Ye Olde Pirate Season Origin Story

 

Mark Todd for the Los Angeles Times

How, exactly did Pirate Season come to be? Wonder no more as the full story has finally been told in the pages of the Los Angeles Times. During the darkest days of Pirate Season AW23 I strapped myself to the main mast, grabbed a quill from a passing gull, dipped it in  the darkest of inks and began to tell the tale.

My wife travels a lot for work, jetting off to cover fashion shows for several weeks at a stretch at least twice a year. I react to these extended-length absences the way any well-adjusted Angeleno husband might: I act like a pirate.

To be more precise, I celebrate what I call “pirate season,” a time-honored tradition that’s part bachelor party without the bachelor and part kids themed birthday party without the kids (or the birthday). It’s a tongue-in-cheek coping mechanism designed to buoy my spirits while we’re apart. (As a bonus, I’m pretty sure pirate season has improved our together time too.)

Its origins lie in the early aughts when my not-yet-wife, in her role as The Times’ fashion critic, started attending the twice-yearly, monthlong New York-to-Paris run of fashion weeks. When I mentioned to my co-worker Vince that I was suddenly facing four weeks of single-like solitude without a plan in place, he told me about a buddy of his.

“Whenever my friend Kai’s girlfriend goes out of town,” Vince said, “he hangs a pirate flag on his balcony, and people know they can come over and party.” --  excerpt from the full story which you can read here.

We're About to Round Pirate Season SS24's Cape of Despair

 

The Pirate flag of Bartholemew Roberts

Day 12 of the current voyage (Pirate Season SS24 for those keeping track) and the wind seems to have been at our back most of the time. The crew is understandably restless, especially since there are 15 days left until we reach port (or, to be more precise, port reaches us). 

Nevertheless, the halfway point is soon upon us and I expect repairs on the goode shippe to occupy most of the crew's attention until it's time to furl and stow the flag.