[Reminder: Some of my posts, including this one, are memoirs of my abusive childhood. In this post I'm relating events that happened in November 1957, when I was 8. The links to the right can be used to follow backward through the memoirs, or to restrict viewing to other kinds of posts.]
With my initiation into the Royal Domain of the Golden Dragon out the way I was free, for a couple of days, to hunt and be hunted by huntress Diana. My memory of those days was of endless exploration of the USNS ED Patrick, most of which was spent in off-limits areas.
A perk of being 8: If an adult steps over an off-limits sign and gets caught, the MPs are called in, and they draw weapons and shout orders. If a young and not too ugly kid does it, everyone smiles so long as there's no immediate danger of the kid getting hurt. This principle applies even more to 8-year old lovers.
One of the most memorable kissing & hugging sessions of my life was thus conducted on a catwalk within the engine room of the ship. The men monitoring the engine knew we were there and just smiled. None of them bothered us. No one told us to leave.
The next distraction from all that was Tokyo. We arrived at a Tokyo pier in the morning and those that wanted could spend the day exploring the city. So Diana and I got separated as her Father and my Mother took us apart and went sight-seeing in two different groups.
Tokyo was just a hint of what would was to come in Taiwan. It was strange, but not that strange. It's always a xenomanic moment to find oneself in a city surrounded by signs in a foreign language. It's even better if it's in a system of writing you don't know. But beyond that Tokyo wasn't too much different from other bustling over-crowded cities I'd seen.
We had another two days together after the Tokyo stop was over and we continued south toward Taiwan. At no time did we talk about our destinations. I assumed that she was going to Taiwan and probably Taipei, and we could see each other there. She probably assumed that I was going to Okinawa.
It wasn't until we docked in Okinawa that we found out that we'd probably never see each other again.
I had expected that we could only be together for the time my Mother and I were to be in Taiwan, at most a year, but to have that year suddenly turn into 13 days time-served with one hour remaining felt like being hit by a truck.
I panicked. I begged Diana's Dad to take me with him. He might have thought I was joking.
Diana and I hugged goodbye and I watched her walk off the ship, knowing that it was going to be a long time before I could let myself become attached to any one person again.
Showing posts with label diana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diana. Show all posts
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Educational Experiences
[Date & Place: 4th week of November 1957 (I'm eight), Pacific Ocean, 33-35 degrees north.]
I had the idea that our ship was going to have to stop at Hawaii on the way to Taiwan. Won't they have to stop at a gas station somewhere? Where else could they stop?
Well, it turns out these ships are fitted out to steam over 5000 miles without refueling, and that's just what this one was going to do. We were going to take a great circle arc from San Francisco to Tokyo, and then continue on to Taiwan. The leg of the trip to Tokyo would be non-stop. It's 5,250 miles. That part took us about 11 days if I remember right. That works out to about 17, maybe 17.5 knots steady. We're we speeding? Is that normal? I don't know.
So anyway, our course took us nowhere near Hawaii. On one of the decks there was a giant wall map with pins in it and string and a little ship icon to let the passengers know where we were and where we we going to be and had been. Very educational. We skirted the Aleutians instead.
I don't remember how many decks were accessible to passengers. I think there were 4. There was a lower deck that only had cabins. Above that there was a deck that had a large community room with sofas and coffee tables to gather around. I met all the kids in that room. For a while Diana and I both hung out there and played card games and traded military dependent stories with the others. That deck also had a small theater, where movies were shown every day. There was a deck that had the galley and mess. There was an open upper deck where you could sun yourself and get almost a 360 degree view of the ocean.
Diana and I didn't limit ourselves to the accessible decks, though. When we came to signs attached to chains stretched in our path that said, "Off Limits to Unauthorized Personnel" Diana pointed out that "Unauthorized Personnel" meant civilians. We weren't civilians, we were dependents. I wasn't sure that was accurate, but when she climbed under the chains and kept going I had to follow, to stick by my girl.
The other kids caught on quickly and we endured a lot of teasing. Very educational. Especially Diana's reaction. "They're jealous."
But the most valuable education came when Diana and I got into an argument over whether Superman was real. I think the actual question was "Could Superman fly?"
[Right: In 1957, what Superman looked like.]
I said, no one can fly. She said, Superman can. I said that's silly. She said you're silly.
Somehow, maybe it was the power of infatuation and the desire to suck from her mouth, I suddenly got it.
Oh!: If we're going to talk about Superman, we need to accept the premises that attach. To not do so is to crush imagination, a crime against humanity. Yada, yada.
At the time I didn't really believe that. I just believed that if I pretended to believe it I might get closer to kissing Diana. But the next day and the next, the idea worked on me, and by the time we did kiss, I believed it with all my heart, and still do.
A life without imagination is a life without soul, not worth preserving.
I had the idea that our ship was going to have to stop at Hawaii on the way to Taiwan. Won't they have to stop at a gas station somewhere? Where else could they stop?
Well, it turns out these ships are fitted out to steam over 5000 miles without refueling, and that's just what this one was going to do. We were going to take a great circle arc from San Francisco to Tokyo, and then continue on to Taiwan. The leg of the trip to Tokyo would be non-stop. It's 5,250 miles. That part took us about 11 days if I remember right. That works out to about 17, maybe 17.5 knots steady. We're we speeding? Is that normal? I don't know.
So anyway, our course took us nowhere near Hawaii. On one of the decks there was a giant wall map with pins in it and string and a little ship icon to let the passengers know where we were and where we we going to be and had been. Very educational. We skirted the Aleutians instead.I don't remember how many decks were accessible to passengers. I think there were 4. There was a lower deck that only had cabins. Above that there was a deck that had a large community room with sofas and coffee tables to gather around. I met all the kids in that room. For a while Diana and I both hung out there and played card games and traded military dependent stories with the others. That deck also had a small theater, where movies were shown every day. There was a deck that had the galley and mess. There was an open upper deck where you could sun yourself and get almost a 360 degree view of the ocean.
Diana and I didn't limit ourselves to the accessible decks, though. When we came to signs attached to chains stretched in our path that said, "Off Limits to Unauthorized Personnel" Diana pointed out that "Unauthorized Personnel" meant civilians. We weren't civilians, we were dependents. I wasn't sure that was accurate, but when she climbed under the chains and kept going I had to follow, to stick by my girl.
The other kids caught on quickly and we endured a lot of teasing. Very educational. Especially Diana's reaction. "They're jealous."
But the most valuable education came when Diana and I got into an argument over whether Superman was real. I think the actual question was "Could Superman fly?"
[Right: In 1957, what Superman looked like.]
I said, no one can fly. She said, Superman can. I said that's silly. She said you're silly.
Somehow, maybe it was the power of infatuation and the desire to suck from her mouth, I suddenly got it.
Oh!: If we're going to talk about Superman, we need to accept the premises that attach. To not do so is to crush imagination, a crime against humanity. Yada, yada.
At the time I didn't really believe that. I just believed that if I pretended to believe it I might get closer to kissing Diana. But the next day and the next, the idea worked on me, and by the time we did kiss, I believed it with all my heart, and still do.
A life without imagination is a life without soul, not worth preserving.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Dianas All Around
Video Find of the Day
Coincidentally, this song had been out about 3 months when I met my Diana (see previous post). I barely noticed at the time, but Diana mentioned that she loved it, and later it always reminded me of her.
Paul Anka - Diana (1957)
Coincidentally, this song had been out about 3 months when I met my Diana (see previous post). I barely noticed at the time, but Diana mentioned that she loved it, and later it always reminded me of her.
Paul Anka - Diana (1957)
USNS ED Patrick
[Reminder: Some of my posts, including this one, are memoirs of my abusive childhood. In this post I'm relating events that happened in November 1957, when I was 8. The links to the right can be used to follow backward through the memoirs, or to restrict viewing to other kinds of posts.]
