The Old Sea Captain

It was not a dark and stormy night and the captain was not on the deck of his ship. He was at the old Spanish Inn at a table by himself. I asked him what he was eating. He said, "Tuna on rye, coleslaw and a mug of beer." He was furiously writing something on a paper napkin. "When it's not a dark and stormy night," I asked, "and you're not on the deck of your ship, do you often come to this old Spanish Inn and sit at this table?" 'Though he was busy eating his tuna on rye, coleslaw and sipping his mug of beer, he replied that he liked to sit here and write. "And, what will you do when you retire?" I asked. "If it's not a dark and stormy night, and I'm not on the deck of my ship, I'll probably come to this old Spanish Inn and sit at this table by myself and order tuna on rye, coleslaw and a mug of beer. Then I'll probably sit and write for awhile. Here's one I wrote: It was not a dark and stormy night, and I was not on the deck of my ship. I had come to the old Spanish Inn to sit by myself and write at a little Spanish wooden table. I had just ordered tuna on rye when the waitress asked me what I was doing. I told her I was retiring and had come to this inn to sit and write poetry, repetends mostly.