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An Exercise in Visualizing the Invisible

Otherwise, I found life onboard ship boring as usual, so much so, that one day I was moved to paint what I was feeling after having been assigned to paint some pipes that ran up beside an exterior bulkhead along the starboard side of the hangar bay. Since these pipes had already been prepped, I [...]

The Vagaries of a Melancholy Mood

As the ship steamed relentlessly southward at full speed ahead, the mood of the crew grew conspicuously more somber. Forced to let go of the frenzied and orgiastic pleasures of a Dionysian holiday in Japan, they unwillingly surrendered themselves to the more Apollonian way of life found onboard the ship. Totally incapable of seeing beyond [...]

The Price We Must Pay for Our Actions

After we’d pulled out of Yokuska, later that morning, I was ordered by the master-at-arms to report, in dress whites, to the Captain’s stateroom for a Captain’s Mast. With my entry into the Captain’s stateroom on the heels of the master-at-arms, I found the XO and a yeoman from the ship’s office already standing by. [...]

The True Meaning of Forgiveness

I was so overwhelmed by my own existential pain that, to this very day, I can recall little else about the trip back to Yokuska. O how I did long for a way out of the nightmare that haunted me, both day and night. O how I ached for the physical presence of Mary, as [...]

Walking on Water

Having been relieved of my duties, I was sent below, never to stand another watch while I remained in First Division. Even I had to laugh as variations of the story, about how I’d hit the old man in the head with orange peelings, filtered back down to me through the crew. Lest I get [...]

The Wisdom Warehoused within Fantasies

SENIOR MEMBER: In this psychiatric evaluation of you, the clinical psychologist clearly indicated, at one point, that you had presented no evidence of ever having had any delusions or loosened associations. During the course of your interview then, did you not discuss with him any of the very vivid visual and auditory fantasies you had [...]

On the Brink of Insanity

It wasn’t until later on that morning that I saw the door inch open, ever so slightly. Having been ordered to report to the shipyard dispensary, I figured they (meaning the Navy) wanted to examine me, that is, my body, to see if I was physically fit to make a West Pac cruise after my [...]

United States vs FR Drury

Inside, I fall prey to yet another fantasy as my thoughts drift back to the first time I wondered why the Lord of Darkness had fought so hard to keep me in the dark about this island of mine. For if left alone, long enough, I’d invariably get sucked into the fight as the forces [...]

The “S” Word

Having sat there in silence, for a few moments, I finally blurted out, “I didn’t know what else to do. I was so disappointed by the Navy’s failure to satisfy the insatiable longing for self-fulfillment, that has afflicted me since puberty, I could not bear the additional pain of the remorse I felt after having [...]

Nature of the Beast

I hadn’t heard from my girlfriend back home since I had arrived onboard the ship, three or four weeks ago, until I found a letter from her lying on my bunk. As my heart leapt within my chest, I grabbed the letter and tore into it. Dear Butch, Sounds like you don’t think too much [...]