He was tied up and had missed the beginning of the tour, I was recapping. When I got to explaining about the CIC (Combat Information Center), I was relaying a point that Chief Schmidt made. The Chief told us how all the computers made it so much easier to share information being gathered by the Sea, Air & Surface components with the TAO & the CO. He brought up the parallel with Henry Fonda standing over the table with the ship models being pushed back and forth like shuffleboard.
My Marine....who is forever quizzing me....said "Midway! Point.....???" and the eyebrow went up. Clearly I was supposed to know the rest.
Nothing.
"Midway! Henry Fonda was Nimitz. Where was the rendezvous point? Point???"
"I'm not a Henry Fonda fan."
There was a strangled sound before he said "Luck! Point Luck! Go watch "Midway" seven times!"
I burst out laughing. "Ok, Sr. Mary My Marine! Do I have to have my parents sign off acknowledging I watched it seven times?"
I was picked on endlessly. Called a drama queen. Mocked when I said something wasn't my fault.....why do I hang with him?
Oh, yeah, he's witty and intelligent and I always have a good time. Don't tell him though, he's already got a ridiculously overblown ego.
Four plus hours after we sat down to lunch, he realized he had to hurry if he was to make his appointment back on the base. I am sure our waitress was thrilled that we tied up a table that long.
As we left the restaurant he said "I don't have time for a long goodbye." I was momentarily confused, but then I realized he was making a joke about our last visit together when Jen's car wouldn't start. That goodbye went on for quite a while, lol.
During lunch, he started in on me again about the shooting "Admit it! Admit you like shooting. You know you do!" You know, he is not a small man. He is very imposing. He is used to telling people what to do and they hop to it. I looked him dead in the eye. "I like you. I always have fun with you." This was not sufficient. Again he demands that I admit to liking shooting. So I needed
a red herring. "Did you know that Mary Ripley once met Andy Griffith?" His eyebrows come together. It's a total non-sequitar. "Ok..." I go on to explain that she told me the other day and I told her that she should repeat the story for him since I know what a fan he is. This successfully distracts him and we move on.
Whew!
All in all it was a very successful day. I was on time for the tour aboard USS Truxtun DDG-104 and enjoyed it very much. Wendy from "My Military Life" and her son made it. Her son is quiet and respectful....but better than that he is funny and engaging. This was also a smaller group of people from the Navy League and I felt, more enjoyable. When I am on the bigger tours, I miss a lot of what's being said. Ships are noisy, even in port.
Plus, since My Marine didn't show up until the second half of the tour, there was wasn't as much questioning. He is forever pointing at weapons and such - "Maggie.....what is this?"
But he more than served his purpose over lunch when he answered questions and let me bounce stuff off of him after I read the May issue of Armed Forces Journal (that I stole from a Sailor....hope you were finished with that, baby!)
1 comment:
I get taught all sorts of things that I didn't know I needed to know. So, naturally, I flub things on purpose. That's my job. Such as "Don't forget your hat!" where I'll get a stoic look, a slow blink and a one-word response, "Cover."
They just don't seem to understand that this is fun for us.
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