Pirate (Ap)Prentice

[Mark Kohut]

I guess the first part of his name, Pirate, can be understood (in one way)
because he can steal other people's dreams and fantasies, right?


But I wonder if our Long Island boy who fell in love with California read
much of California dreamer, John Steinbeck, Nobelist....I can imagine him
relaxing
many an evening with one of those many short novels.....

I was led to read Steinbeck's *Tortilla Flat* recently, a curious short
novel set
in Monterey about a group of Paisanos--a kind of Whole Sick Crew---hanging
out
and interacting. Evidently John heard a lot of these stories, anecdotes
from Mexican--Americans
in the area....not unlike folk tales or legends which Steinbeck
self-consciously intended.....
Anti-work, anti-money and most materialism, anti-property,---the first
crisis is when group Leader/Star Danny,
inherits two houses which he really doesn't want. Wine is their bananas and
tacit unknown rules of friendship
rule....the women and sex are very interesting.  Can remind associatively
of Slothrop and all his mates, I think.

David Graeber in his new *Pirate Enlightenment or the Real Libertalia*
shows how maybe "to live outside the law you must be honest" as Bob always
sings as he explores the kind of virtually direct democracy and
self-organization
(the non-violent kind of anarchy, maybe) pirates had to set up to
exist....that
strain of limited 'anarchy' Pynchon embeds positively in many of his
novels.)

Anyway, there is one of the gang named Pirate. Very genial, has five dogs
who follow him everywhere and
when he does anything.  The pirate, a mentally handicapped man who is
followed by 5 dogs, is invited by Pilon to stay at Danny's house. Pirate
promised that if God would save his sick dog, he would buy a golden
candlestick for St. Francis
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi>. The sickly dog
recovered, though he was soon after run over by a truck. Pirate is
determined to keep his promise to buy a gold candlestick for St. Francis
with 1000 quarters, or "two-bitses" ($250). The Pirate is the only paisano
who works, and makes 25 cents a day selling kindling, but lives on food
scraps given in charity, and saves the cash. He has hidden a great bag of
quarters, known about by all. When he reveals his treasure to them, they
are guilted into aiding him in his endeavor.

I thought few I might admire read him anymore: But "A man [ john steinbeck]
whose work was equal to the vast social themes that drove him". (Don
DeLillo)"
I wonder when in his long life he said this?