February 6, 2025 • 11 mins
This week we meet Liam.Liam works for AAPT (Animals Are People Too). It’s a tough job, as dailyhe has to make sure livestock animals are being treated humanely before destruction.Prior to this employment, Liam worked as a deckhand on freighters that circled the globe. He led a wild, carefree life, boozing and whoring his way from Boston to Bangkok to Buenos Aires. Until that day on the Black Sea off the coast of Romania...
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator and author. We here at the ten
Minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet Liam. Liam works for the aa
(00:46):
PT Animals Are People Too. It's a tough job, as
daily he has to make sure livestock animals are being
treated humanly before destruction. Prior to this employment, Liam worked
as a deckhand on freighters that circled the globe. He
led a wild, care free life, boozing and whoring his
(01:09):
way from Boston to Bangkok to Buenos Aires until that
day on the Black Sea off the coast of Romania,
counting sheep. Liam works for AAPT Animals Are People Too.
(01:30):
His is a nasty job. On good days, Liam visits
livestock ships to make sure conditions onboard are not entirely
barbaric for the animals. On bad days, he visits slaughterhouses
to make sure animals are being destroyed. According to the
most recent government regulations, its brutal work. As every single
(01:53):
day Liam sees perfectly peaceful contrite domestic farm animals like cows, goats, sheep,
and chickens stunned into submission with either a stun gun
or a captive bolt before having their necks severed. Now,
the following account tells the story of why Liam does
(02:15):
this work. Liam grew up in Boston and Dublin. His
father was often away at sea, a ship's captain for
Themersed shipping line. Liam was a tall, strapping, good looking
kid with a lilting Irish brogue that charmed the girls
(02:36):
and entertained the boys. He possessed a fabulous wanderlust, and
from his mid teens he often set off on solo
journeys to distant ports. The lad might venture down to
the corner store to buy his mother a pack of
SIGs and not return for a fortnight. She worried some
(02:57):
at first, but soon realized Liam was her husband's son
and so new it would be a fool's errand to
try and hold the lad captive. He needed wide open
spaces the way eagles need wings. Liam traveled the world
on freighters carrying cars from Tokyo to Los Angeles, televisions
(03:22):
from Shanghai to New York, wheat from Chicago to Oslo.
He worked as a crewman, swabbing decks, painting hulls, cleaning latrines,
peeling potatoes. Any work would do, as long as he
could be at sea en route to some fearn port,
and once back on land money in his pocket, Liam
(03:45):
drank and hoard until penniless, then back aboard another ship
bound for another port. And in this free, willing way
he passed his late teens. In most of his twenties,
he caught the clap more than one, brawled regularly, and
lived almost exclusively on beer, whiskey and meat. Any beer, whiskey,
(04:09):
or meat would do. Pig, cow, lamb chicken, bacon, burgers, chops, fried,
boiled or barbecued. Liam lived hard. Liam gave little thought
to the past, present, or future. He gave even less
thought to the meaning of life or what his role
(04:29):
might be here on the planet Earth. He just wanted
to feel the sea breeze on his face, taste the
salt air on his tongue, lift a pint with any
like minded fellow, and screw every lady of the night
from Bangkok to Boston, where he dropped anchor a couple
(04:50):
times a year to hug his mama and visit the dentist.
Now a few years back, in the late summer, Liam
found himself in Odessa on the Black Sea. He stayed
several weeks as the weather was fine, the bar's friendly,
and the girls dagga for his American greenbacks. But when
(05:14):
his dough ran low, he had to make a quick
run across the Black Sea on a small freighter carrying
grain to Constanta on the east coast of Romania. His
meager paycheck for this short haul lasted but a few days.
He needed another ship, and without delay, so Liam signed
(05:36):
on as a cooks helper on the Queen's hind Quarter,
an enormous livestock carrier registered in Palau. The idea of
living on board with fifteen thousand captive sheep bound for
Saudi Arabia wasn't exactly Liam's idea of a first class
sea adventure, but sometimes in life you can't be too choosy.
(06:03):
The Queen's Hindquarter left Constanta in late October for the
eight day passage to Jetta. The voyage would take them
across the Black Sea, through the Bosporus, over the Sea
of Mamara, through the Dardanelles, and into the Aegean. From there,
(06:24):
the massive ship, transporting fifteen thousand beasts to their demise,
would steer south into the Mediterranean until it reached the
Suez Canal at Port said. Once clear of the canal,
the hind quarter would sail through the Gulf of Suez
and into the Red Sea, finally docking in Jetta on
(06:47):
the Arabian coast. Now Liam found this itinerary to his liking.
