Notes from Africa

HAH. I just had the fondest memory.

It was the summer of, say... 2001. Yeah, i think it was then. Around that time, I was really into growing Bonsai. Yep, I would go outside, right after school, and prune and water those little babies. It was a hot day, and the sun was beating down through the old Maple tree in the backyard. The side gate was open, and I could see my dad talking with Neighbor Val (For that is what we called him, and still do). Me, I was sitting there on the garden swing, reading a book. I remember Val walking in through the side gate, and seeing my Japanese Maple Bonsai collection. His first reaction was, "David, are you growing Marijuana?" I, of course, immediately started laughing. The leaves of the Japanese Maple definitely are reminiscent of the dreaded cannabis. I had to tell him that I wasn't growing pot... that was the fun part. He got a big laugh out of it, and said to me, "Haha, Dave, I was just kidding." Xavier's dad always had a great laugh. Funny guy, too.
Another memory, not so fondly looked upon, but still something i would never take back, was a few weeks later. A month prior, I had gotten a Serissa japonica... a somewhat more difficult to care for flowering plant. Now, I was definitely a beginner when it came to caring for this specimen, but I had done my best, and it had finally flowered! I had uprooted it about a week prior, and stuck it in the soil at an artistic slant, in order to give it the look of a wild and unkempt tree. Well, i stuck it out in the front yard, because that's where the morning and afternoon sun always seem to strike the most. One day, on the way back from school, I noticed something odd right away. My precious bonsai was uprooted, and then stuck back in at a 90 degree angle. I was furious!!! I asked around the house, "Who could have uprooted my bonsai!" My parents and sisters were all clueless; they had no idea. Hours later, one of the neighborhood kids showed up at the door. "Hey, David!!! Did you see what I did to your tree?!? I fixed it!!! It was at some crazy angle, and I fixed it!" Oh man, was I ever angry. I definitely told him off, but it was hard to stay mad at someone who was seemingly so innocent. Who are we to hold a grudge?

It's been several hours now. The Helicopter is still dancing with our flight deck. How much longer will this last? Who says we don't do any work? I've been monitoring the communications circuit with these flyboys for going on 3 hours now. I doubt any of you know, but our ship had a pretty serious run-in with a chopper several years ago, before my time. I have to video, actually... Try to imagine... It was a blustery, choppy day, out in the capes of the chesapeake bay. The flight deck crew was waving in a chopper, coming in at a normal speed. As the ship takes a wave off the starboard bow, the flight deck lurches and swiftly falls below the crest of the wave. The chopper tries to complete the landing, and indeed, he does. As the Seahawk lands, the pilot fails to lock the landing gear into the landing chassis. The ship takes another wave. The helicopter teeters and starts to fall on it's side. The pilot successfully turns off the blades, as the mighty machine falls all the way over. At this point, the video cuts off. I really don't know why they didn't continue filming. Perhaps someone edited it? Hours later, the flight crew successfully raises the Seahawk right-side-up. Now, can you see the necessity of training? It makes it no easier to bear, but you can see why we have to go through so many periods of sea time.

Well, this has been one of the more comtemplative blogs. I think posting these things has been a pretty good experience for me. In the years after high school, i've found that i've been typing less and less. It's good for me to express myself typographically, and exercise my mind a bit. I suppose this helped pass the time a bit, but it doesn't draw from the fact that I have 10 hours left of watch, and my best friends are out doing Karaoke right now. Have fun!