Well, of course Custard is the only truly brave one in the poem. Belinda, Ink, and Blink are the phony-brave. And the Pyrate (the only one with a firearm) is the coward. Custard, like my trembling soldier going over the top, despite knowing the consequences, faces his aggressor with grit. Even though Custard is well armed, he must close with the enemy. The Pyrate, by contrast, holds a stand-off weapon (and a bottle of rum for courage), and merely needs to flick his finger to kill his enemy - the coward's way. Although in the poem it seems he is too drunk to hit what he's aiming at. And that's good news for Custard but no slight on his bravery.
So I think bravery can be perspectival, and also a function of proximity to the threat. Most of us think of an Army Sniper as a brave man, but I've known foot infantry soldiers who consider the sniper business to be somewhat cowardly. You see a sniper hides himself and fires his weapon from a great distance. The foot soldier has to look the enemy in the eye. Of course an Army Sniper could look at an Air Force Fighter Pilot in the same way a foot soldier looks at a sniper. And I suppose a fighter pilot could look at a Predator Drone Pilot, who is sitting in a trailer in Nevada killing people 4000 miles away, with contempt. By the same token a man with only a knife might consider a man with an M-4 a weak-kneed panty waist, and a man with only his fists...I can take this to absurd levels, but I can find no way to assign bravery to a man who beats a child. That man is a coward, despite the societal repercussions he will face. Now the child who places himself between his little sister and his drunken abusive father is truly brave.
Ah well, if I could figure out how to get to work from Eugene, I'd move there in an instant. Great place. My wife has relatives over in Springfield. We're presently working on a short-sale house in Gig Harbor, WA and short sales can take a while. I'll be working in Seattle and she'll probably be working in Olympia. I'm relatively familiar with area south of Seattle, being as I spent a fair amount of time at Fort Lewis years ago.
As for, Portland...I'm in. I've had the pleasure of spending several fine, rainy afternoons browsing the stacks at Powell's on Burnside. And I agree, those people up there do seem to have an unusual affinity for a good cup of Joe. You know what goes well with coffee - ice cream! Last year, on a hot summer night, I left Powell's and in a moment of weakness stopped at Ruby Jewell's scoop shop a couple of blocks away. Mmm-Mmm good.