He looked forward to passing through the straits and the
locks of the Siuez. This would be his first visit
to Saudi Arabia. He felt certain if he could get
laid there, he could get laid anywhere. Still, he would
(07:10):
have much preferred to haul cars or electronics, or even
foul smelling fertilizer to live animals. All those live animals
behind bars packed together asked to elbow, gave him the
he bee gebis. Before he even reached the top of
the gangplank, he heard those thousands of sheep bleating and
(07:33):
buying their constant laments. Freaked Liam out. Made his skin crawl,
as it definitely sounded like the stupid animals were petrified,
terrified out of their heads with fear, stress, and uncertainty.
If he'd had a roll of cash on his person,
he would have abandoned ship and awaited a quieter passage.
(07:59):
But before he even reached his bunk, anchors were raised,
lines unleashed, and the dock left behind. Liam barely had
time to stow his gear, find the galley, and begin
his duties when suddenly the general alarm sounded. At first,
the galley staff ignored the noisy blasts, with one of
(08:22):
the cooks assuring the others it was just the captain
checking out the emergency systems. But then quite obviously, the
hind quarter began to list to starboard enough list to
send pots, pans, dishes, and cups sliding and crashing to
the galley floor. The alarms continued and orders issued for
(08:45):
all crew to report topside immediately. By the time Liam
reached the main deck and went out into the open air,
the ship had healed over far enough to make it
difficult to stand without hanging on to a wall or
a rallying. The October morning was brisk, the sky cloudless,
and deep blue. Liam could hear the trapped sheep bleeding
(09:10):
and buying over the chaos. In confusion, he wondered if
he might somehow release the animals from their pens, give
them a fighting chance, as clearly the Queen hind Quarter
was soon to roll over entirely and soon thereafter sink.
The enormous livestock carrier did exactly that just minutes later,
(09:33):
but not before all crew members went overboard into life rafts.
With no human lives lost. Thirty two sheep were saved,
pulled into rowboats, wet, shivering and scared witless. The remainder
of the fifteen thousand sheep aboard the Queen hind Quarter
(09:56):
locked behind bars in their watery cells, or lost, all
drowned in the Black Sea after a great deal of terror,
thrashing and suffering. So that some humans somewhere might have
a bit of mutton with their rosemary roasted potatoes. Thanks
(10:22):
for listening to this original audio presentation of Counting Sheep
narrated by the author. If you enjoy today's story, please
take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe to
this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson dot
com for additional information about the author and to view
(10:46):
his extensive cannon. The Ten Minute Storyteller is produced by
Andrew Flaglici and Josh Colodney and as part of the
Elvis Duran Podcast Network in partnership with IH Productions. Until
next time, this is Bill Simpson, Your ten Minute Storyteller,
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator and author. We here at the ten
Minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet Liam. Liam works for the aa
(00:46):
PT Animals Are People Too. It's a tough job, as
daily he has to make sure livestock animals are being
treated humanly before destruction. Prior to this employment, Liam worked
as a deckhand on freighters that circled the globe. He
led a wild, care free life, boozing and whoring his
(01:09):
way from Boston to Bangkok to Buenos Aires until that
day on the Black Sea off the coast of Romania,
counting sheep. Liam works for AAPT Animals Are People Too.
(01:30):
His is a nasty job. On good days, Liam visits
livestock ships to make sure conditions onboard are not entirely
barbaric for the animals. On bad days, he visits slaughterhouses
to make sure animals are being destroyed. According to the
most recent government regulations, its brutal work. As every single
(01:53):
day Liam sees perfectly peaceful contrite domestic farm animals like cows, goats, sheep,
and chickens stunned into submission with either a stun gun
or a captive bolt before having their necks severed. Now,
the following account tells the story of why Liam does
(02:15):
this work. Liam grew up in Boston and Dublin. His
father was often away at sea, a ship's captain for
Themersed shipping line. Liam was a tall, strapping, good looking
kid with a lilting Irish brogue that charmed the girls
(02:36):
and entertained the boys. He possessed a fabulous wanderlust, and
from his mid teens he often set off on solo
journeys to distant ports. The lad might venture down to
the corner store to buy his mother a pack of
SIGs and not return for a fortnight. She worried some
(02:57):
at first, but soon realized Liam was her husband's son
and so new it would be a fool's errand to
try and hold the lad captive. He needed wide open
spaces the way eagles need wings. Liam traveled the world
on freighters carrying cars from Tokyo to Los Angeles, televisions
(03:22):
from Shanghai to New York, wheat from Chicago to Oslo.
