The Luck of the Draw
We Mariners tend to miss out on being home during those special occasions, or unfortunate traumatizing events which affect most citizens due to the surreal factor one can only get actually being there, glued to the television screen.
However, I will be on the beach for my thirty-eighth birthday, on June the First! I can count on one hand, the occasions that I been home during the Summer months, or in time for my birthday. My birthday is an iconic time for me, symbolizing the return of Summer. Flip Flops and shorts are donned and the warmth of the brightly blazoned sun finds me lounging or gardening in the yard.
On the lines of traumatizing events of past, I was away during September the Eleventh in 2001 on board a surveillance ship as she was intending to call to Virginia’s Norfolk harbor. Only a scratchy yet surprising detail of the day which changed America, echoing within the confines of the bulkheads of the Bridge as the radio squawked and alerted the rest of the crew that something just wasn’t right back on land. For two weeks afterwards, though, our immediate concerns were the tropical storms brewing within the lower Atlantic and their threat to our relative position. I remember, actually, a TS with the name of Michelle,the same name of my now-wife, and smirked for she was a torrent and packed a punch.
Well, We finally diverted safely away, but could not fathom what possible outcome was looming back at homeport,Virginia.
Life seemed withdrawn as I remember it, as the ship safely called to port, but all of the laxed protocol we were used to was gone. I was able to the go ashore to the local shopping mall, yet even two weeks later, a desolate shopping experience, to say the least.
Over the years, friends and family members have slipped away in death; unions of marriage occurred and babies born. The emails or letters arriving late to the ship and after the fact, caused me to ponder what had occurred, and in some cases, I’ve grieved or celebrated in my own little way depending on the circumstance. I can’t dwell on what happened, or make any sense of what I cannot control.
Life continues to tick away. Every opportunity I get to spend time either by visiting, or by merely chatting on the phone, gives me assurance that all is well. I’m a people’s person. And in some ways, I’ve been asked how this lifestyle of being at sea, as affected me.
I live for the moments that I am home. But when there’s a call for work, I put my dedication to sea life and count the days before I return back home.
Thank you to all of you who have called to wish me a Happy Birthday or even wishes of luck and continue to inquire of my safety.
Have a great day!
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[…] Merchant Marine Express discusses time home and family occasions, attended and missed in “The Luck of the Draw“. Being at sea is a little bit like pressing the pause button on a movie. The one difference […]