Short!
In Viet Nam it meant something other than you may think...
You could ask a guy there how long it would be before he would return to "The World" and he would certainly be able to tell you how many days until his DEROS, "Date Eligible to Return from Overseas". He might even be able to tell you how many days AND hours he had left. If his "DEROS" was less than 30 days, he was considered "Short".
That's sorta the situation I find myself in today.
We've had a glorious stay in Destin. Torrential rain the first couple of days gave us the ability to take care of the "honey-do's". Since then we've had sun every day with temps in the low 80's accompanied by light on-shore breezes. Nearly perfect weather. I went to Pensacola Tuesday, grabbed Mother and brought her back here so she could keep her eye on her beloved Pelicans. She's been a delight and has had a good stay.
Today I take her back to Pensacola.
Tomorrow we pack the car, keep our fingers crossed we'll have no more battery related problems.... (we've had no more difficulties with it since we've been here), and point our noses Northbound. Unlike being "Short" in Viet Nam, it's a melancholy time.
Although obviously it's the talk of the town, there's been no oil so far and everyone is praying the "Dome" system they 're now lowering in an attempt to cap the Deep Horizon well will stop the flow of oil. On the beach yesterday I looked as far as I could see East and West and tried to imagine what even slight amounts of oil residue would do to the sugar-white sand here...
What will happen to the dolphins, pelicans, and all the other living things dependent on that crystal clear water?
It's heartbreaking to even consider it.
So it's Saturday.
Sunday is our travel day.
Sara Jean has to be back to work and I have a student to fly with Monday.
I'll be back in the BK Wednesday night.
Tanned, relaxed, refreshed, "recreated"...
Although it's sad to see it end, the week here has served it's purpose...
It has recharged OUR batteries and has given us wonderful memories.
We're already planning our return in October.
Updated:
The Bob has interesting insights into the spill. Start at his 28 April article and read your way to his most recent post.
4 comments:
Sounds to me like it's the northern end of your journey that's on the short list. I'm hearing definite retirement sounds in them there words...
And, for your information - we had snow here today.
cjh
Whenever we're leaving the parking lot of the Moonspinner at Panama City Beach, I grab the door handle and imagine myself running out the car and hiding behind a bush. I can't bear to leave. I hate being land-locked.
It's so hard to leave the gulf.
All good things must come to an end.
Dang it.
"Short" has the same meaning in my line of work.
Speaking of retirement, because of a host of factors, it looks like I might have to hang it up next year, with 36 years on. I don't think I'm mentally ready to go there yet. But I may have no choice.
I guess you could say I'm potentially short.
BZ
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