On my first visit to Hong Kong it was probably the most unusual and marvelous place to see. The British were in control of Hong Kong on a 100 year lease, which ended some years ago and now it is run by the Chinese. Now would not be a time to go there.
My memory has a few things still stored, but the time line is not 100% correct, so I’ll only cover events.
One, I remember going to the British seaman’s club to have a meal. It looked okay, but after two bites I pushed my breakfast away and left for somewhere else to eat. I don’t know how those guys survived.
Two, me and two other sailors went into town on liberty. We were walking and I suggested we go over to Kowloon to see what’s happening there. Kowloon was out of bounds for sailors, but we wanted to see why. We were walking down a street and some youngsters were playing soccer. All three of us had played in school yards back home so we thought we'd show those kids how soccer was done. Well in no time at all those kids taught us a lesson on the game. We bowed good naturedly and left. The kids were overjoyed at beating us.
Three, I was told that one could have a tailored suit made in 24 hours. The tailor shops had girls outside to lure sailors into the shop. Every shop had free beer to get a sailor into their shop. I went by several, got my free beer and never had a suit made.
Four, I liked roaming streets after dark. There were old men everywhere on the sidewalks, playing chess or checkers or cards. The cards intrigued me. They were playing pinochle. Those old men dealt a hand, played maybe four rounds and tossed in the cards. It only took those few hands and knew who would win the game.
Five, Shore Patrol in Hong Kong. This was the best Shore Patrol anywhere in the world. I was assigned to go with two British Marines. Those two men were built like King Kong! Their uniforms were tailored to fit like a dream. One of them noticed my Zippo Cigarette lighter and wanted to trade. I said okay and the trade was made and I got the short end of the stick.
The Proposal
In a garden park, he could no longer wait,
He asked her forever to be his mate.
In a garden so lovely one fine evening.
Would she agree to this one thing?
His courtship for her, he pledged, never to end.
Sweets and flowers he'd continue to send.
They'll have a wedding, put away the lace.
He'll work to make the world a better place.
Brother Bill
At the near end we came across a US Sailor who was out of his mind on some unknown drug. We helped another shore patrol group get the sailor to the shore patrol brig (brig is a navy term for the jail) at the edge of the harbor. There were seven of us and we could barely keep this sailor under control.
Later we had to get the sailor back to the ship. It was a sweat-breaking job to get the sailor onto the ferry that carried liberty hounds to and from the ship. He was still as wild as he could be. Once we got him aboard ship and down to the brig on the ship and got him into a cell we were relieved. I saw that sailor in the breakfast line a few days later. There were four other brig rats in line with him. It’s amazing what a few days in the Marine controlled brig. I know I would never want to end up in their brig.
Down on one knee he offered a ring.
Would she give his heart, forever reason to sing?
And lest we forget, he'd still be her friend.
Their loving alliance never needed to mend.
She'll cure the sick, put a smile on their face.
They'll live in a manner of style and grace.
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