A Different Kind of Sentinel
One evening, as I lay on my bunk, I felt an urge to go up topside to be alone. I had just approached the ladder leading out of the compartment, when a voice rang out, loud ‘n’ clear, from somewhere within me. “You must find out why you want out of the Navy,” it commanded.
Needless to say, I was elated the other side had finally spoken to me, after all these years, in plain English rather than through the usual mode of difficult-to-decipher dreams and fantasies. Like a crazy man, I ran up topside, laughing and crying, and continued to do so, even after I had plopped down on my favorite perch. For I felt as if my pursuit of a discharge from the Navy had just been endorsed by the highest authority in existence, the very source of truth itself. Now, I had only to find the reason why I wanted out of the Navy so badly.
For now, I just wanted to sit ‘n’ savor the sweetness of the moment. While I sat there, wishing and hoping the voice’d speak to me again, I recalled a similar night, many years ago, when I lay down in the grass and dared the heavens to make contact with me. Then, as now, I heard nigh a word. Instead, I sat wondering why the voice had not just told me the reason. And I wondered why it still chose to remain so aloof, especially after having made this initial contact, for I wanted so badly to see the owner of the voice. Alas, I was once again disappointed by sleep as it began to rob me of the ability to stay awake any longer. Exhausted, I stumbled off to my bunk where, after undressing and climbing into it, I fell fast asleep.
Excerpt from A Different Kind of Sentinel, http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41WJ28MGNQL._SX106_.jpg
