I think I wrote about this already but Im not sure,, so I thought I would write about this again,,
I was in the Navy 77 to 82,,, in Florida,,, Mayport worked on a tug boat...I loved it I think it was one of the best time of my life.
I worked for Senior chief Eardeley... Robert..Andy was on the fantail as we backed into an Iralian ship that was snug in the corner, we had to pull off the pier by her stern,,, so we backed in and senior chief got about a tug width from the ship,, the ships deck was about 2 stories high over our heads.so it was no mean feat to throw a line up.
The end of the line consisted of a monkey fist a round wight made out of rope with a weight inside... tied to a smaller rope.which then was tied to what is called a Hawser,, about six inches in diameter made of woven nylon.
Andy was on the fantail and made three attempts to throw the monkey fist up over the rail. then the sailors would take it and put it through the choke pronounced chalk, can't remember how to spell it, it is a huge metal circle welded to the deck of a ship so the rope is passed through it , so the rope won't swing and destroy articles on the deck. and then over a bitt,,,he failed all three,, I was disgusted and got really mad because the Italians were making fun of him, so I asked senior chief if I could do it, he said ok,, go on down,, so I went down on the fantail and told Andy to give me the line,,, he didn't want to and turned to senior chief to see what he would say and senior chief nodded his head.
I took a good wind up,,, and boy Im telling you all the anger at these guys,, making fun of my Navy,, well it guided my hand,, it went right through the chalk,,,, and caught the Italians off guard so they had to scramble. Right through the hole... I was so excited. but kept my cool.and just nonchalantly walked off the fantail..
I got inside everyone was grinning.Donner was the only one to say anything with a big grin,,, I think that moment was my moment.. to show everyone that a woman can do it as well if not better than a man.. my moment for me in the sun..I still remember how proud I was of being a woman and in the Navy.. I still have those memories to keep my warm..
4th of July.. 2015.
James went to lynn to see his families fireworks,,, he is looking good,,, he seems more stable,,, I think he needs detox though. I bought him a couple of new shirts,,,and he wore them today.he lost weight must be the diet I have,,, pretty vegatarian. he weighs around 200,, but looks much better than he has in a long long time...hes bored and I told him to enjoy being bored,,, I told him he has a cycle.. he must even it out,,, he finds a job,, gets paid,, goes on a binge,,, runs out of money. straightens out.. so he is aware of his cycle now... and maybe he can handle what he is going through and have a normal life.....I don't know,,, Im trying the best I know..we shall see.bjg
