December 9th 07, 04:22 AM
"What are you making for the kids this year?" my wife asked about a
week ago as we ate breakfast.
Total blank. I was cracking walnuts to eat with chunks of Korean
pears; I'd forgotten all about making gifts for the grandkids. "Little
boats," I lied. "In fact, I'm working on them right now."
I continued to crack walnuts with the blade of my pocket-knife while I
told her about Duke Haliburton and how he'd persuaded King Charles of
Spain to out-source the transportation between Mexico and the
Philippines, back around 1665. She gave me a suspicious look.
"Seriously. Duke Haliburton convinced crazy King Charles that out-
sourcing would save him a buncha money. Then the Duke hired some
Chinese guys to sail back & forth between Manila and Acapulco..."
"Chinese guys?" Her eyebrow arched up the way it does when she's on to
me.
"Sure. It was a lot cheaper than building a galleon..."
"I suppose these Chinese guys used a Chris-Craft."
"Don't be silly." I crunched my way through a couple of chunks of
Korean pear. "Chinese guys sail junks."
"So... you're making the kids Chinese junks?"
"Right!" Whew, that was a close one.
"Three of them?"
"That's how many Duke Haliburton hired. Cost him twenty pieces of
eight a month, each. For which he charged King Charles something like
a million dollars."
That got a smile. "Things haven't changed much," she laughed. Then she
gave me that look: "I don't suppose you remember the names of those
Chinese junks."
"Ah... the Nina, the Pinta and... uh... the Rancho Bernardo."
At which point she said something rude.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aircraft content: I made the spars out of Sita Spruce. (pix on
bobhooversblog.blogspot.com )
-R.S.Hoover
week ago as we ate breakfast.
Total blank. I was cracking walnuts to eat with chunks of Korean
pears; I'd forgotten all about making gifts for the grandkids. "Little
boats," I lied. "In fact, I'm working on them right now."
I continued to crack walnuts with the blade of my pocket-knife while I
told her about Duke Haliburton and how he'd persuaded King Charles of
Spain to out-source the transportation between Mexico and the
Philippines, back around 1665. She gave me a suspicious look.
"Seriously. Duke Haliburton convinced crazy King Charles that out-
sourcing would save him a buncha money. Then the Duke hired some
Chinese guys to sail back & forth between Manila and Acapulco..."
"Chinese guys?" Her eyebrow arched up the way it does when she's on to
me.
"Sure. It was a lot cheaper than building a galleon..."
"I suppose these Chinese guys used a Chris-Craft."
"Don't be silly." I crunched my way through a couple of chunks of
Korean pear. "Chinese guys sail junks."
"So... you're making the kids Chinese junks?"
"Right!" Whew, that was a close one.
"Three of them?"
"That's how many Duke Haliburton hired. Cost him twenty pieces of
eight a month, each. For which he charged King Charles something like
a million dollars."
That got a smile. "Things haven't changed much," she laughed. Then she
gave me that look: "I don't suppose you remember the names of those
Chinese junks."
"Ah... the Nina, the Pinta and... uh... the Rancho Bernardo."
At which point she said something rude.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aircraft content: I made the spars out of Sita Spruce. (pix on
bobhooversblog.blogspot.com )
-R.S.Hoover