Yes, there was trouble in Paradise, A confession.

Someone asked, “Didn’t you and Sherry ever have a fuss?”

Well…….. Yes some very serious ones.

Do you have to be right all the time? That was me  (Still is sometime).

Yes, Sherry my love, and I even separated two times. Not on paper, nothing legal, just unable to handle my attitude.  I was a Chief for heaven’s sake, I knew everything. All Chief’s do, ask any sailor

I have written a book with this in it so it is no secret. I took a part time job while we were both working in DC. I started drinking too much. I worked in the lumber dept. at a drug store. Yeah, it was a big store, ‘Dart Drug’.

Sherry is a ‘Christian’ in every sense of the word. She is and always has been a very good person. She loves going to church. We had always attended together. Well I stopped, and we had discussions about that, so I moved out of our apartment in Arlington.

She worked just a short distance down the hall from me in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. She was Civil Service, I , active duty USN. We had been separated a few days and she (always logical)  came to my office and asked if I would attend counseling. Sure, she set it up.

We drove together to the Naval Annex at Anacostia. The Counselor, was a Navy Chaplain, So I had no question, this guy would see my side.
He welcomed us and chatted for awhile, very congenial. He asked a few questions, smiling and nodding. In a few minutes he asked Sherry to step outside. “I need to talk to the Chief a few minutes.”

Sherry left and all was quiet for a minute. He had been leaning back in that swivel (I am in charge) chair. He sat forward, looked me straight in the eye and said very succinctly, “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU CHIEF, ARE YOU CRAZY?” not stopping for an answer he continued, “I have men come in here with real problems, you don’t have one. You have a great lady there and all you have to do to solve this ‘PROBLEM’, is go to church with her, IS THAT A BIG THING?”

I stammered a “No sir.”

“Then get your ass in gear, apologize and go to church with her. I don’t care what you do in church. Plan your next week, sing to yourself, make retirement plans, anything, but take this lady to church. I have men come in here with problems, you don’t have one.  Now are we on the same frequency?”

Meekly, “Yes Sir.”

On the intercom “Send Mrs. Darnell in.”

All of a sudden (Heckle or Jekyll), is a nice guy very sweetly he said, “Mrs. Darnell, I think we have this worked out, don’t we chief?”

Very meekly, “Yes sir.” I knew he was right, but I was too stubborn to admit it.

“Now you two go on, kiss and make up then have a great life,the Navy needs happy families.”

Okay, enough dirty laundry for today.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

You are not always as right as you think you are.

Most problems can be solved by a  sincere “I am so sorry.”

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This was the Intruder, methinks, a Packard prototype, I could be wrong. But we took took this picture in the

Studebaker museum  in 2007.