Thursday, July 13, 2000
Purloined big pig still has its own gig
The drama continues ... Jimmy and Pati Gilliece's pig, we mean. Pigerre stood in front of of Chez Nora, the Covington bar and restaurant they own.
Made by Sandy Stonebreaker, of Sandy's Frame Shop in MainStrasse, the pig was 2-feet high and hand-painted.
He was pignapped in mid-June. About a week later, the Gillieces got a picture of him in St. Louis with a note claiming he was on a journey to find himself.
Another note — and more pictures — arrived this week. Pigerre is in Vermont — after a brief stint selling flowers with Hare Krishnas — with a lovely couple, hanging around hot air balloon shows and ice cream parlors.
And still, the Gillieces have no idea who did it. Prime suspects — one a pilot, one a flight attendant — have been eliminated.
Meanwhile, the reward stands: Whoever returns him or delivers clues gets dinner: Cherry pecan pork with bourbon cream sauce.
Seen around town: That would be James Kaserman, pirate historian and author of Gasparilla: Pirate Genius (Pirate Publishing International, $15.95), who's in the middle of a national book signing tour.
But he's not signing here. He's praying.
“A lot of people don't know this, but the inland river pirates were the most brutal of all,” he says. “Pirates at sea lived by a certain code of honor, however lopsided, there was none on the river. Murder and rape were sport, and the Ohio River Valley was one of the most dangerous places on earth.”
Kaserman should know. The former Dayton resident — Florida now — has been studying pirates since 1956. Not movie types, but the real thing — how they lived, divided loot, elected leaders.
He tells all that through the eyes of Gasparilla, a historical figure who ran his fleet as a true democracy. “Pirate ships were pure democracies,” he says.
He's here today to conduct a memorial for victims of the Ohio River pirates lo those many years ago. It's 1 p.m. at a location to be determined.
Champagne racers: They're taking this Bastille Day waiters' race seriously?
Referring here to Friday's annual race on Fountain Square where waiters — 24 of them this year — compete for best time carrying a tray loaded with a split of champagne and two glasses.
No spilling and no running. Best times — one male, one female — get a ticket to Paris from Air France, sponsor of the event.
Which is why people like Mary Lou Lind, longtime LaNormandie server, take it so seriously. “She was training all week,” says Annette Pfund of Air France's inside sales department.
Over at Uno's, where manager and race coach Noah Brauer has five servers competing, they're even more serious. “I've been running them all week and they're really pumped. They've been going through here with their trays and splits, practicing daily. I'd like to have more in it, but I don't know how to do it without cutting my throat on Friday lunch.”
It's 11:30 Friday on Fountain Square.
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