Pirates

My younger brother had Hodgkin’s lymphoma when he was 19. As part of the treatment the glands under his jaw were removed, leaving him with a pair of fairly prominent scars. He grew a beard to cover them up, but years later, after he was married and had kids, it started to turn gray, so he shaved it off.

His children had never his scars before. The youngest shrugged it off, but the oldest was a bit freaked out. “What happened?” he asked.

“Pirates,” my brother said.

My nephew was just old enough to be skeptical. “Really?”

Luckily, our father was visiting. Without missing a beat he pulled up his shirt to show the scars he had from two rounds of heart surgery. “Absolutely,” he said, straight-faced. “Look what they did to me.” And for a little while at least, my nephew was a believer.

Time to make another cup of tea. If you came in peace, be welcome.