This old story came to mind a day ago. I don't know how or why that happens, but it does. I wrote each part of the story years ago and both happened decades ago.
I often wonder why I can’t remember some stories that have filled my life and at the same time wonder why I do remember others. Here are two brief stories that have stayed with me for many years.
It was in 1968 as I remember and the Chief of Naval Operations sent out an order to the fleet to clear the galleys of rich and expensive foods. He thought sailors should be eating more basic meals. I thought we were already eating pretty basic fare, but no one asked me. It was then that out came the steaks and lobster. I had rarely ever remembered steak aboard ship, and suddenly now it was on the menu every day! If that wasn’t enough, it was on the menu with lobster. We had surf and turf until we couldn’t face it any more. The chiefs and officers on board were salivating over the enlisted men's menus and dinners. They had separate dining facilities and rations; but they didn’t have the steak and lobster. I couldn’t imagine where all the luxurious food came from, but being good sailors, we tore into that and ate all we could. It took a two or three-week period to get through all the prime food aboard the ship, and then we settled back into the infamous chipped beef on toast, beans and lots of Kool-Aid, or bug juice as it was called. I do remember there were two galleys on the ship, the forward galley served hot dogs and hamburgers every day for lunch, while the aft galley served sort of a blue plate special lunch. I loved burgers and that was heaven to me. Day in and day out hamburgers, I could still eat one every day and enjoy it.
I worked for Unisys for a decade after my Navy days and they would send me for training at different cities across the country. On those training missions they would pay for meals away from home. We were allotted a specific amount for each meal and you couldn’t just keep the difference between what you used to purchase your meal and what the allotment was so we would eat some fairly expensive meals to use as much of the allotment as possible. Steaks or lobster were always high on the list for the guys away from home. One time in Chicago we went to a Red Lobster restaurant to have their namesake fare and instead of just having the tail, we opted for the entire lobster. What a mess that was! The “tamale” as the body was called was disgusting to me. I couldn’t eat it. It looked nasty, tasted worse and I just had to push it away. From then on I don’t think I’ve ever had lobster since. My advice is grabbing a little tail when you can, but leave the rest alone.
Copyright Bill Weber 2018 and beyond.
It was in 1968 as I remember and the Chief of Naval Operations sent out an order to the fleet to clear the galleys of rich and expensive foods. He thought sailors should be eating more basic meals. I thought we were already eating pretty basic fare, but no one asked me. It was then that out came the steaks and lobster. I had rarely ever remembered steak aboard ship, and suddenly now it was on the menu every day! If that wasn’t enough, it was on the menu with lobster. We had surf and turf until we couldn’t face it any more. The chiefs and officers on board were salivating over the enlisted men's menus and dinners. They had separate dining facilities and rations; but they didn’t have the steak and lobster. I couldn’t imagine where all the luxurious food came from, but being good sailors, we tore into that and ate all we could. It took a two or three-week period to get through all the prime food aboard the ship, and then we settled back into the infamous chipped beef on toast, beans and lots of Kool-Aid, or bug juice as it was called. I do remember there were two galleys on the ship, the forward galley served hot dogs and hamburgers every day for lunch, while the aft galley served sort of a blue plate special lunch. I loved burgers and that was heaven to me. Day in and day out hamburgers, I could still eat one every day and enjoy it.
I worked for Unisys for a decade after my Navy days and they would send me for training at different cities across the country. On those training missions they would pay for meals away from home. We were allotted a specific amount for each meal and you couldn’t just keep the difference between what you used to purchase your meal and what the allotment was so we would eat some fairly expensive meals to use as much of the allotment as possible. Steaks or lobster were always high on the list for the guys away from home. One time in Chicago we went to a Red Lobster restaurant to have their namesake fare and instead of just having the tail, we opted for the entire lobster. What a mess that was! The “tamale” as the body was called was disgusting to me. I couldn’t eat it. It looked nasty, tasted worse and I just had to push it away. From then on I don’t think I’ve ever had lobster since. My advice is grabbing a little tail when you can, but leave the rest alone.
Copyright Bill Weber 2018 and beyond.
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