He worked as a crewman, swabbing decks, painting hulls, cleaning latrines,
peeling potatoes. Any work would do, as long as he
could be at sea en route to some fearn port,
and once back on land money in his pocket, Liam
(03:45):
drank and hoard until penniless, then back aboard another ship
bound for another port. And in this free, willing way
he passed his late teens. In most of his twenties,
he caught the clap more than one, brawled regularly, and
lived almost exclusively on beer, whiskey and meat. Any beer, whiskey,
(04:09):
or meat would do. Pig, cow, lamb chicken, bacon, burgers, chops, fried,
boiled or barbecued. Liam lived hard. Liam gave little thought
to the past, present, or future. He gave even less
thought to the meaning of life or what his role
(04:29):
might be here on the planet Earth. He just wanted
to feel the sea breeze on his face, taste the
salt air on his tongue, lift a pint with any
like minded fellow, and screw every lady of the night
from Bangkok to Boston, where he dropped anchor a couple
(04:50):
times a year to hug his mama and visit the dentist.
Now a few years back, in the late summer, Liam
found himself in Odessa on the Black Sea. He stayed
several weeks as the weather was fine, the bar's friendly,
and the girls dagga for his American greenbacks. But when
(05:14):
his dough ran low, he had to make a quick
run across the Black Sea on a small freighter carrying
grain to Constanta on the east coast of Romania. His
meager paycheck for this short haul lasted but a few days.
He needed another ship, and without delay, so Liam signed
(05:36):
on as a cooks helper on the Queen's hind Quarter,
an enormous livestock carrier registered in Palau. The idea of
living on board with fifteen thousand captive sheep bound for
Saudi Arabia wasn't exactly Liam's idea of a first class
sea adventure, but sometimes in life you can't be too choosy.
(06:03):
The Queen's Hindquarter left Constanta in late October for the
eight day passage to Jetta. The voyage would take them
across the Black Sea, through the Bosporus, over the Sea
of Mamara, through the Dardanelles, and into the Aegean. From there,
(06:24):
the massive ship, transporting fifteen thousand beasts to their demise,
would steer south into the Mediterranean until it reached the
Suez Canal at Port said. Once clear of the canal,
the hind quarter would sail through the Gulf of Suez
and into the Red Sea, finally docking in Jetta on
(06:47):
the Arabian coast. Now Liam found this itinerary to his liking.
He looked forward to passing through the straits and the
locks of the Siuez. This would be his first visit
to Saudi Arabia. He felt certain if he could get
laid there, he could get laid anywhere. Still, he would
(07:10):
have much preferred to haul cars or electronics, or even
foul smelling fertilizer to live animals. All those live animals
behind bars packed together asked to elbow, gave him the
he bee gebis. Before he even reached the top of
the gangplank, he heard those thousands of sheep bleating and
(07:33):
buying their constant laments. Freaked Liam out. Made his skin crawl,
as it definitely sounded like the stupid animals were petrified,
terrified out of their heads with fear, stress, and uncertainty.
If he'd had a roll of cash on his person,
he would have abandoned ship and awaited a quieter passage.
(07:59):
But before he even reached his bunk, anchors were raised,
lines unleashed, and the dock left behind. Liam barely had
time to stow his gear, find the galley, and begin
his duties when suddenly the general alarm sounded. At first,
the galley staff ignored the noisy blasts, with one of
(08:22):
the cooks assuring the others it was just the captain
checking out the emergency systems. But then quite obviously, the
hind quarter began to list to starboard enough list to
send pots, pans, dishes, and cups sliding and crashing to
the galley floor. The alarms continued and orders issued for
(08:45):
all crew to report topside immediately. By the time Liam
reached the main deck and went out into the open air,
the ship had healed over far enough to make it
difficult to stand without hanging on to a wall or
a rallying. The October morning was brisk, the sky cloudless,
and deep blue. Liam could hear the trapped sheep bleeding
(09:10):
and buying over the chaos. In confusion, he wondered if
he might somehow release the animals from their pens, give
them a fighting chance, as clearly the Queen hind Quarter
was soon to roll over entirely and soon thereafter sink.
The enormous livestock carrier did exactly that just minutes later,
(09:33):
but not before all crew members went overboard into life rafts.
With no human lives lost. Thirty two sheep were saved,
pulled into rowboats, wet, shivering and scared witless. The remainder
of the fifteen thousand sheep aboard the Queen hind Quarter
(09:56):
locked behind bars in their watery cells, or lost, all
drowned in the Black Sea after a great deal of terror,
thrashing and suffering. So that some humans somewhere might have
a bit of mutton with their rosemary roasted potatoes. Thanks
(10:22):
for listening to this original audio presentation of Counting Sheep
narrated by the author. If you enjoy today's story, please
take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe to
this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson dot
com for additional information about the author and to view
(10:46):
his extensive cannon. The Ten Minute Storyteller is produced by
Andrew Flaglici and Josh Colodney and as part of the
Elvis Duran Podcast Network in partnership with IH Productions. Until
next time, this is Bill Simpson, Your ten Minute Storyteller,
Host
Bill Simpson
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