Thinking out loud

I know 2 gentlemen who would do anything to have another job right now. Dale and Stan joined our crew yesterday. Our tug was sent from Morgan City, Louisiana to Houston Texas to pick up one of our company's barges that had been tied to a dock, for various reasons, for 4 months. Stan and Dale are the bargemen who work that particular barge, and they have been babysitting it while living out of the local hotel. Basically they have been land locked seamen, who apparently have misplaced their "sea legs."

We've been underway in lousy weather for the past 24 hours, and I haven't seen Stan emerge from his bed yet. Dale, on the other hand, has been perched on the side of his bunk with his door open and his head in a bag for 18 hours.

Dale and Stan hate their jobs right now.

 

I heard a guy comment the other day, "marriage is a lot of work." I never realized that.

 

            I saw in the paper today that there are more people who have only cell phones, than there are people who have only landlines. I'm a huge fan of the cell phone; it sure has made a difference in my life as far as keeping in touch with family members while I'm working on the tug. It wasn't that long ago I would arrive in a port, and the first thing I would have to do is walk until I found a phone booth. Sometimes I'd complete a 5K before I located one. If I was at a location that had many boats docked, it wouldn't be unusual to see a line of other sailors waiting their turn. Many times I'd wait over an hour to get my turn.  And then, while dialing the number, I would pray my wife would be home. If not, I would have to go back to the boat, wait a little while and try again later. It may have been a week or 2 since I last talked to anyone at home, so it was a big deal. It was always frustrating when I would get to a dock, search for the phone booth, find one, and upon opening the door, notice the handset had been removed by the local pranksters. None of that is a problem anymore. If I have a cell phone signal, I can talk to my entire family before I'm finished breakfast on any given day. I'm a big fan.

 

            I've seen a great deal of photo opportunities this hitch motoring in the Bayou of Louisiana and I left my camera at home. Isn't that the way it always goes?

 

           

You know you're getting old when you find it perfectly acceptable and enjoyable to kill a Friday night with your wife, roaming the isles of Borders Books.

 

 

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