Ahoy Matey!
I spent four years in the navy. What fun!29 total reviews
Comment from davisr (Rhonda)
Hi Tom,
I loved your memoirs about life in the navy. My cousin was career navy, and I hears a bit from him, but I enjoyed your point of view.
Sorry you got hauled in and not able to miss when it was abolished. One should have a choice.
Take care,
Rhonda
reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024
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Hi Tom,
I loved your memoirs about life in the navy. My cousin was career navy, and I hears a bit from him, but I enjoyed your point of view.
Sorry you got hauled in and not able to miss when it was abolished. One should have a choice.
Take care,
Rhonda
Comment Written 15-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024
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Hello Rhonda,
thanks so much for the thoughtful review gal. I put in my four years and was so glad to get out. The navy back then is much different than what we have now. There were no women on ships then, and computers were just starting to come in to play.
While I didn't care for my time there, and it wasn't helpful in terms of learning anything towards a useable career for me, nonetheless, if I hadn't joined, I never would have met the people who were responsible for my moving to Alaska, so I guess something good comes from everything.
Have a blessed day gal.
Tom
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Thanks for the blessing for the day. Are you still in Alaska? Forgive me if you told me before, lol. I know you said you were on a farm.
I'm not sure what my cousin is doing now, but I know he retired.
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Hi Rhonda,
yes, I'm still here in Alaska. I'm wondering what I'm doing here with the winter we had, but I suspect I'll never move. I may just have to go south for a month or two during the winter to get some relief. I used to live on a farm for ten years, but we left that back in 1987. Of all things we moved north in 2020, when we didn't find a place we liked when we were in the lower 48. I don't even like winter. Oh well.
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It's definitely strange where life leads us, sometimes. I remember you talking about the farm before. You are way more of a diligent survivor than I am. I'm glad you like where you are, though. I live on a farm, too, but in sunny Texas!
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I'm sure you have a multitude of challenges to face where you are, just different ones. I spent time in Key West and Charleston S C. At the time I liked it, but I couldn't handle the heat anymore. We had an overload of snakes and fire ants in Charleston too. No snakes here, just moose and bears and critters we can see without having to watch where we step. I applaud all of our farmers, ranchers, and fishermen around the country. The challenges they face would make most folks pack up and run.
Blessings,
Tom
Comment from zanya
An enjoyable and engrossing read from a slice of real life and the humorous touch really works here and enables the reader to share the moment - could be entwined in a short story!
reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024
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An enjoyable and engrossing read from a slice of real life and the humorous touch really works here and enables the reader to share the moment - could be entwined in a short story!
Comment Written 15-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024
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Hello Zanya,
thanks so much for the delightful review. I've been considering another book, though I hadn't thought of using the stories I've shared on Fan Story so much. I have a friend who lived at the Christian community at the same time we did, and he's got stories enough to fill a book, so I'm leaning towards that right now.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from John Ciarmello
This is hysterical, TB! I'm sure having all those memories is worth repeating. I could read this all day! I love the retaliation on Fat Mac! That had to drive him crazy! Lol.
Great stuff, TB. Best, JohnC
reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024
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This is hysterical, TB! I'm sure having all those memories is worth repeating. I could read this all day! I love the retaliation on Fat Mac! That had to drive him crazy! Lol.
Great stuff, TB. Best, JohnC
Comment Written 15-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024
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Hello John,
I agree, the ripping out the last page was a great move on the part of the other petty officer. I was never that quick of wit to think of something like that. Mac loved his westerns. Obviously he liked to eat too, I just don't know what possessed him to think it would be OK to eat someone else's hamburger! Talk about brazen. Thanks so much for the great review. Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from Mintybee
Thanks for sharing your experiences. This had the right amount of detail for the reader to visualize exactly what was happening. The tone was light and friendly. The anecdotes were paced well.
Mintybee
reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024
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Thanks for sharing your experiences. This had the right amount of detail for the reader to visualize exactly what was happening. The tone was light and friendly. The anecdotes were paced well.
