in Costa Rica and on a meandering trip down the Amazon, through hair-raising negotiations with gun-toting customs officials and a 3-year-old aspiring co-pilot.  And he is the inimitable Jimmy Buffett through it all.
        
For Parrotheads, for armchair adventurers, and for anyone who appreciates a good yarn and a hearty laugh, here is the ultimate backstage pass -- you'll read the kind of stories Jimmy usually reserves for his closest friends and you'll see a wonderful, wacky life through eyes of the man who's lived it.  A PIRATE LOOKS AT 50 is a breath of fresh air and a ingenious manual for getting to 50 . . . and beyond.

Amazon Book Store

20 years later….. I spent a solid hour searching around my old college books trying to find my copy of Jimmy’s book. Searching, digging and realizing this paperback book is worth $30.00 now!! Surely I would not have just tossed this book out, I know I’ve seen it on my bookshelf in recent years, did it get consumed with a mass exit of much of my college stuff. Hmmmm…. It has become a treasure hunt. Back to my Pirating days and pirating ways searching for long lost treasure. A Pirate Looks at 40…..