Last I heard from Jamie, they were about to cross the equator, which in the Navy is usually accompanied by much juvenile revelry and strange initiation practices.
I'm curious to hear how the shellback ceremony actually went, if the Navy still lives up to it's reputation. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Is it supposed to be something secretive and mysterious, like a frat initiation?
Jamie's never crossed the equator before. He was supposed to, toward the end of his first cruise, when they were on their way home from the Gulf and planning to round the tip of Africa and cross the Atlantic.
That's where they were on September 11, 2001, when the carrier made such a fast U-turn it shuddered and leaned sharply. When they were finally able to come home again, they came the efficient way through the Suez, and the era of leisurely meanderings through exotic seas and ports was over for awhile.
This is his first deployment in the Pacific, I know he is enjoying the different ports and seeing a little of Asia. How I wish I could meet the boat in Hawaii on their way home! But it's not to be, not with the 3 kiddos as young as they are. Someday.
For now, I'd settle for a Mai Tai and more frequent email.