Mintybee
Comment Written 15-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024
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Hello Minty,
thanks so much for the uplifting comments and review. I'm pleased that you enjoyed this offering. I spent four years in the navy, and while I didn't care for it at the time, when I think back, it provided me with a few memories that I can utilize now.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from Brett Matthew West
"if I could get out of my commitment." Guess that did not work for you, or the fourteen years I donned OD (olive drab) Green. As you said don't "even bother asking" if you could walk out of that obligation. We both know how far the answer to that question would have gotten us.
Those "shotguns" would indeed "tear the flesh" and make your "arm being sore" seem to last several days.
Fifty pounds of flour, in North Atlantic gale force winds. My inquiry would become did loud-mouth chief petty officer look like the Michelin Man or Frosty the Snowman with that flour all over him?
"be smashed" by MacDonald, wouldn't that have made you a pancake?
"payback is a bitch" - truer words seldom spoken.
This posting reminds of several instances that occurred during my stint in Ole Unc Sam's Army.
An enjoyable read.
reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024
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"if I could get out of my commitment." Guess that did not work for you, or the fourteen years I donned OD (olive drab) Green. As you said don't "even bother asking" if you could walk out of that obligation. We both know how far the answer to that question would have gotten us.
Those "shotguns" would indeed "tear the flesh" and make your "arm being sore" seem to last several days.
Fifty pounds of flour, in North Atlantic gale force winds. My inquiry would become did loud-mouth chief petty officer look like the Michelin Man or Frosty the Snowman with that flour all over him?
"be smashed" by MacDonald, wouldn't that have made you a pancake?
"payback is a bitch" - truer words seldom spoken.
This posting reminds of several instances that occurred during my stint in Ole Unc Sam's Army.
An enjoyable read.
Comment Written 15-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024
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Hi Brett,
thanks so much for the great review. It sounds like you put in considerably more time in the military than I did. I was required to do four years, so I did, but when the time came to leave, I left. Actually, they let me extend for one month, an unheard of thing, so that my daughter could be born in the navy hospital in Charleston South Carolina. That cost me all of ten dollars. I don't know why they allowed that request, it's totally unlike the military, but I was grateful.
Fortunately none of the cheifs were in the wardroom at the time, or I would have been discovered and dealt with I'm sure. It just blew all over their table and floor. I don't know who they got to clean it up, but I wasn't going to volunteer.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from Ginda Simpson
Oh, who could mind is this is the second telling of this narrative. You are a natural at storytelling and I hope you are doing a lot of it if you have grandchildren. This was a fun read. Thank you for your service.
reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024
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Oh, who could mind is this is the second telling of this narrative. You are a natural at storytelling and I hope you are doing a lot of it if you have grandchildren. This was a fun read. Thank you for your service.
Comment Written 14-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024
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Oh, thanks so much Ginda for the awesome review. I have 14 grandchildren (I think) and five greats. I don't know how much they want to hear stories from me, unless I had it on a phone. I've published three books though, so if push comes to shove, they could always read one of those I suppose. My sons are more interested in my past. I think as we get older we start wondering about our heritage.
Have a blessed evening gal.
Tom
Comment from Wayne Fowler
Very well written.
Great stories.
You are probably getting a tone of "When 'I' was in....
Well... concerning shots. I'm rather skinny in the buttocks region. One particularly evil shot, mayhaps the self-same you noted, the corpsman might have hit the sciatic nerve. My right leg spasmed, shaking all on its own for what seemed like a full minute. Like you, we marched and ran for about an hour.
I'll never forget that one.
reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024
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Very well written.
Great stories.
You are probably getting a tone of "When 'I' was in....
Well... concerning shots. I'm rather skinny in the buttocks region. One particularly evil shot, mayhaps the self-same you noted, the corpsman might have hit the sciatic nerve. My right leg spasmed, shaking all on its own for what seemed like a full minute. Like you, we marched and ran for about an hour.
I'll never forget that one.
Comment Written 13-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024
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Hello Wayne,
thanks for sharing your story. I've never heard of someone having a reaction like that. It probably freaked out you and the corpsman. Yes, that particular shot left a pretty good lump that as I recall, took several days to work out.
