One of the places I have not been to in a while is Maine. It has been a few months. I like going there because generally there is a lobster pound near the terminal and the petroleum inspectors are pretty laid back and will run up and get us a few lobsters and a bunch of clams.
I got back on board this slab today up in the lower end of New England which is nowhere near Old England. They don't have castles and stuff like that in New England because it is too new to have had castles made there. Then again, Old England doesn't have lobsters and clams and while maybe a visit to a castle would be pretty nice sometime, getting a few lobsters now would be a pretty good deal that isn't going to happen because we are in the southern part of New England.
It was a pretty long ride to get back aboard and the changeover was hectic as I arrived on board during a cargo transfer.
First day back is a day when we do very little other than what truly has to be done. There is grub to be taken aboard and put away, beds to be made up, seabags to be emptied and their contents, mainly clothes, stowed.
This is a day when men move in and get their surroundings set up for the tour.
In addition to this, the recent suicide of Osama Bin Laden has heightened security measures, so there is a little more to be aware of. (Anyone that does what he did was simply committing suicide) There was a brief meeting with the shoreside people over this.
Relieving the other crew under these circumstances is normal and because of it there were a few things that we often do not get to do as soon as we get aboard. My street clothes now need a good cleaning as I wasn't given the opportunity to change into my work clothes.
We finished with the cargo transfer, finished up with the paperwork and sailed.
It was only then that I could rest a spell and change into my working clothes.
When we were underway I slipped into a set of khakis, donned my U-boat cap and sat down and relaxed a bit. A quicky supper was made up and eaten and served on paper plates to make things easier for the first day back.
I have now returned to being who I am for the other half of my life and now I am Captain Piccolo for the rest of the tour.
Oh, well. Fun's over and I guess I gotta get out of the pool.
my other blog is: http://officerpiccolo.blogspot.com/ http://piccolosbutler.blogspot.com/
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