An Ocean

From the time I first saw the ocean, I was fascinated, I fell in love. The expanse was so enormous and the smell was spell binding.

After Sherry and I were married I rented a government trailer, 8’x26’ and we moved in. It was our little mansion. It was a play house.

I was stationed at Camp Geiger,  a training base near Camp Lejeune. It was probably 30 miles to Top Sail Beach. A very deserted stretch of beach.  We would go there and play in the water, walk along the sand and dream of our future.

I never saw a wave I wouldn’t dive into nor water I would not swim across. I am a pretty positive person. Sherry asked me once, what would you  do it the ship sank in the middle of the Atlantic. My answer was my true feelings, I would start swimming home. Of course I would be looking for ships, boats or something to use to assist. LOL

One day Sherry and I went alone. Most of the times Dal & Marion. But that fateful day we were alone. Walking along the beach in about knee deep water I began to notice the sand under my feet felt like small marbles. I angled toward shore, not wanting to frighten Sherry, but it did not work. the more I tried the deeper we got. Finally it got up to our necks and she said I’m scared let’s go back.

I looked at my bride and said, “Honey you’d better pray, I cannot get us back.” Then we went under. Sherry could not swim. I held her up as long as possible and trying to swim back to shore, but we only went out further. Finally I had to turn her loose and go the the bottom and push her towards shore. After about 15 minutes of this, and having no luck moving us back in She looked at me and said.

“I’m giving up we can’t make it.” She then relaxed and went under. At the time she had very beautiful long hair. I saw it spread out in a circle around her head, Treading water I grabbed her hair and raised her head.

“You ain’t giving up and have your mama think I brought you out here and drowned you, we are going to make it, understand?”

She nodded. I laid her up on the water and tried once again to use a survival technique I had been taught. She helped by kicking her legs. I finally realized we were making progress. What seemed like ages we got ashore. I laid her out on the sand and began to pump water out. Water came out every cavity!!!

Lying there on the sand, a wave came up and touched her feet, that young girl came alive and started crawling away from that water.

We did return, but we both had gained respect for the ocean. She reminded me of that at Daytona where one sign said, ‘Danger Rip Currents’.

Thanks for coming by the log, see how exciting life with Jack can be!!

Nite Shipslog

PS:

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
-- Winston Churchill

Our car in 1956:

I think ours was blue. 1950 Chevy business coupe.