A Wish Come True

In the summer of 1994 the SEATTLE SEAFAIR PIRATES received a phone call from the Make A Wish Foundations Oregon Chapter. They had a boy with Ewings Sarcoma who wanted to sail the Caribbean Sea with real pirates. It was perfect timing as in October we were headed for PIRATES WEEK FESTIVAL in Grand Ca man, B.W.I.

The Make A Wish Foundation made all the arrangements for this suffering twelve year old boy named Eric Dunder to have his wish come true. PIRATES WEEK, the SEATTLE SEAFAIR PIRATES, CNN, and main pirate volunteers all participated in making Eric's wish a great experience.

We met up with Eric prior to boarding one of two tall ships used in the pirates landing where we raid downtown Georgetown and capture the Governor. Seen here in the photo is Eric all dressed up as a pirate while I sing "A Whale of a Tale" in preparation of his voyage. Eric got to sail a few hours in the Caribbean on a pirate ship with another sailing alongside, all filled with pirates!

Before we land to raid the town, the two ships slowly sail into Hog Sty bay in an awesome display of cannon fire Using black powder. The pirates then line the decks of the ships with swords in hand as the ships cut through the smoke filled harbor. We then dock and fight our way past the Governor's loyalists, capture His excellency, and pay a special tribute to Eric. There were many television and print media camera's there, including CNN, to capture this great moment. Hundreds of pirates, from all over the world, lined up opposite each other raising their swords to create a tunnel of honor for Eric to pass through. This was very emotional for all of us. A moment we would not forget as this young boy who was facing the end of his life walked passed. Some news came in after our trip that Eric had a great time as he saw many historic sites in Grand Cayman that week including the pirate caves.

After his trip he was scheduled for chemotherapy and hopefully a bone marrow operation.

It has been almost two years now and I found myself wondering how Eric was doing. I was hesitant to call. We hadn't heard anything and I didn't really want to ear any bad news. Well, I picked up the one and called the Oregon Chapter of the Make A Wish Foundation. They put me in touch with Eric's mother who informed me Eric was doing fine. So far everything was going well.

Eric had sprouted in the last two years into a young man and even has a girlfriend. Eric is in remission and we pray he remains that way.

Each year the SEATTLE SEAFAIR PIRATES visit many sick people from Children's Orthopedic Hospital, to disability care centers, to nursing homes. I am happy we helped fulfill Eric's wish and can only hope and pray that if we visited you or a loved one that we helped brighten up hoe day.


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