{"id":12051,"date":"2024-02-12T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-12T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/?p=12051"},"modified":"2024-02-13T15:04:03","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T20:04:03","slug":"to-the-captain-from-this-kid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/?p=12051","title":{"rendered":"To The Captain From This Kid"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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By Casey Arthur<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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I hesitate to write this for many reasons. I mean, take your pick; being teased when I was wet behind the ears and full of dreams for liking his music when seemingly his audience was drinking bottles of their favorite octogenarian nutrition shakes, or maybe I am reserved about writing my thoughts down because I won\u2019t do his life, memory, or legacy any justice (which is why I won\u2019t try to). I\u2019m also late to the party and we, as humans, tend to forget quickly. For me, it seems fresh even though it\u2019s been a few months now. Maybe, most of all, I am afraid that my words will pale in comparison to his and be left unread. I am not everyone\u2019s cup o\u2019 tea but neither was James William Buffett. I reckon that is part of why I like him so much\u2026 he simply didn\u2019t care about that fact. He knew his audience well and especially his die-hard fans. He unabashedly wrote songs with a head nod to many cultures and musical styles all the while penning books that only Jimmy could manufacture with his many influences including Mark Twain, or as he referred to him, \u201cThat Old Articulator\u201d.<\/p>

Authors Note: If you have found yourself past the first bit of this writing wondering why there has been so much buzz around the death of \u201cthe guy who sang that song about margaritas\u201d you may need to skip to another article. However, I would suggest if you are in that non-literal boat, raise a sail and tack back through the rest of this; you may catch the bug like I did many years ago.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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This may be the point where I should go into his life with at least a brief timeline of events. Possibly start in Mississippi and then to Alabama or follow him to the Keys with Jerry Jeff Walker and then back to an attempt to please Nashville but I won\u2019t do that because I can\u2019t. While Jimmy Buffett revealed a lot about his life through many different releases and narrations, I wasn\u2019t there and I don\u2019t know all of the details to do that sort of writing any justice. Not that I claim to be one but, as many writers suggest to beginners, \u201cwrite what you know\u201d and what I know is how Jimmy\u2019s work made me feel so I will do my best to give utterance to that.<\/p>

I never met him. I always thought that maybe when I was in Key West I would run into him or maybe even by some random happenstance he would show up somewhere along the salty shore where I grew up. I had daydreams that he would run one of his many blowboats aground in my familiar waters and I could pick him up and take him to the dock until the tide came back up. From all accounts, Capt. Jim was too good a\u2019 seaman for that nonsense so that dream never panned out. Though I wish I had met him I have realized that it doesn\u2019t really matter. I didn\u2019t have to meet him as his words and stories were all I needed. After all, what would a \u201cHey hello you\u2019re an inspiration to me\u201d have meant to him? I am sure he heard that a lot and was a great influence on many. \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Jimmy Buffett 12\/25\/1946 - 9\/1\/2023<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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I guess when everything comes out of the wash, Jimmy was a bullhorn for what I felt. When I was away from home, the words \u201cI wanna go back, to the island, where the shrimp boats tie up to the pylons\u201d resonated with me to my core. Fresh water just doesn\u2019t cut it for me. If I am more than a few miles away from a brine solution I get itchy and start looking for an egress. It seemed that I found every new song or anything I read from him was agreeable. I can\u2019t think of a situation that I have found myself in where I couldn\u2019t pull up a Jimmy Buffett tune to match up with it almost perfectly; happy, sad, indifferent, heartbroken, hungry, sunburnt, hung over, or adventurous. They\u2019re all there. Listen, I recall when I had a terrible job while I was in college and I truly did wish lunch could last forever (if this reference eludes you, check out this tune on the \u201cOff to See the Lizard\u201d album).<\/p>

Though I can\u2019t prove it, and as stated before I never met him, I felt like I knew Jimmy a little more than most. I noted those weird glances he would give an interviewer when they insisted he take a drink of a margarita with a camera in his face almost as if he had to do that to \u201ctoe the line\u201d. What he probably was thinking was \u201cI\u2019d rather have a glass of good wine\u2026\u201d Also, I was happy to hear his lyric \u201cThese days I get up about the time I used to go to bed\u201d because it proved what I already knew from reading his works; Jimmy Buffett had a serious work ethic. While everyone else in the world thought he was laying on a beach all day getting a tan, that fella was writing books and songs and even starting and running several successful business ventures. We won\u2019t even get into the fact that he was also a playwright.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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There are many singers, songwriters, and authors I enjoy hearing from but, I leave it at that. Jimmy Buffett, however, was a life changer and had a way of telling a story that transported me there. Later in life when I had a chance to go to some of the places he had written about, it was exactly like I envisioned it through his words. Indeed, the water around St. Barth\u2019s is clear enough to see Bonefish from a great distance. Yes, Jimmy was more than just a yellow album with red writing. Sure, Songs You Know By Heart was a great collection of his work but, unfortunately for those who didn\u2019t dive deeper, they are merely phytoplankton buoyantly floating with the masses while a great sea of adventure exists beneath them. I\u2019d suggest some dive gear.<\/p>

He would have never had a way of knowing but Jimmy Buffett brought my family and friends together for many shows. Chances are we wouldn\u2019t have gotten together otherwise. He also influenced me to go to many places that I never would have traveled to or explored. He changed my life for the better and I am thankful for that. Not to get too sappy but I will leave you with this; earlier I was listening to some Buffett as I do most every day and the end of the deluxe version of the album Buried Treasure<\/em> was playing. Jimmy says \u201cThis is Captain Jim to ground control, fins up, over and out.\u201d Right after, A Pirate Looks at Forty<\/em> came on and he started singing those familiar lyrics; \u201cMother mother ocean, I have heard you call\u2026\u201d Misty eyed, I thought that was a very fitting send off. This writing is dedicated to the life and great works of The Captain from This Kid.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCasey Arthur\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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is an avid decoy maker and waterfowler from Stacy, NC, who loves to spend time on the waters of Core Sound. When not on the water, you can find him whittling and carving in his decoy shop or with his wife Julie and their two dogs, Rubie, Polly and Carver. You can follow Casey on Instagram @caseyadecoys<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I hesitate to write this for many reasons. I mean, take your pick; being teased when I was wet behind the ears and full of dreams for liking his music when seemingly his audience was drinking bottles of their favorite octogenarian nutrition shakes, or maybe I am reserved about writing my thoughts down because I won\u2019t do\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[315,181],"class_list":["post-12051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-jimmy-buffett","tag-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/FEATHERSWHISKEY-copy.png","acf":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12051"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12239,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12051\/revisions\/12239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}