Opportunity comes a knockin"

I recently had someone comment about how when he was in his 30s he was tied down with a wife, kids, job and that he was also in school working for a master's.

He was telling me that he was laying out the foundation for success and the usual crap.

I told him that I was living in a sailboat and traveling through Alaska and the Pacific Northwest doing odd jobs, fishing to eat and generally adventuring. I pointed out that a lot of people disapproved and said I would never make anything of myself.

The sailboat years were a time of individual responsibility and I look back on them fondly. Unlike most people I have literally been the captain of my own ship and master of my own destiny and written a lot of my own scenario.

What's funny now is the way things turned out. 

About the time I turned 40 I settled down a bit and now at 62 I own my own home, live a somewhat sedate life in the suburbs and have something saved for old age. It didn't take me long to 'catch up', although I don't know what I caught up to.

About the time I turned 40 I just decided to pursue a career. I didn't know what career and looked around and suddenly a career just fell on my lap.

It was around Christmas time and I wanted to go to visit my family over the yuletide. My soon to be wife mentioned that we couldn't afford a flight to Boston so I told her not to worry and checked the map. I'd simply hitch hike into the Boston area and snag the T to Quincy and have my sister pick me up.

The future Mrs. Pic was flabbergasted and decided that we could afford a train ticket to Boston. I packed. The next day I got on the choo choo in Pittsburgh and rode to Boston.

When I arrived in Philly I had to change trains and there I met up with three guys headed to New England. They were sailors. I mentioned that I had fished and wasn't happy in my present situation and asked it they needed any deck hands.

One of the guys gave me an 800 number and told me they did from time to time and to check. I wrote it down on a matchbook and put it in my wallet.

When I got home after visiting the family I mentioned it to my other half and she said it was probably a dead lead. I decided to try it anyway and got through to the people that hired.

In seconds I was writing down information and answering questions about my background. I was told to show up the next day for my interview with my seabag packed. There would be a ticket at Pittsburgh airport for me in my name.

I was at the time laid off and tenatively was scheduled to go back to work in a couple of weeks. I packed right then and there and an hour later called the airport. Indeed, ther was a ticket awaiting me.

The next day I hopped on the plane and arrived in Philly and called the office people and was told to look for a van with their company logo on it outside the lugage area. It showed and I arrived at the office and was interviewed and hired as an entry level deckhand on the spot.

They stuffed me into a van and took me to Baltimore to get my Z-card and upon my return I was dropped off at a dock awaiting a tug and barge. When it hit the dock I  helped tie the barge up and clambered aboard the tug. 

It didn't take me long to ask around and find out that there was a career to be started and a career at sea sounded pretty good to me. I worked the rest of the three week tour and was asked if I wanted to work over.

I did because I had decided that the skipper was a jerk and figured that if I got off of his rotation I wouldn't have to deal with him again. Five weeks after I had boarded the plane I was headed home for three weeks.

The money wasn't very good but there was plenty of room for promotion.

Upon my arrival home I wrote every single skipper I had fished for in Kodiak for a letter of sea time. I also started reading up and learning as much as I could about my new career. 

Ten months later I was an abe seaman with a tankerman's ticket and two months after that I was a licensed (limited tonnage) captain of motor, steam and sail vessels.

I worked my way up with that company to bigger and better things and when they sold some of their assets I went with the equipment and actually negotiated a raise to stay with the equipment.

It has been a good career for me and I will be bold enough to admit that it came down to two things. Chance and my taking advantage of the opportunity.

First, I took the train. I also let my outgoing nature meet people and wasn't afraid to admit I was between gigs. That got me the phone number.

I called the number and let my abilities take things from there. I was ready to go, didn't tell anyone to wait and simply went where I was sent and did what I was told, all the while doing the best job I could.

All I have to say after this story is that when opportunity comes knocking you had better have your bags packed.




To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY