They actually expected us to work, or try to look like we were doing something, from 0800 and 1600 every day. This was in addition to standing scheduled watches. Except for my first few weeks aboard Michelson in 1962, my watches were always in the Survey Control Center, where I attended to the radio navigation receivers, sonar and depth recorders. The navy tries to keep its people busy and out of mischief.
There was always some sort of "make work" activity, what my parents called a WPA project. How many people today know what was the WPA?
Two of us got to inventory the ship's gyro compass spare parts. While the mark 14 gyro belonged to the ship, not the navy detachment, we did it anyway. We became the inventory experts. Next we went through the radio officer's spares and counted them too. Not to end there, one of the officers decided that we should inventory the detachment's own electronic spare parts room. This unnecessary job took nearly a week but so what? It kept us out of trouble. Learning how the navy supply system worked, I ordered a dozen very much unneeded rat traps.
Somewhere in my travels I had bought a portable FM radio, which I kept in Survey Control for entertainment and news. FM broadcasting was then becoming a commercial success probably due to the advent of stereo broadcasting in 1958-59. Steaming north, but sometimes well over 100 miles from land, I was surprised how far the FM stations' VHF signals carried over open water. Music from Central American stations turned into music from Mexico, then American stations in California came in loud and clear.
My gin supply ran out two nights before reaching port at Oakland. Empty was my clandestine liquor locker! As reported elsewhere, our thirsty radio officer stopped me while going through the chart room to check on my booze supply. I had to tell him that, alas, it was all gone! He used to hang out there a lot. Perhaps Sparky and the second mate (our navigator) were drinking buddies.
 |
| Michelson underway. Photo from Chet Headley. |
