people...

I just found this from last month...

People are definitely fascinating. I had the opportunity to do some prime people watching on my 12 1/2 hour trek home. It's Christmas, so of course you have the old lady at the train station ringing the salvation army bell whose face lights up when you simply say hello and drop a dollar in. Hundreds of people pass by... without giving her a second thought. If there has been one thing that I have learned... it's the little things in life! Those small things which everyone may think of as insignificant... that may be the one thing that could make somebody's day!

Hours later, as I was standing on the corner of 34th and 8th, coffee, backpack and sea bag in hand, waiting for the bus to Philadelphia I witnessed such an interaction. There was a middle-aged woman who had opened a few presents early perhaps. She had a few suitcases, coffee maker and a few other boxes of somekind. She was clearly struggling to carry all of these items. A young guy came up, put away his Ipod and offered to carry and pack the things in the bottom of the bus for her. She must have thanked him at least 5 times. It was not that big of a deal, she would have survived, but he still took that moment to help. As we got off the bus in Philadelphia I saw him walking toward the station, if you could even call it walking. He clearly had some kind of a disability. And he was the one that went out of his way to help. To me that was a beautiful thing... and not something that should just happen around Christmas!

It could be the holiday season. For some reason everyone is usually in a more giving/helpful frame of mind. Or there really might be some genuine, caring people out there... somewhere!

What is worth 20 million dollars...

I just returned back to Boston after my first 2 months at sea. It feels like I’ve been gone so much longer. Pretty much since we left people started counting down the days until we would get back. Everybody has their own way of counting. Most people just go by 28 days and a wakeup, some count by port calls, some by how many more times we have to set special sea detail (pulling in or out of port). As for me... I like to count by laundry days. As an engineer our laundry day is on Wednesday, so halfway through the patrol it was “hey only 5 more laundry days till we’re home!” Just makes it sound that much closer. Everybody looked forward to going home so much, and we were really having some bad luck it almost made me wonder. Is it really worth it?

Is whatever we’re doing out here worth everything I’m missing back home? I missed late nights with my best friends, a pint of ice cream and a couple of spoons. I missed what could have been my Grandmothers last Thanksgiving. I missed hunting season! I missed AJ’s birthday. I missed countless soshal club festivities. I missed being there to hold you and be with you through what could be one of the hardest things in your life. I missed simply being at home! No... floating around out here wasn’t worth missing all that to me.

Two weeks before we started back to Boston we finally hit the jackpot. A go-fast with 20 bails of cocaine... worth about 20 million dollars. After the excitement and previous bust stories had died down I was still just kind of thinking, ok so now what... we got some drugs and because of us some poeple just won’t get their fix for a while longer. What did this really solve? But then I realized I was looking at the wrong end of it. Yes the addicts of the world would find another way to get high, but that was 20 million dollars that the drug lords of Ecuador weren’t getting back. If even a tiny portion of that money was spent on a gun that some tough guy ended up using for a drive by. And maybe in the event that something could have gone wrong, a 3 year old boy drawing on the sidewalk got killed. If my being out here and missing out on 2 months of life could save somebody’s nephew, little boy, or brother.... then yea it’s totally worth it!

ready, get set, go....

It's only 7 more days until we get underway. Can I just say how freaking excited I am! Not even because I am going to get to travel to places I never thought I would (which lets face it...is pretty bad ass!). But since I reported to the Spencer about a month ago, this is all we have been working towards. From new fire pumps to new flight decks, all of our work has been geared towards the hopes of minimal complications during this JIATF patrol. I can't wait to watch the ship run smoothly because of the work we put into it!
This week we spent most of our time securing for sea. Everything from shop vacs to oregano has to be tied down so it doesn't go flailing about. Shit, I got knocked over in the shower the other day and gashed my leg from just being moored to the pier. What is it going to actually be like when we get out there? I don't know...but can't wait to have that answer!
Sure...there are things I'm really not too thrilled about. I'm going to miss talking to you all the time! But hey...at least I can write back now ;-) I am definitely not looking forward to it being 120 degrees in most of our working spaces.
It's the excitement of the unknown that has me totally hooked! I feel like a kid at Christmas...
BRING IT =]



THEY SAY THAT JESUS LOVES ME, BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU...

IT'S A RAINY NIGHT IN BOSTON. HAD SOME AMAZING CHILI AT THE CAFE AND TOOK THE T UPTOWN. WAS WALKING BACK FROM BORDERS (IT SEMI-STOPPED RAINING) AND I PASSED 3 HOMELESS PEOPLE BEFORE I EVEN HIT THE HARBOR!

I DON'T GET IT! WHAT PUSHES SOMEONE TO THAT POINT? WHAT MAKES SOMEONE THINK THEY HAVE LOST IT ALL AND THE ONLY OPTION LEFT FOR THEM IN THE WORLD IS BEGGING FOR A FEW CENTS OUTSIDE OF A 7-ELEVEN? THERE HAS TO BE A MOMENT IN THEIR LIFE THAT PUT THEM THERE. AT ONE POINT THEY DECIDED OR REALIZED THAT THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO. DID THEY LOSE THEIR JOB BECAUSE OF DEPRESSION, DRUGS OR ALCOHOL? DID THEY LOSE THEIR FAMILY TO A DRUNK DRIVER AND JUST GIVE UP? WAS THEIR MOTHER A CRACK ADDICT AND THEY JUST DIDN'T EVEN REALLY STAND A CHANCE? I'M GUESSING IT ALMOST HAS TO BE A MIX OF A LOT OF DIFFERENT SITUATIONS. JUST ALL OF IT HIT THEM AT ONCE. I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE!

 IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO MY HOME, JOB OR FAMILY I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THERE ARE MANY OTHER PEOPLE IN MY LIFE THAT I CAN COUNT ON TO TAKE ME IN. NO QUESTIONS ASKED. PEOPLE THAT WOULD TAKE CARE OF ME EVEN THOUGH I'M AT MY WORST. PEOPLE THAT WOULD GIVE ME TIME TO SNAP OUT OF IT...OR TO KICK ME IN THE ASS AND GET ME BACK TO REALITY IF NEED BE. SO WHERE ARE THEIR PEOPLE? HOW AM I FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO MAYBE HAVE A HANDFUL...AND THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE ONE? JUST ADD THIS TO MY LIST OF THINGS THAT DON'T MAKE SENSE IN THE WORLD...