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.