Youth Ain't Everything

Sitting around with the old girl, we have such laughs about the old days. You might not think she was such a looker, but I remember. She says she remembers when I could spot the fishing boats coming in at a mile offshore, full of hungry fishermen, so the coffee would be fresh and hot soon as they pushed open the door to our place down by the docks.


I was in the merchant marines when we met. She was singing on the cruise ships. Hawaii layover. You can guess the rest. I quit the service, if you want to know, and got a job in the engine room of the cruise ship. Yeah, just like that.


And now it's going on 40 years or so. She still sings like a bird every day, hanging out the wash or cooking that bouillabaise I love, even after we closed up our place. And she still calls me Sailor Boy, and other stuff I am not going to tell you about because you young folk just don't understand.


Youth ain't everything, you know. Not by a long shot.