Re: Whew! More Pleasant Story

[Jim Davis <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

On Saturday, October 3, 2020 at 10:25:37 PM UTC-4, ABLE1 wrote:

> >=20
> > When my time was up. I went to the Exec office and told him I wanted to=
 ship over if I could stay at the base. He said I could stay in the " T " p=
rogram but he could only guarantee me 6 months on the island and after that=
 it would be up for grabs if I could get posted there longer. I figured tha=
t there was probably some Yeoman up in ComServLant who would take a look at=
 my record and set me to get stationed up in Nova Scotia for the next 3 and=
 a half years. the northern most base in the program. So ---- I opted to ge=
t out. I got a MAPS flight to Miami. Stayed for a week then flew home. Met =
my wife, got married at the age of 21, my wife was only 18, had 2 kids by t=
he time I was 22. Both of us worked hard and by the time I was 26 we bought=
 a house and ------ the rest is another whole story.
> >    =20
> >=20
>=20
> Hi Jim,
>=20
> Great Story!! -- History!!   I feel good knowing all the
> top secret stuff has be put out in the open!!
> Thank you for your service!!
>=20
> Les

Years latter there was an article in (I Think ) LIFE magazine detailing the=
 whole then declassified submarine monitoring program. For a long time I ha=
d thoughts of going back to the island but then I found a website where som=
eone who was stationed at the base a few years after me, revisited the Isla=
nd and the abandoned base some 30/40 years later and took extensive photos.=
 Sad to see all the trashed and destroyed buildings. I don't want to see th=
at in real time, so I'll never go back. I'll keep the good time memories in=
stead.=20

But I could tell you some stories about scuba diving, spelunking, spear fis=
hing though. Some just amazing some real scary. Spearing a barracuda longer=
 than me. 12 foot shark sneaking up behind me no further than two feet away=
. Diving over the edge of the continental shelf with nothing but 2 to 3 tho=
usand feet of water below us. Living on the beach for a week on speared fis=
h, Longusta ( clawless lobster) and some supplies and a lot of vodka we'd b=
rought from the base. And picking oranges, bananas mangos and coconuts from=
 abandoned plantation trees hidden in the "bush". We'd bring a couple of wa=
sh buckets and put them on the fire to boil the lobster.=20
Finding an old wooden row boat built out of boards. Taring it up to water p=
roof it and watching it disintegrate around the 6 of us as we tried to padd=
le it with coconut tree branches through the surf.=20

It's amazing ---- what you can do when your are that young and not fully ap=
preciate it until you become an old man. There is just no way that you can =
communicate that to a young person. If all of that energy, blind courage, i=
nvulnerability could be directed to something productive and innovative wha=
t amazing things could be accomplished. Sometimes but very rarely do you co=
me across a young person who "gets it"