sitting and watching a bowl game, can't remember if it was the TIDY Bowl, TOILET Bowl or the SOUP Bowl. Oh well you get the BOWL PICTURE. Any way I suddenly realized that I had to pack as it was time to go to Miami, a short pause on the way to CAYO WASTE-O. So I packed all my clothes, well not all my clothes, just some of my clothes, and headed south. I know that is hard to believe but from where I live now, you can actually go south, but that's another story.
So I arrived in CAYO WASTE-O by way of BROKEN CHICKEN and promptly started playing on the submarine with some other social misfits who had reached a more mature stage of life, (HOW'S THAT FOR SAYING OLD IN A NICE WAY) and after the holidays finding out that the access hatches had shrunk even more!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that, who said metal does not shrink, but that's another story.
So there I was sitting in the galley, not to be confused with the BEN HUR galleys, they rowed, we just sit there and eat and drink coffee which is made by various unnamed persons who I am convinced go down and dip the stuff out of the bilge's, but that's another story. So there I was when HE walked in, (calm down you perverts) one of the bosses from NAWC-- NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER, they are the people who actually own the submarine, comes in and mentions that the 38 ship, is having electrical problems and they have no one to fix them so the next thing I know, we, (meaning 2 of us) are being transferred to an active duty ship to solve the problems. So as I write this part of the story, I have been on this ship for 3 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND ALL I WANT IS OUT OF THE REGULAR NAVY, TRANSFER ME BACK TO THE INACTIVE SUB SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we finally got the job done, WELL what else did you expect???????????????? and back to the boat we went, BOAT is Submarine talk for SUBMARINE, they are not called ships, but that is another story.
So there I was minding my own business when suddenly I am in the deep, dark, and dank (you like that word?) bowels of this oversized sewer pipe, that would be the lower flats or the basement trying to fit myself into places where no human should have to go, (especially since the metal on this BOAT seems to be shrinking at a more rapid rate than normal) to screw down all the deck plates (that is a navy term for the floor) anyway after twisting and turning and speaking several words in various foreign languages and being jabbed by a variety of objects that defy description in a variety of places, (I will leave that one to your imagination, ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! : - ) I finally managed to get the floor screwed down in Maneuvering Room, Control Room, and the Engine Room, both outboard and inboard of all three engines and that is no small feat in itself, considering that the aforementioned space was designed to only accept people under 5 feet tall with a twelve inch waist and I am 6 foot 3 inches and never mind the waist!!!!!!!!!!!
So there I was working on the High pressure manifold and getting it repacked and then started an air charge, doesn't that sound exciting, sorta ranks up there with watching paint dry, but it had to be done along with rebuilding some valves, and that took a few days, (well nobody said I was the fastest worker!!!!!!!!!!!!)
So there I was just cutting steel as we had to rebuild the safety track topside, (it is like trying to put a puzzle together where there are no pieces using 3/8" X 5" flat iron and 3/8" X 2 1/2" I Beam and cutting your pieces with a 4" die grinder) that is a track that allows you to move the length of the BOAT topside and not get washed overboard when underway, (UNDERWAY means when you are out to sea) so for the next seven or eight days, I am not sure how long since we work 7 days a week from about 7:30 AM to SUNDOWN, yes folks I said sundown!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH DID I MENTION THAT THIS IS ALL VOLUNTEER AND NOBODY GETS PAID TO PUT THEM SELVES THROUGH THIS. Well, nobody ever said I was the sharpest knife in the drawer……….....
So there I was sitting there enjoying my 39th cup of coffee that morning and it was only 9:30 AM when the electrical supply house calls and said my transformer was in, well this just made my heart go all a flutter, because now I could finally get the port (that's left in civilian talk)lighting to work, so I spend a whole day getting this 160 pound monster mounted on the wall and then wired up. I waited until the next day to test and SO THERE I WAS the next day testing this thing and lo and behold the lights did not work, OH WOE IS ME, but as it turned out it was not YOURS TRULY who was at fault, seems that some wiring needed to be reworked, but since we were down to the end of this work period, I will have to fix it next time, but that is another story. So for the last 2 days I pressure cleaned and painted Bow Buoyancy, that one you get to figure out for your self.
So there I was and now I am not, but I will be in about 2 weeks............but that is another story………...........
Don't forget there is another story to read because of the way these post!!!!!!
