on september 3 the pirate ship kinross will try to board the good ship aurelian, and we need to throw their boarding parties back into the sea. it reminds me of a story from the days of sailing ships:

One morning a sailing ship was under way when the lookout called down from the mast, "Captain, a pirate ship on the horizon. It's gaining on us fast!"

The captain stood up and screamed, "Battle stations, men! Bring me my red shirt!"

The pirate ship pulled up along side, and their boarding party climbed up over the side. The men ran for their lives, hiding wherever they could. The captain looked at them with disgust, drew his cutlass, and tore into the pirates, hacking and slashing. As he killed one pirate after another, the men watched and felt ashamed of themselves. At last they found their courage, and raced to their captain's side. Together they made short work of the pirates, killing the entire boarding party.

That afternoon, the ship was under way again when the lookout called down from the mast, "Captain, THREE pirate ships on the horizon! And they're closing in on us!"

The captain stood up and shouted, "Battle Stations, men! Bring me my red shirt!"

The pirate ships came up along side, and their boarding parties swarmed onto the ship. Once again, the men ran for their lives. Once again, the captain grimly drew his cutlass and waded into the pirates, slashing his way through them. All the men could see was a blur of red surrounded by pirates, spinning and kicking, stabbing one pirate after another. Once again, the men found their courage; they couldn't let their captain fight alone, not against these odds. They cut their way through their pirates, and rallied around their captain. It was a long, hard fight, but eventually they killed or drove off all of the pirates.

That night, the men were all sitting around on the deck, and their leader said, "Captain, the men have all been talking and we think you did some of the best fighting we've ever seen. But there's one thing we still don't understand. Why did you always call for your red shirt?"

The captain was a big, gruff man. He shrugged and said, "I knew there was gonna be hard fighting, and there was a good chance I might be wounded. I wore the red shirt so my blood wouldn't show. I didn't want you men to lose heart if you saw your captain was wounded."

There was silence all over the ship. Finally the leader of the men said, "You're the bravest captain we've ever had. We're not even worthy to serve under you."

The next morning the ship was under way again, and the lookout called down from the mast, "Captain, pirate ships on the horizon! TEN of them! And they're gaining on us!"

Everyone turned and looked to the captain.

The captain stood up and roared, "Battle stations, men! Bring me my brown pants!"

so wherever you are on september 3, wear a red shirt if you can as a sign of solidarity. or at the very least, please don't wear brown pants. that sends the wrong signal.