Blog 47 Finishing the Navy life. ( Three Parts)

(Parts of these Blogs will be descriptive, again) Watch for my warning sign!)

(Changing Churches, Beginning to party again, and more funny stories!)

After I called the wedding off from Joanne, going to the same church got very uncomfortable, so I found a much smaller church. I had visited two or three of them before I decided on this one. However, I just was not happy like I was at my first church. I began going less and less until I had stopped going at all. My roommate had finished his tour and left back to Pascagoula, Mississippi! I was extremely lonely.

I had less than a year and a half to discharge. I received a call from the girl I dated in Corpsman School. She was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. She was pregnant and her husband was on a ship in San Diego. She asked if I would trade clinics for our last duty so she may be with her husband when the baby came.

Since I was in depression, I agreed. We went through all the transfer papers and the Navy had already picked up my belongings. The week before I was leaving, I received a paper to re-up for 3 years! I said I would not do it. I had full plan to return to civilian life because the pay was better. I then received a call from the Okinawa Chief officer. He said that my friend was already told she could not switch so she called her congresswoman who overruled the Chief’s order. So he did what he COULD do. He demanded that she get replaced with someone with at least three years still in active duty!

I had to call and tell her I was not going to sign back up. It took the navy two weeks to return my things. But my orders were to be in San Diego until I got out of the Navy. She had her baby overseas and her husband’s ship went out to sea, anyways.

(When God turns a mistake into a Blessing)

I began partying with my Naval friends again, and of course it meant that I also began going on the prowl once more. I started picking up one-timers on almost every weekend. One night, I went to my friend’s gay bar and I came around to the dance floor and ,low and behold, I almost ran into my Naval floor Supervisor kissing someone. Because he was not looking, I sneaked back out.

I asked Dave to have lunch with me the next day and I told him what happened. We confided in each other. The Chief Nuclear Technologist was discharged about two weeks later, which made my friend Chief because of his rank. Now , He had to choose a new second in charge. There were three of us that were the next rank, but I was the lowest of the three by how long I had been that rank compared to the other two.

Dave called a meeting, and though I was still in Ultrasound, I was required to go to the meeting. The next highest ranked sailor always got the the promotion before. Dave had lunch with me that day and told me to plan to come back to Nuclear Medicine because he chose ME as the Floor Supervisor. When I inquired how, he said people could be overlooked if proper reasons were given and it was approved by the Director of Radiology. They told him I had a better record than the other two.

The meeting was very embarrassing because the highest ranked sailor had already put all his things in the desk and his uniforms in the private locker. At the meeting he was sitting at the desk. When Dave announced my name, you could have heard a pin drop. He proceeded telling everyone why I was chosen. The sailor just sat their in shock. When the meeting ended, he waited a few minutes to get his things. I felt happy about the leadership role, but felt very bad for the one who should have gotten it. I, also, felt I got it because of my “secret”. I remained in this position until I discharged. It made my last year and a half my best.

(I almost got into a fight while drunk!)

One night, my naval friends and I went to the Marine Base to party. There were three girls and two boys at our table. The Marine table next to us had four guys getting wasted. They started saying things to our girls and tried showing off by crushing beer cans on their foreheads, and one took a chain necklace, placed an end in his nostril, sniffed it through his nose and out his mouth and began pulling it back and forth through his nose. The other guy at our table and I stood up (drunk) and offered to fight them if they did not stop.

Before I knew it, the Marines accepted our fight and to keep from getting caught fighting, we chose a secluded place to meet. The entire time we went to the sight, I explained that I had not fought since third grade. They did not want me to do it, (neither did I), but I told them we were to show we have our pride. The ironic thing happened. The Marines never showed up! It made us look good, and touted us as brave dates.

(Beefing up)

Javier and I decided that we better muscle up in case this ever happened again. He and I worked out until I left. I was in the best shape I think I had ever been. Javier and I became very good friends, only, and we partied a lot. We sometimes were able to pick up girls at the clubs, but I never could do anything because of the NEW DISEASE (HTLV3, HIV). I certainly did not want to give it to girls, or guys, if there was a chance that I had it. (I did not, the navy check everyone very regularly and I was negative)

( continue on BLOG 48)