In the morning, my Mother and I (and Koko, the dog -- I keep forgetting to mention him!) were taken to the Port of San Francisco. We boarded the troop transport ship USNS E.D. Patrick. This was jokingly referred to as a "boat" by crew, but it looked like a giant cruise-liner to inexperienced me.
The ship was a combination passenger and cargo ship that operated between the West Coast of America and Asia from about 1950 to the late 60s. Koko was our cargo. He had to go into a traveling box and reside in it in a sheltered cargo area on an aft deck. We would have to walk him in the cargo area several times a day during the trip.
Look at me! I just said "aft"! This was the trip where I learned to say "I'm going up the ladder" instead of "I'm going upstairs". I learned to say "decks" not "floors".
After the ship set out into San Francisco Bay we all had to line up on one of the lower decks and receive instructions on putting on life jackets. We endured a test of the ships emergency sirens while we approached the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we could take the jackets off, they were collected and with the horn blaring we passed under the bridge. Trés Jungian. The auspicious beginning!
About an hour out to sea, when land was no longer visible, I was puking. I puked on deck. A sailor led me to the rail and invited me to puke into the ocean in the future. I immediately did so. He said, "stay there, I'll get you something for that." While he was gone I puked a couple more times into the Pacific. He came back with a big bag of saltine crackers and a glass of lemonade. I spent several hours sitting near the rail, eating saltines and sipping lemonade, and periodically puking.
I was still puking about once every half hour or so when a girl came up alongside me and asked me my name. She was about my age, sandy blond, and cute. I told her "Wesley" and she asked what it meant. I said I didn't think it meant anything, it was just the name of some guy who lived a long time ago and is dead now. She said, "Well, my name is Diana. Diana is the goddess of the hunt."
I said, "What sort of hunt?" She said, "All kinds. Deer, maybe. Or people." She smiled. I realized at that moment that my newest girlfriend had found me. Then I puked again, and she said, "You'll get over that soon, don't worry."
Who, me, worry?
In the morning, my Mother and I (and Koko, the dog -- I keep forgetting to mention him!) were taken to the Port of San Francisco. We boarded the troop transport ship USNS E.D. Patrick. This was jokingly referred to as a "boat" by crew, but it looked like a giant cruise-liner to inexperienced me.The ship was a combination passenger and cargo ship that operated between the West Coast of America and Asia from about 1950 to the late 60s. Koko was our cargo. He had to go into a traveling box and reside in it in a sheltered cargo area on an aft deck. We would have to walk him in the cargo area several times a day during the trip.
Look at me! I just said "aft"! This was the trip where I learned to say "I'm going up the ladder" instead of "I'm going upstairs". I learned to say "decks" not "floors".
After the ship set out into San Francisco Bay we all had to line up on one of the lower decks and receive instructions on putting on life jackets. We endured a test of the ships emergency sirens while we approached the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we could take the jackets off, they were collected and with the horn blaring we passed under the bridge. Trés Jungian. The auspicious beginning!
About an hour out to sea, when land was no longer visible, I was puking. I puked on deck. A sailor led me to the rail and invited me to puke into the ocean in the future. I immediately did so. He said, "stay there, I'll get you something for that." While he was gone I puked a couple more times into the Pacific. He came back with a big bag of saltine crackers and a glass of lemonade. I spent several hours sitting near the rail, eating saltines and sipping lemonade, and periodically puking.
I was still puking about once every half hour or so when a girl came up alongside me and asked me my name. She was about my age, sandy blond, and cute. I told her "Wesley" and she asked what it meant. I said I didn't think it meant anything, it was just the name of some guy who lived a long time ago and is dead now. She said, "Well, my name is Diana. Diana is the goddess of the hunt."I said, "What sort of hunt?" She said, "All kinds. Deer, maybe. Or people." She smiled. I realized at that moment that my newest girlfriend had found me. Then I puked again, and she said, "You'll get over that soon, don't worry."
Who, me, worry?
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