Crossing the Equator - An Initiation...(pictures to come)

Today we crossed the equator. This is a letter we found in the wee hours of the morning under our doors:
To The Puny Scholar Ship ,
This pathetic little vessel, with its passengers and crew of global nomads and vagabonds has dared to cross into my dominion without my permission. This displeases me.
You will halt your progression into my realm immediately – your failure to acknowledge me at the Equator was inexcusable. Further, you will assemble this Pollywog filth for my royal inspection. I will board your ancient and slow little wreck and, with my queen and a company of my most trusted Shellbacks, begin the process of deciding who is fit to remain. I doubt many are up to our Royal standards!
Those my queen or I do not feel are worthy of the title of ‘Shellback’ will be immediately cast overboard where they will most certainly drown, their meager remains food for my pet shark, Tilly.
I challenge you, puny humans, to disobey me! A storm the likes of which you have never seen will befall you. Your leaking old tin can, with its tacky interiors and rusting sides, will shudder and rend under my fury! You will pay dearly should you do not do as I command. You are warned!
Signed,
His Eternal Majesty
Neptunus Rex
Ruler of All The Seas
Emperor of All That is Beneath
Lord of the Most Trusted Shellbacks

Our executive director sent us a memo stating:
“We, the certified Shellbacks, those who have previously crossed the equator at sea, have been ordered by His Eternal Majesty to assist him and His Royal Court in initiating and certifying those Pollywogs onboard to become Shellbacks. “
So at exactly 12:30, while we were eating our lunch, a real ruckus began at the end of the dining hall and sure enough, there was King Naptune and his Royal entourage proceeded by our vessel’s crew hitting drums and using their whistles to alert us to all get up and go on deck immediately!

As we quickly changed into bathing suits or cloths-that-can-get-wet, we ran behind the procession to the deck where were suddenly surrounded by all the OTHER Shellbacks drumming on tribal drums accompanied by their pirate king ghost…

Slowly we climbed the stairs to the upper deck as we chatted nervously among ourselves…”what shall we do? what shall we do…”

I was one of the brave souls who ventured forward, proceeded towards the Royal seat by the pool and…SPLASH! Someone had poured a bucket full of fowl smelling white liquid on my head that smelled awfully like rotten fish! Ouch!!!! THEN I was sprayed ferociously by a fire hose with salty ocean water, AND – forced to kiss a HUGE dead fish!!!!!!!!!!!! With my eyes barely open and the taste and smell of dead fish fresh in my mind, hacking and coughing, I was led to the His Highness and had to KISS his ring!!! How dare they????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND to top it all, they put a color sign on my forehead and made me sign some certificate that could have been my death warrant! What a scandal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blindly I climbed the stairs to the deck pool and jumped in, hoping to get some relief only to find the water smelling further of dead fish………..YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dripping wet, I look over and saw all the staff and students of the TSS marching up the stairs… the poor bastards did not know what awaited them! Heh, heh, heh…….

So there you have it. We are now certified Shellbacks!

I hear that some of us did not dare join the ceremony and could very well be on their way into the bottom of the ocean……………………………