Pirate spins tales at Washington County Library
Storyteller stirs young imaginations with swashbuckling talesBy Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com
With a pirate spinning the tales at the Washington County Public Library Monday, there was plenty of travel, adventure and swashbuckling for a group of local children, and some surprising facts about some of history's most revered pirates.
What made Blackbeard one of the most successful pirates ever? According to professional storyteller Capt. Tim Dillinger it was his marketing plan.
"Believe it or not, he would let a couple get away from him so that they could tell the tale," Dillinger told children. "And the few that got away wouldn't want people to think they had run from a mere 6'9" man...so he'd be a little bigger and a little bigger and the legend would grow and grow."
Eventually, Blackbeard was so famous for being big, loud and mean that people would simply give up their gold rather than fight him, said Dillinger.
That was just one tale of pirates, gold and giants he shared at the library, while dressed in his own pirate garb.
"The stories were really cool and funny," said Shane Whealdon, 12, of Lowell. "It's fun to hear about pirates because of the adventures they have."
After the stories, the children got to take a pirate oath with Dillinger and have him sign his first book, "The Pick Pocket Pirate."
It's a story of a boy who picks the pocket of the wrong pirate and ends up pulled onto a ship with good guys, bad guys, treasure and plenty of mystery.
Dillinger, a native of Vienna, W.Va. who now lives in Outer Banks, N.C., said he's been accused of being all the characters in the book. He's been a substitute teacher, storyteller, stuntman, ship captain, tour guide and now an author.
Along with stories from the past, Dillinger reminded the young readers that pirates are still around today in some parts of the world-and it's still all about the gold, he said.
"They use bigger guns and faster boats but the idea is the same," he said. "There have always been pirates and there will always be pirates."
And that means plenty of stories to tell, Dillinger said.
"Anytime you want to go on an adventure and be a pirate or anyone else, this library is full of books that can do that for you," he said.
Whealdon said he reads-mostly mysteries and action books-for much the same reason that the characters Dillinger spoke of set sail.
"They want to go places they haven't explored," he said. "That's what I like."
