Chapter One ~ Return to Contents~
Writer’s Den
The
Foolishness of Youth
Often
when I tell this story, I get that look.
An eyebrow will cock, a snarl will play on a face, or someone will shake
his or her head in disbelief. Few
people are rude enough to call me a liar.
Most folks are polite enough to marvel at my story, their expressions
belying their words. Though this
response is disingenuous, it’s done with good intentions. On the other hand, there are family
members and friends who take my story at face value and a small number accept
it outright, as the God’s honest truth.
To these folks I should dedicate my novel. For those doubters, who can’t believe two teenagers could
get away with such an act, I have written this book.
So
where do I begin? Surely, it must
begin with the person who thought up this escapade: Bernie Suarez. I would never have dreamed of
attempting such a foolish feat, myself.
Truth be told, though, I was ready for such an adventure. I had always wanted to go to some
exotic place I had read about in books.
Why not Hawaii? There was,
Bernie told me, a famous naval base there—Pearl Harbor, a fantastic beach, and
lots of Hawaiian girls—just my kind of outing. It was only a few months until graduation, and I had no idea
what I was going to do with my life.
Of course, if I had been serious about my future as many other students,
it would never have been tempted.
In fact, I would never have been at my naval air reserve meeting at Los
Alamitos where the proposition was hatched. I was restless and on edge. Many of my high school friends were talking about college or
joining the service. I was, at
that time in my life, not college material, and the very thought of going off
to fight a future war, such as the recent conflict in Korea, seemed terrifying. I had never gotten along well with my
parents, so I couldn’t stay at home, at least not for long, and yet the
alternative unless I got a job, found my own place, and bought a car after
graduating, was joining up with the navy, army, air force, or marines. That day I talked to a navy recruiter I
was presented with a short term solution: join the naval air reserves, attend
weekly meetings, until attaining the rank of airman apprentice or higher, and
then, at a time of my choosing, serve two years of active duty on an aircraft
carrier at sea. So, just as there
was a precondition in my mental state for letting Burnie talk me into our trip
to Hawaii—the desire for adventure, there had been a precondition in my mind
for joining the naval air reserves: a short term solution for my sloth and lack
of ambition.
The
naval air reserves in 1960 included bases such as Los Alamitos, Alameda, and
Barber’s Point, all of whom Bernie and I would visit in a series of hops
(flights on military aircraft), which in our case were fraudulent, unscheduled
capers by two teenage recruits.
Today, thanks to budget cuts, these bases no longer exist. For that matter, the aircraft carrier I
would one day serve on, the USS Hornet, is a floating museum. The navy, as a whole, has changed. Sailors are treated much better now. There is more equality; in fact there
are women sailors, just as there are women soldiers, airmen, and marines. When I served on the Hornet, it was all
men. The only women we had on
board were visiting wives, relative, and friends. Those lucky sailors in today’s navy share their ships with
women. I must say things have
improved for servicemen as a whole.
In most ways, however, the laws and ordinances in the navy haven’t
changed. If anything, because of
Homeland Security and the threat of terror, the security on bases and
regulations for travel are stricter…. You certainly couldn’t get away with what
Bernie and I had done. We would be
in Federal Prison if we tried that today.
But
this conclusion is seen through the lens of time. At first, I only suspected that what we were doing might be
illegal and wrong. Ironically,
despite the dangers of such a harebrained plan, the meetings at Los Alamitos
where the plan was first conceived were the safest place for a guy like
me. I wasn’t a risk-taker. I had no desire to break the law. There was little or no stress in this
stage of my intentions to join the naval air reserve. As soon as I turned eighteen, I signed up and bragged to all
my friends. Though I realized it
was a serious move, it seemed like a logical step for a slacker like me, far
better than going to basic training to become a GI or a Marine. One day I would have to go active
on an aircraft carrier. Who knows,
during my inactive duty, I might even get a job, go to a junior college, and
get motivated. I would have plenty
of time to decide. There was no
telling, considering the communist countries and unrest in the world, what
dangers lie ahead, but I was better off than my pal Tommy Walker, who was going
to join the Army and Sammy Stewart, who was signing up for the Marines. Anyhow, considering my options, that
was a long time away. All that
would change one day, but that would require another book. Herein lies one story from my life, my
Hawaiian Escapade, inspired by nothing more than the foolishness of youth.
Chapter One ~ Return to Contents~
Writer’s Den