mind of the beholder
... it was early evening, stars were beginning to peek out. and what was i doing on the deck ? cursing ! I was a gas engineer then and was technically 'on-call' 24 hrs. we had to do some internal cargo transfer and i was summoned to be stationed at the tank dome to monitor the cargo transfer. lines were being set up, while i waited. the constant drone over the walkie talkies ...
" ... charlie 601 open, golf 503 shut ... "
" ... confirm aft liquid header isolated "
" ... affirmative."
poor chap, that cadet, he was out on the deck like me, he was moving around setting valves at the chief officer's command.
i was not really in the best of moods. nobody likes to work after hrs. it was toward the end of my contract and my efficiency graph was dipping pretty seriously.
" B ... u ready out there, starting the pump."
" roger that, standing by"
well, there really wasnt much for me to do, except check pump parameters or lookout for leakages. we stopped for a while. lazy bum, that i was, started looking for a place to sit. we had wooden planks on the tank dome and there was enough place for me to lie down, staring at the sky. my mind was clouded with thoughts of my sign off
the starry sky, the cool breeze ...
will i be relieved on time ...
the moon, the object of desire for many ...
what is taking the company so long to reply ...
why would so many people think the moon was so beautiful
i wonder if my mail reached the office
" B ... one more time, stand by"
yeah right, back to work. was desperate to get it over with.
a few days later, when the captain informed me that my reliever was on his way, it was not a moment too soon. and yes, i was back on the planks staring at the sky. my, it looked awesome. so many stars and the moon, yes the moon, it was so beautiful ...
beauty and the mind of the beholder
" ... charlie 601 open, golf 503 shut ... "
" ... confirm aft liquid header isolated "
" ... affirmative."
poor chap, that cadet, he was out on the deck like me, he was moving around setting valves at the chief officer's command.
i was not really in the best of moods. nobody likes to work after hrs. it was toward the end of my contract and my efficiency graph was dipping pretty seriously.
" B ... u ready out there, starting the pump."
" roger that, standing by"
well, there really wasnt much for me to do, except check pump parameters or lookout for leakages. we stopped for a while. lazy bum, that i was, started looking for a place to sit. we had wooden planks on the tank dome and there was enough place for me to lie down, staring at the sky. my mind was clouded with thoughts of my sign off
the starry sky, the cool breeze ...
will i be relieved on time ...
the moon, the object of desire for many ...
what is taking the company so long to reply ...
why would so many people think the moon was so beautiful
i wonder if my mail reached the office
" B ... one more time, stand by"
yeah right, back to work. was desperate to get it over with.
a few days later, when the captain informed me that my reliever was on his way, it was not a moment too soon. and yes, i was back on the planks staring at the sky. my, it looked awesome. so many stars and the moon, yes the moon, it was so beautiful ...
beauty and the mind of the beholder
posted by Balls at 12:32 AM
3 Comments:
You know, thats weird, I was staring at the moon last night and thinking it was beautiful, but then I wondered why people always thought it was.
Hmmm, something strange is in the air I think.
hey jenny, nice of you to pop by. it sure is weird, alright.
Hiya Balls...been a long time and finally I have caught up with you and your blog.
Mate, I see that your cruising has brought you to Australia! ;-) Dunno if you remember, but I have been in Melbourne for the best part of the last two years. If you are still hanging around Fremantle, let me know. Maybe we can chat up atleast over the phone!
So long then mate, have a good 'un! ;-))
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