that the first call nurse? Get your stuff ready. We’re having a medical emergency up here. I’ll give the doc a call, as well. Hurry, it could be a heart attack!”
Quickly he hung up and glanced at his shoulder boards, where a meager four stripes glistened in the emerging daylight. Should he quickly place a call to the head office to confirm his promotion? No, it would be more humble to let the good news come from their side. Finally his day had come! He ran to his cabin to glance in the secret compartment of his travel bag where the 4½ stripe shoulder bars were ever-present and ready for use. He patted them tenderly, because soon now they would proudly decorate his shoulders. Then commotion outside his office in the corridor told him that the medical department had arrived to attend to the neighboring cabin.
“We brought the stretcher team!” the nurse panted.
Salivating, the chief looked at the electrical shock equipment they’d brought just to be on the safe side. Would he dare to ask the doctor, as a personal favor, to allow him to apply it? Where was the button to increase the force? He shrugged the appealing thought off. Better not…
“The door is locked! Fast, get the master key. The poor man needs immediate help!”
On the other side of the door, I was becoming vaguely aware of some unusual noises outside. But still half asleep, I figured that since they hadn’t called me yet for arrival, it would be best to block it out and try to sleep again. We get little enough rest as it is. This peaceful state of mind ended abruptly after the chief produced his master key and a horde of people surrounded me, slapping my face and pushing me around. What was this? A mutiny? I sat up straight.
“Get out of here! What do you think you’re doing?”
The lead nurse yelled, “He’s resisting! Give me my bag. We need to calm him down!”
Wide-eyed and trying to comprehend what was happening, I looked at a huge needle coming my way, but I was saved by the bell. A telephone bell! On the bridge, the first officer had gotten another call from his family asking when the nurse would arrive.
The First’s thinking, not being mixed up with thoughts of promotion, was a bit clearer than the chief’s, and he quickly put two and two together. When he opened the door of the wheelhouse to witness the chaos in the corridor outside my cabin and heard the strangled sounds coming from within, a big smile spread over his face. Not without glee he whispered the sad news in the chief’s ear that a slight mistake might have been made and that he’d better stop the performance or possibly risk a career U-turn.
Later that day, when we heard that the First’s father was doing well, we had a good laugh about the whole thing, but for this “old man” it was a warning never to trust the motives of the second in command!
Chapter 5
The Double
I had spent the night in a New York hotel and wasn’t in the best of moods. The room was barely adequate, the mattress full of lumps, and street noise freely entered the room through hidden cracks and crevices. The fact that I’d just left my wife behind at home and wouldn’t see her for months didn’t help much either to improve my frame of mind because I always feel a bit low for the first few days when I go to my ship. On the other hand I was looking forward to joining the ship, which makes for a strange combination of feelings – one I share with many others in my profession.
The company’s agent had left a message that I would be picked up at 8 am sharp and taken to the ship. After having a hearty breakfast I rolled my suitcases out the front door. The weather was beautiful, so why not wait outside? Sitting on a bench, to my surprise I saw an enormous tour bus turn into the hotel’s driveway. I wouldn’t have imagined this particular hotel to cater to groups of tourists. Then I dismissed the thing from my mind and looked around for my car because it was eight now. A long black limo entered the driveway. Would that be it? A bit overdone perhaps, but possible. The car drove by and I sat down again.
The eight o’clock sharp turned into eight-fifteen, and just as I reached for my phone to call the agent, the driver of the bus, who’d gone inside, walked toward me and from about thirty feet away he yelled, “Are you crew for that cruise ship?” With obvious distaste, he looked at my two bulging suitcases, knowing he would end up carrying at least one of them.
Somewhat taken aback, I answered that this was indeed the case, at which he started a lengthy tirade about some people wanting to be in a different hotel than the others. Nobody ever gave any thought to the bus drivers who had to pick them up. He had to drive all over the city to get me, and why was beyond him. Couldn’t I have stayed in the same place as the others? When finished, he put his hands on his hips and looked at me accusingly, as if ready to start again if I said one word. When this didn’t happen, he grabbed one of my suitcases, and with agitated movements, lugged it toward the bus. I know that when picking one suitcase from two identical ones, there is a fifty-fifty chance of picking the heavier, but I didn’t fail to notice that undoubtedly based on many years of experience, he selected the lighter one.
I decided not to bother and climbed into the bus and, as I expected by now, the thing was full with crew. They greeted me enthusiastically, which did a lot to improve my mood. They must have realized that I was still to be picked up and out of courtesy, and here I was quite sure the initiative did not come from the driver, had left an empty spot right at a front seat. I sat down next to an older gentlemen.
When traveling to a ship, my mind is usually occupied with all kinds of last minute things and a conversation with a future shipmate, who at that time is still a stranger, is not high on the agenda. This time it was different, because the man sitting next to me was a delightful fellow named Johnnie. He was a comedian, and one with an open mind for just about everything coming his way. I liked him instantly and we chatted amiably for the remainder of the hour-long trip to the ship.
After boarding the ship I went straight up to meet with my colleague and saw little of the comedian for a while. To be honest, I didn’t seek his or anybody’s company, being very busy. It was my first time on this particular ship and I had lots of things to pick up on. Building friendships would come later.
After a week or so I saw him in a bar sitting there with some of his friends. He waved when he saw me, and I assumed this was to say hello so I walked over.
“Would you join us for a drink?” he asked.
“No, I’m on my way to a meeting. Besides it’s a little too early for me.”
He smiled a knowing smile then winked meaningfully and touched the side of his nose with his finger.
“I understand, and certainly not when you’re in uniform. But I must say you’re fast in changing from your civvies. Too early for a drink? Well, let’s leave it at that. Dressed like that, you can’t play incognito anymore. Ha, ha!” He winked again and lifted his glass toward me.
“Cheers!”
A little perturbed and taken aback I looked askance at him, but then my beeper went off and I saw that I was late for the meeting. “Well, I’ve got to go.” When running off I wondered what in the world he could have meant with that last remark, but then dismissed it from my thoughts.
For the next day or two, Johnnie was far from my mind, but when I was walking on the pier in St. Maarten, somebody hailed me and right away I knew it was he.
“Nice to see you out and about, Captain. I just made a telephone call to my wife.”
With
