Does your day include walking the plank and drinking grog? It should. Today we celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Talk Like a Pirate Day, or TLAP, was begun by two friends (Ol' Chumbucket and Cap'n Slappy, if you must know) back in 1995 while playing racquetball. At first they simply chose September 19 because it wasn't near any real holidays. But every year thereafter, they spent one day a year talking to friends in pirate speak.

Avast, me hearties, it's time to keelhaul ye olde salad bar at yonder Ruby Tuesday, that sort of thing.

But then they got famous humor columnist Dave Barry involved in 2002 and now it's a holiday. Okay, maybe not a Hallmark card holiday. But a great excuse for pirate enthusiasts to get together for fun and grog-- or, in our case, Kraken brand rum.

So how can you celebrate? Well, you can dress like a pirate, talk like a pirate, or even throw a pirate-themed party. Make tiny pirate ships out of hot dogs, bake shark cupcakes with cardboard fins stuck in blue icing, or set up a pirate photo booth with hilarious accessories like eye patches from the party store or scars and tattoos drawn on with eyeliner.

Check the Halloween section of your local big box store for shirts with skulls on them. Watch a (somewhat) pirate-themed movie, like Hook, Cutthroat Island, Ice Pirates, or Summer Rental. Set the kids up in the basement with Peter Pan and spackle them with temporary tattoos.

Have everyone take the What's My Pirate Name? quiz for hilarious “Hi, My Name Is” stickers. My name is Dirty Bess Bonney, by the way. Even though I answered the question about bathing with “Every day.” ARRRR.

If all that's a little too crazy for you, you can always change your Facebook status updates-- and all of Facebook-- to pirate language by going to the bottom of your "News Feed" and clicking the word English. A pop-up will show a variety of languages to choose from, including "English (Pirate)." Click on it to change your feed to "Captain's Log."

But be careful-- when you “poke” someone, you'll actually be “skewering” them.

Above all, have fun with it. For one day a year, we can all be scurvy dogs.