The Merchant Marine Express

I just returned from a day at the United States Coast Guard.

I had to get a duplicate of the Merchant Mariners Document as a result of misplacing the identification card while in California and proceeded early this morning at the break of dawn as I drove the 175 miles South to the Coast Guard Regional Center located in Toledo, Ohio!
You see, the coordinator at Crowley, (the company representing the tanker I worked on through May of this year) had spoken to me regarding the length of time that would be needed in acquiring a new document and urged me to try and hurry the process. Reports between six and eight weeks processing were rumored. And, at first, the notion of relinquishing such a position to another mate practically made me sick as this standby time would not work in my favor. But as I called the National Maritime Center, situated in West Virginia, my investigation proved that a quicker transaction was the reality of the issue and my mind calmed with this latest news.

I learned that duplicates or renewals are marked for ‘rush’ service as the agency is aware of how important the requirement of a valid document means to the Mariner and therefore ‘many weeks’ turned into ‘a week or two’. And to add icing to the cake, I was informed by the same coordinator at Crowley who called me back just a day later, that the Captain of the vessel would kindly wait for my paperwork to clear so that I could return to the ship! Apparently hiring a new mate and having to train that person would deem more trouble than it would be worth and arrangements for the current third mate to patiently continue working, thus, extending his contract and wait for my documents to arrive would have to do!

My luck HAS changed and after a long day of driving back and forth to this Great Lake City South of Detroit, I realized that I was actually in better spirits that a week previous. Saddened by the stigma of losing critical documents due to my apparent lack of brain cells, just a week prior while in California, my mind was replaced with the thoughts of being a good Samaritan while reserving a couple days off, in order to help the in-laws move valuables from the city, up to Lexington to a storage facility in town. The two days of constant driving back and forth along with the monotonous lifting and bending to cart boxes of various sizes from garage-to-U-Haul, was a handful, literally.

But I figured an act of kindness and offering my time and strength by giving back to my In-laws; to Sam and Chris, who’ve graciously been there for me, would be the best thing at that moment to do. The job of a move isn’t something we do on a daily basis, yet the task of coordinating truck, personnel, and time would mesh like a perfectly synchronized clock. It all worked out in the end, even if all involved were as worn out like a determined pack of sled dogs recovering from a day of fast trekking.

If one continues to settle into a self induced hypnotic trance by dwelling on past negativity, life will certainly burst into flames or seem to founder like a ship in peril. Just alter your thoughts,by tricking your mind into helping someone else or by feeling the need to tackle any obstacle approaching at seemingly light speed and your conscience will heal itself within time and you will feel better in the end. There’s no wasted time in achieving success, but apprehension and worrying will certainly delay progress.
I’ll keep you in touch with matters. Have a Good Day!

Tags: Michigan – Home Port