I suppose because they are around the same age I'd ask why he thinks a boy his age would leave his mom to run off with a group of pirates and what he thinks that might have been like.

Then I guess because he was confused by the part of the story that takes place in the present I guess I'd ask about which parts confused him and see if I could answer those questions...just sort of a fun topic to kick around. Plus you've got a history with boats and the sea don't you? Any of that rub off on him?

When I was a boy my parents would take me to Gloucester, Rockport, and we lived for a while on Cape Cod. I loved boats and the ocean and when I kept a piggybank I filled it with the intent that the money would be to buy a boat. Once on one of our walks by the sea some people came up to my parents and invited us all onboard an old beat up schooner. They showed us around and I climbed and crawled all over the boat. They were trying to convince people to contribute to refurbishing the boat and if you donated money they would make you a member and you'd be invited to visit anytime and to sail on her when the work was done. My parents wrote them a check and they added our names to a list. Sure enough we got an invite when work was completed and it was amazing to me to be out on the ocean under those great big sails. I remember lying on the deck sometimes with my eyes closed trying to memorize all the sounds a ship makes, what the sea felt like under the ship, and the wonderful smell of the ocean so that when I would lay in bed at night I could be there. It's funny that parts of my childhood seem less like memories and more like a dream I once had but those things seem to stick with you and open you up. I guess that's why I'm posting pirate stories...