avatarStephanie Wilson

Summary

MuddyUm launches a comedy anthology titled "Wouldn't You Rather Be Laughing?" with a quirky boat launch event, causing confusion and amusement among wealthy yacht owners, including the narrator's encounter with pirate-themed rowboats.

Abstract

In an unexpected twist, MuddyUm, a group previously unheard of by the narrator, launches their humor anthology from a flotilla of rowboats dressed as pirates. The event unfolds offshore with the boats initially presenting a jumbled message to a group of yacht owners, sparking curiosity and laughter. The pirates, donned in black eyepatches and scarves, reorder their vessels to correctly display the title of the book, resulting in a shared moment of hilarity between the wealthy onlookers and the rowboat "pirates." The narrator, after several interactions and reading the book, is thoroughly entertained and recommends it to a friend, indicating the book's upcoming availability on Lulu and Amazon, especially around Halloween, with an inside joke suggesting future mischief involving the "pirates."

Opinions

  • The narrator finds the pirate-themed boat launch highly amusing, leading to a memorable experience that overshadows the typical luxury of yacht ownership.
  • The narrator initially underestimates the intelligence of the "pirates" due to their difficulty in organizing the boats but later appreciates the comedic value they bring.
  • The narrator values the book enough to take it without paying and plans to send it to a friend, indicating a strong endorsement of the anthology's content.
  • The book's title, "Wouldn't You Rather Be Laughing?", is seen as an invitation to enjoy life's absurdities, as the narrator expresses a preference for laughter over the possibility of dealing with the quirky "pirates" again.

BOAT LAUNCH BOOK LAUNCH

Be Rather You Laughing Wouldn’t?

MuddyUm launches anthology from boat

Image by author

Charles, you and me, we own mega yachts. I dock next to Arnault, Bezos, Ellison, Gates, Page — all those guys. You too. I don’t know where I’d be without my boat. I guess in one of my villas. Same for you, I know.

Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you — were you on your boat last week or still in Bora Bora? I had the strangest experience on the water. Did you hear about it? Those pirate boats? No? Wait’ll you hear this.

I’m out there with the girls, sunning, sipping some of the ’86 Lafite you gave us, and from starboard comes this rowboat. Charles, we’re twenty miles offshore. What’s this thing doing out here? That’s all I could think before a second rowboat comes inching along behind it. Not kidding — but just wait.

They both have these broomsticks fixed to the bottom of the boat sticking straight up, with a makeshift sail flying off it — more of a flag. It looks like a torn-off piece of bedsheet, frankly. It’s nuts. The girls and I are off our deck chairs and hanging off the side rails trying to figure this thing out.

By that time, a third rowboat follows, and another — all told, SIX of them. In each boat is a group of three or four people. Marie kept hogging the binoculars, so I never got a look, but you could see they were adults and — get this — wearing black eyepatches and scarves around their heads. Are you getting the image here? Pirates, Charles. It wasn’t Halloween. In rowboats, Charles. Crazy — but just wait.

Each sail-flag-thingie has a word painted on it. They’re all moving in a line so you could read the words in succession. Janet screams the words out to them as loud as she can.

RATHER LAUGHING BE YOU WOULDN’T!!!

I’m laughing like a hyena and start to choke on the Lafite. Charles, I’ll burn in Rothschild hell for that! The pirates look stunned. Pretty soon they figure out their boats are in the wrong order. The girls and I realize the words are supposed to serve a purpose, which they aren’t serving. The boats eventually make their way out of sight.

We go back to our chairs and Andre brings us that Screaming Eagle Cab Bezos gave us when we bought the spaceflight tickets. I’m leaning back, closing my eyes when Marie starts yelping from the side rails again. The rowboats had paddled back around. They were circling us!

This time you can see the order of them has changed. The pirates are all looking straight at us. We read the message again. This time Misty shouts the hilarity across the water to these crazies.

RATHER LAUGHING BE YOU WOULDN’T!!!

This time I did not choke on the Screaming Eagle. No sense in burning in hell twice, Charles. Those pirates were flummoxed. They were craning their necks trying to read the other boats. Why couldn’t they figure this out? How hard can it be to order your boats in a correctly worded sentence?

Are you laughing, Charles? I haven’t stopped.

Well, these sea menaces finally made their way around a third time, and this time I took the liberties.

WOULDN’T YOU RATHER BE LAUGHING??!!!

I made a whole fleet of rowboat pirates extremely happy, Charles. I still have no idea who these nutjobs were, but when we docked later that night, I found a copy of a book sitting on the bar at The Beacon. Guess the title. Very good, Charles. You are correct.

Wouldn’t You Rather Be Laughing?

It was a collection of humor pieces from a group called MuddyUm — never heard of them. I know you would have done what I did — slipped that baby right in my pocket and snuck out the front door. I wasn’t taking any chances. Were those weirdos following me? Do I need to be worried now? Perhaps so, which is why I’m telling you. In the meantime, I’ve got to send this book to you — hilarious.

Bezos said he’d carry it on Amazon soon, closer to Halloween. Looks like another bottle of Screaming Eagle is in our future. Either that or a bunch of bonkers pirates show up at my front door tomorrow.

Honestly, Charles, after reading that book, I think I prefer the latter.

Wouldn’t You Rather Be Laughing? Coming soon — MuddyUm’s much-anticipated first comedy anthology. Available On Lulu and Amazon.

Now for some other random thoughts.

Brand art courtesy of David Todd McCarty
Humor
Humor Anthology
Comics
Writing
Ewtethink
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