A story is like a house: without a solid foundation, it really isn't worth all that much, and probably won't last long in any case. So pardon me while I dig a literary basement for you.
Without going into gross detail, let's just say that getting a decent job with a history degree is, while not impossible, close enough that the difference doesn't matter. So off to the Navy I go, degree and all. What field do they talk me into getting into? Nuclear power. Don't ask me, I just work here. You've heard the old cliche, truth is stranger than fiction...?
During the 14 months I've been in the Navy, a grand total of, well, 14 months have been spent in training. The only naval vessels I've seen have been museum ships or in pictures. My current phase of training has sent me off to Saratoga Springs, NY, the upstate home of horseracing. In that horseracing season has yet to kick off, there really isn't too much to do in the area, so one Saturday, I decided to make the 45 minute drive to Albany and see what was there. You know, it never hurts a place to have a look at it.
While driving around, I come across the USS SLATER, DE-766. During World War II, DEs (destroyer escorts) were tasked with protecting shipping from U-boats in the Atlantic, and a wide range of threats from the Japanese in the Pacific. It just so happens that, of the 560+ built during the war, only one is still afloat. (There is a second, USS STEWART, but she's on dry land and, she'll pardon my saying so, is in rather unfortunate shape.) Figuring that being the last of anything left on the planet is enough claim to fame, I decided to take the tour. Long story short, I decided about halfway through the tour that SLATER needed another volunteer, and I had just the man for the job: me. After the tour was over, I took my tour guide off to the side and broke the news. Within 10 minutes, I had filled in and submitted an application.
That was two weeks ago. Today, Saturday, I qualified as a tour guide myself. But I have to finish off this basement, and I'll try to do so in good time, for your benefit. I am a Third Class Machinist's Mate in the Navy. Which means, basically, if it hisses, hums, whirrs, whirls, spins, or coughs smoke, steam, air or water, it's my job to know about it, maintain it, and fix it. And what major spaces have yet to be restored? Why, the engineering spaces! (You know, where most of the things that hiss, hum, whir, whirl, spin or cough smoke, steam, air and water live?) So most Saturdays I spend in the engineering spaces, cursing stuck valves and rusted over pipes (while trying to repair them), and the Sundays I take the time to show folks around.
Okay, so that basement is finished off. Kind of laborious, but what well-done project isn't? For your information, the rest of this blog will be devoted to detailing the work I do on SLATER, and will be updated as I get to it, but it should be about weekly. Oh, and if you want to finish off this basement, you know, hang some drywall, run some plumbing and electricity down, maybe turn it into a guest suite or maybe a rec room, everything you need to know can be found at www.ussslater.org.
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