In Michener's saga, "Chesapeake", he pulled no punches in depicted the harsh realities of slavery, and later on, segregation on the eastern shore. He did, however, make a point of explaining where color was overlooked - on board a working Skipjack
"The Jessie T. was worked by a crew of six: Captain Jake Turlock, in command of the craft and responsible for her safety; First Mate Tim Caveny, who handled the money; three Turlocks, who manned the dredges in which the oysters were caught; and the most important member, the Cook. From the day the boat was planned to the moment when the three Turlocks were hired, there had been only one candidate for cook: a remarkable black man renowned along the Choptank. He was Big Jimbo, son of the slaves Cudjo and Eden Cater. He was a gentle man, given to humor, and because of his rare ability with a ship's stove he knew that he was as good as the captain and better than the crew."
Thanks for volunteering, Derek. and Nate.
4 comments:
Cheers to you both. Seriously, ship's cook could be more important than the skipper.
Notice he said COULD be? He is really letting this captain thing get to him. It's like we have to obey him ALL the time.
Oh captain, eh, very nice. An' how'd you get that, eh? By
exploitin' the workers -- by 'angin' on to our outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic an' social differences in our
society!
It's not like he'll be keeping us fed. Let's get him drunk and keep him below deck. OH YE MUTINOUS DOGS.
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