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| OKTOBERFEST 1982 |
| Autumn in Long Beach, California. Stationed there. The October breeze felt good coming in off the beach where the German civilians had set up a feral Oktoberfest. One-dollar cups of Lowenbrau and for some reason a nice mix of Mexican and Irish girls. Polka and the females danced on tabletops and spilled beer and laughter …
Sunday’s duty section became an impossibility. I couldn’t think about going back to the boat when life was right here—alive and well and laughing in my arms … I returned a few days late. The skipper pissed off because I wouldn’t tell him the truth. Hard to understand about that now, as a grown man, knowing the truth would have been understood and my punishment lighter. I thought I had to lie—maybe out of shame or maybe I just grew up that way. Captain’s Mast No. 1 awarded me a restriction to the ship for 30 days + extra duty + no pay. Down in the cargo hold, in the belly of the whale, I sat legs akimbo—eating poisonous mushrooms and having visions … I am Jonah. I am Pinocchio. I am Gumby. I am a teenager who enlisted in the United States Navy to escape “reality.” Swallowed. Consumed. Damned. And destined to live. |
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