Have a blessed evening.
Tom
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
It is fun to write about it now, but I don't suppose it was fun at the time. MASH always had the laughs, but real life did intrude even in that. Bouncing around like a cork on your first ship didn't convince you not to be a fisherman on your own boat?
reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024
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It is fun to write about it now, but I don't suppose it was fun at the time. MASH always had the laughs, but real life did intrude even in that. Bouncing around like a cork on your first ship didn't convince you not to be a fisherman on your own boat?
Comment Written 13-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024
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Hi Carol,
Well, I guess it didn't deter me. I had some pretty exciting times on my boat; actually, I had three of them. The only way to catch salmon that were marketable was to catch them fresh from the sea, and of course I needed a boat for that. I also long-lined for halibut, so a boat was a necessary expense. Being on the ship was quite a bit different. We were in some really harsh weather more than a few times. One day we got a teletype warning of 52 foot seas. Fortunately, we skirted around the worse of it, but still took a beating. Thanks so much for the great review gal.
Have a blessed evening.
Tom
Comment from lyenochka
Lol. Oh boy, Tom, you could have entered a few of these into the True Story contest. And that one about the flour blowing into the officers' dining table well, that would have been perfect for the Dribble contest.
Even if it was involuntary service, still we thank you for serving! You probably learned a lot of patience and skills (shooting!) to help you on the "farm." God doesn't ever waste an experience. Thanks for sharing!
reply by the author on 13-Mar-2024
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Lol. Oh boy, Tom, you could have entered a few of these into the True Story contest. And that one about the flour blowing into the officers' dining table well, that would have been perfect for the Dribble contest.
Even if it was involuntary service, still we thank you for serving! You probably learned a lot of patience and skills (shooting!) to help you on the "farm." God doesn't ever waste an experience. Thanks for sharing!
Comment Written 13-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 13-Mar-2024
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Hello Helen,
I almost never enter contests. I suppose I should, I just don't think about it. By the time I've reviewed a bunch of things and written something now and then, it just passes over my head. I learned to shoot before I went in to the navy, and with my job as a radarman, there weren't a lot of useful skills that I learned that would work in civilian life. However, as you say, nothing goes to waste in God's economy. If I hadn't been in the navy, I probably would never have come to Alaska, so it all works together for good. Thanks so much for the great review gal.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
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I'm glad you can see God's Hand in it all. 💖
Comment from Jim Wile
You're a great storyteller, Tom. I loved these stories where you've been contemplating your naval... adventures.
A shame you missed out on the end of the Vietnam draft, but I'm sure the delightful four years you spent in the Navy, by the sound of it, more than made up for it!
I loved how you feigned complete ignorance with that flour incident and your descriptions of your wonderful sleeping arrangements. I feel the fear you must have felt when that tub of lard was above you as you wondered if the ropes or grommets might fail. Wonderful, amusing stories, friend. - Jim
reply by the author on 13-Mar-2024
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You're a great storyteller, Tom. I loved these stories where you've been contemplating your naval... adventures.
A shame you missed out on the end of the Vietnam draft, but I'm sure the delightful four years you spent in the Navy, by the sound of it, more than made up for it!
I loved how you feigned complete ignorance with that flour incident and your descriptions of your wonderful sleeping arrangements. I feel the fear you must have felt when that tub of lard was above you as you wondered if the ropes or grommets might fail. Wonderful, amusing stories, friend. - Jim
Comment Written 13-Mar-2024
reply by the author on 13-Mar-2024
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Hello Jim,
thanks for the wonderful review. I'm so glad you enjoyed this story. I think that I missed every 4th of July when I was in the navy. We were always somewhere else but home. It was a trying time, especially being away so much, and there was so much Mickey Mouse stuff that you had to endure. The officers all had to be addressed as mister, but there was nothing in the regs that prevented the enlisted men from addressing each other as sir, so I kind of got a jab in that way. Suffice it to say, I wouldn't want to do it again.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
