PIRATES: NON-PITTSBURGH DIVISION

The Cable News networks have been giving big play to piracy in the African Coastal areas.

Kiddies, it's not like piracy has ever gone away. In the 70's and 80's it might have taken the form of hi-jacking 18 wheelers, but it's always been around.

In one of the great career tracks of all time, an old teammate of mine became a career pirate during the snow cocaine craze. He would interdict the money ship and the drug ship coming together on the high seaws for the exchange and (with all due respect to Joe the Plumber) redistribute the proceeds. He always believed that the Coast Guard knew who he was and what he did and chose not to detain him or search his warcraft. Oh, and for all of you cartel types, he's where you'll never find him and I don't know where he is.

When the bottom dropped out of the snow cocaine market, he retired. Interestingly, he always filed tax returns on his "import-export" business and paid a little tax. He said the hardest part about being a pirate was finding a path to get the money to a depository. Taking on hundred in bengies in a valise large through an airport had to be a little more trick than anyone needed, even before 9/11.

I'm sure he thought of himself as a Robin Hood, benign pirate. I don't know about that, though. When you start flashing automatic weapons people tend to get dead and that's not too benign.

BTW, this guy had no spouse and no children. He wasn't putting innocents into harm's way.

Do not try this at home.