OK, so I'm re-reading "A Pirate Looks at Fifty"

[Bicycle Bill]

...and in the book (in the section titled "A Visit with Mr. Twain") he mentions thumbing through an old LIFE magazine from the week he was born and seeing a picture of a ship called the 'Del Norte'; he goes on to say that it had been built in Pascagoula (true), and that the ship that followed off the slipways was named the 'Del Mundo'.

I was kinda curious to see a picture of the vessel, but it's too cold (and I'm too lazy) to go to the main branch of the library where I know from first-hand experience that they have copies of LIFE magazine going back to the very beginning; besides, I have the internet and Google, right? So I Google "Del Norte" and get a couple of very nice pictures and more information than I really needed about the three ships of the Delta Line that came to be known as the "Del Triplets", but interesting reading anyway. However, the three ships were, in turn, 'Del Norte', 'Del Sud', and 'Del Mar'. Nowhere is there any mention of 'Del Mundo'. In fact, the only reference to any vessel named 'Del Mundo' was the Delta Line's 'SS Delmundo', a 5000-ton steamer constructed in Pennsylvania and launched in 1919; while part of a convoy from Buenos Aires to NYC she was torpedoed and lost off Cuba's Guantanamo Bay in August 1942.

Also, elsewhere in the book he mentions that his grandfather's five-masted bark was the 'Chickamauga', and I know we've discussed and dissected the facts of that little bit of history on this website before and come up with the conclusion that while we're still not sure what her actual name was, it *wasn't* 'Chickamauga'.

While these inaccuracies in no way distract from the stories Jimmy is telling (and the points he is trying to make), it does make me wonder just how much of the rest of what is '"known" about Jimmy — including what he says himself — is incorrect, or has been tweaked for public consumption (or to make for a better story....), or is an outright fabrication?

-"BB"-

[nutmeg]

Jimmy is always talking about "semi true" stories ....and often mentions making stuff up. I don't think he does a whole lot of rechecks about stuff....Just says or writes them as he remembers them.

His writing is so entertaining that I don't know that I care whether everything is true or not

[Tiki Torches]

Todd Snider has often said he learned a lot from Buffett when it comes to putting together his stage presentation but he's never been specific as to what. In what has become known as his "18 Minutes Speech" he says, "I make this sh*t up and sing it for anybody that'll listen to it..." Even if you're not a fan of his, you've gotta love this intro to fans that have never attended one of his concerts before.

[SMLCHNG]

His writing is so entertaining that I don't know that I care whether everything is true or not

Same here.

[daveamania]

Reading/Hearing Jimmy's stories always reminds me of the movie "Big Fish". The stories are true....at a certain point of view.

[surfpirate]

Bill, no offense .... I zoned out
somewhere in the middle of your 2nd paragraph in your post.

Jimmy's writings are page turners beginning to end.

Therein is your answer.

[dnw]

His writing is so entertaining that I don't know that I care whether everything is true or not

Same here.

[jayparrot46]

His writing is so entertaining that I don't know that I care whether everything is true or not

Same here.

i agree

[ParrotHeadInThe Making]

Some people have the Christmas traddition of watching It's a Wonderful Life every year. Me, for the past 4 years, I've read Pirate at this time of year. I don't care how many times I read this book. I find it entertaining. It takes me places far away without having to leave my home. I could care less about the accuracy of everything written in the book. I think he wrote it as he remembers it which is just fine with me.

[PermanentlyLost]

I have read that book half-a-dozen times. Dang It! now I want to read it again.

[rmissbrook]

Another example: in the story about his first trip to KW with JJW he arrives in Miami in "late October". Several paragraphys later it is "February". Now I'm sorry but that is bad editing.

And the infamous "tire swing" in Illinois has been located everywhere from a road between Macomb and Peoria to outside Evanston.

So what counts I guess is the moral of the story not the actual facts.

[sonofabeach]

I've got a few copies hard and paperback. I keep one at work.
It's like a bible. You just pick it up from time to time, flip to any page and read some scripture.

[tigzoe]

I've got a few copies hard and paperback. I keep one at work.
It's like a bible. You just pick it up from time to time, flip to any page and read some scripture.