Hello again.
i’m back…just for awhile…i think.
i won’t go into details, but a bunch of things have occupied me and drained my energy to write.
Then at the beginning of the week, one of my favorite old stories popped into my mind (of course, all of my favorite stories are old). i do not know how JD Waits came up with this sea story. It is intriguing to speculate if it actually happened, which is certainly possible; if JD just made the whole thing up, again certainly possible; or if he heard it in another setting and turned it into a sea story. i’ll go with it actually occurring. JD was amazing.
i don’t know how many of you know Maureen, his wife, and i lost JD just shy of a year ago. His and mine close relationship began in Perth, Australia aboard the USS Okinawa (LPH 10) in September 1981. i’ll stop there because the stories of JD and Jim, aka known as Jake and Elwood, the “Booze Brothers” is voluminous, way too long for this post. The photo is JD and me formally dressed as Jake and Elwood, the “Booze Brothers” at JD’s wedding. We wore all black like the “Blues Brothers” at USS Okinawa (LPH 10) wardroom parties.
♦︎♦︎♦︎
The sea story is about a Naval Aviator, a commander who was the commanding officer of a F14 squadron at Miramar back in the good ole days before the Navy gave the San Diego air station to the Marines. We will call him “Hal.”
His wardroom (officers) wanted to have a boys night out and asked Hal, the CO, to join them. Thinking this was a good opportunity to improve morale, Hal readily agreed. He told his wife of the social obligation and promised he wouldn’t stay out late. He left late in the afternoon and joined his officers at the bar in the base officer’s club (remember in the “Top Gun” scene.
As nearly always at Navy officer parties, the party lasted much longer than expected. The officers, along with Hal, left the club well oiled and hit a couple more of favorite spots, aka bars.
The party finally wound down around 2:00 a.m., and the officers scattered. Hal drove home very concerned about his wife would react to his very late arrival. As he drove, he developed a plan to at least placate his wife’s reaction. He realized she would have gone to bed at her usual 10:30 and would be asleep in their upstairs bedroom.
He had his plan. When he parked and reached the front door, he took off his shoes, quietly walked across the downstairs to the patio door. The plan was working.
However, the patio door was stuck, and he gave it a quick tug. It suddenly released and slammed into the other side of the door, making a large clang. It woke up his wife., Miriam. Hal heard her rushing across their bedroom, and down the hall. She was half way down the stairs, when she stopped.
Hal was standing sheepishly in the sliding door with his shoes dangling from his right hand.
Miriam yelled, “Hal, what in the world are you doing?”
Hal thinks he might still save it with a great explanation. “Honey,” he began, “I got home around 11:00, and didn’t want to disturb you.”
He could see her relaxing. Hal thought he might get out of it. He continued:
“So i’ve been sleeping in the hammock by the pool, and was coming back in to go to the bathroom. I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“Hal,” Miriam assumed her angry stance, “You took down that hammock six months ago.”
Hal stood cowed again and silent for a while. Then he replied:
“Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”