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After completely disappearing for almost a whole year, Samuel Burdett, the Scrimshaw Kid himself, showed up at the last night of the Save the Monkeywhale Festival. I could not believe it.
Start from the start : Tales of the Scrimshaw Kid Chapter I.
We had a crazy week. All of us here at Monkeywhale Studios were exhausted by Saturday night. I was the M.C. that night, and I was singing and playing accordion on the sidewalk with Katharine Whalen, rehearsing, when someone firmly grabbed my shoulder.
I had lipstick on my face like war paint, and a huge sombrero (monkeywhale’s lucky sombrero, in fact) on my head. The hand on my shoulder startled me, and at first I thought it was the door guy getting fresh. What surprise must’ve been on my face when I turned to see Burdett. What astonishment!
The last time I saw him, he was with a bartender named Betty, and he just started explaining to me his reasons behind finding us here at Monkeywhale Productions- his sighting of a Save the Monkeywhale sticker on a car on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
His friend and mine, Davey Wilson (the man responsible for getting Burdett in touch with us), was driving Burdett around the mountain highway, showing him the sights. Wilson was pointing out a cabin on a cliff where he used to live when he smacked into the back of a Volvo. Everyone was okay, and while both drivers exchanged information, Burdett looked away from the mountains to examine the damage when he saw the sticker.
Save the Monkeywhale. His family had hunted monkeywhales. He had EATEN monkeywhales. He had made scrimshaw out of monkeywhale bone.
Upon asking, “what the hell does that mean?”, Burdett was referred to our website, and learned the truth. There are only around seventy monkeywhales left on the planet. (Click here for the facts.)
“Oh my Gandhi!” I exclaimed upon seeing the Scrimshaw Kid in front of my face on the sidewalk at the Save the Monkeywhale Festival. “What are you doing? Where have you been?”- and then Katharine and I had to get up on stage.
I didn’t see him again that night. With all the hubbub and festivities and M.C. duties and what have you, I lost him in the crowd. Maybe he never came in.
I still haven’t had a chance to speak with him extensively, only one short phone call. It turns out Burdett decided to stick around here. He said something about living somewhere with someone in Summerfield, NC, just outside of town. At least that’s what I think he said.
We are planning to meet this weekend, so I may finally record an interview. February 14th of last year was when I first met Burdett and the first time I tried- unsuccessfully – to interview him.
Wish me luck.
To be continued…
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November 17th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
The Return of the Scrimshaw Kid. http://bit.ly/1PloTr via @AddToAny #holymonkeywhale
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