Cargo Ship Encounters Pirates – But What the Ship's Cook Does Next Stuns Them All!

Four months later, Manny Reyes officially retired from the sea. The celebration was held in his backyard, beneath a blue plastic tarp stretched between two large mango trees, and half the crew flew in to attend, including Captain Holm, who traveled all the way from Copenhagen. The shipping line presented an official medal for bravery alongside a check for twenty-five thousand dollars. 

Lorna, Manny's wife, proudly read the navy's commendation letter aloud twice. Manny handled all the cooking himself, nobody could keep him away from the outdoor grill. Joel delivered a heartfelt toast, breaking down in tears halfway through it. Afterward, the crew presented their main gift: a large desktop radio with a bright red strobe light wired to the top. "Doorbell, phone, smoke detector, when any of them go off, that light flashes," Joel announced proudly to the crowd. "You'll never miss an alarm again." 

Somebody asked Manny what had gone through his mind when he opened the galley door to four armed men. Manny smiled, turning back to the grill. "I was thinking the adobo was burning. In thirty years at sea, I never let the adobo burn." Then he switched his new radio on and turned the volume knob all the way up.