During my 11 years in the navy I had 5 years of being away from home. Those times went from bad to horrific! The first time was on Guam. I was unrated at the time, meaning I was below a 3rd class petty officer. I was working in the galley on Guam. I spent 12 hours of Christmas scraping dirty meal trays of uneaten food and washing them for the next meal. The second time I was still on Guam, but not scraping trays, rather I was passing my tray to the galley slave which I had been the previous year.
The third, fourth and fifth time I was on cruise in the far east and not a pleasure cruise, working 12 hour shifts 7 days a week. The third and fourth I was working on the flight deck repairing plane radios and navigation equipment. The fifth time I was working in a repair shop below the flight deck, repairing aviation electronic equipment on a higher level than before.
This Christmas, where I am is my home. It is yet a mystery if I will spend it alone, a mystery that will be solved in 4 days. If I spend it alone, it’s not the first time. It would be the sixth time and I can deal with that if necessary. I’m a tough old bird and at my age one either gets tough or he dies. There’s not much middle ground.
No comments:
Post a Comment