Something Promised and Something Amusing

Here is that picture I promised and something Amusing.

Coasties come in all shapes, shades, weights, sizes, and states of sobriety, misery, and confusion. They are sly as a fox, have the nerve of a dope addict, the sincerity of a politician, and the subtly of Mt. Saint Helens. They are extremely irresistible, totally irrational and completely indestructible. A Coastie is a Coastie all their life. They are a magical creature. You can kick them out of your house but not out of your heart. You can take them off your mailing list but not off your mind. Coasties are found everywhere... in love...in battle... in lust... in trouble...in debt...in bars and ... behind them. No one can write so seldom and yet think so much of you. No one else can get so much enjoyment out of a letter or clean clothes or a six pack. A Coastie is a genius with a deck of cards. A millionaire without a cent and brave without a grain of sense. They are the PROTECTOR OF AMERICA. When they want something it's usually 30 days leave, music that hurts the ears, a five dollar bill...or a woman/man they can count on. Girls and guys love them, mothers tolerate them, fathers brag about them, the government pays them, the police watch out for them and somehow they all work together. You can beat their bodies but not their minds. You can tame their hearts but not their souls. They dislike small checks, working weekends, answering letters, eating chow, waking up, maintaining a uniform, and the day before payday. You may as well give in. They are your long distance lover...they are your steel eyed, warm smiling, blank minded, hyperactive, over reacting, curious, passive, talented spontaneous, physically fit, good for nothing bundle of worry..... And will always be there for you regardless of how long its been since you've last talked. So next time you see a Coastie, thank them for the sacrifices they have made, buy them a beer and ask for a sea story.

I got that from a from now FS3 Rivera, a shipmate that was up here not to long ago. Who got it from someone else, but all that matters is that you get to read it now.