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You see
the sea is beguiling in both its depth and beauty...
It can look peaceful and loving...
and then can change to a hate-filled monster
that you had never dreamed...
Men who have lived on the sea share a common way of life
a common way of speaking,
a common way of living...
that those ashore can not understand...
Regardless of the century
or the nationality,
the men of the sea
all face the same hazards... and potential disasters...
Tons of steel that can shift, roll and move...
The steel that holds back tons of pressured water...
per square damned inch...
Fuel oils that can
and does leak
and ignite
and explode...
your flesh.
Electrical current that runs everywhere
through a virtual city...
made of electrical conducting steel...
And these are some of
the hazards within the all mighty ship.
Outside the ship,
there is the weather...
the sea itself...
with millions of prying fingers
trying to tear your ship
apart under you...
and over you...
And in the water below,
you can be terribly torn
and eaten...
quickly and without effort...
Imagine, ohhhh damn...
In this hostile environment,
that you people ashore call beautiful...
Imagine, for one damn moment,
that upon this great and dangerous beauty,
you conduct warfare...
War, with other men just like yourself....
Even God in all of his firmaments
sir...
turns his mighty head
to watch this in passing...
This mighty Man o' War...
An easy one million tons of steel on the hoof...
balanced to the weather decks
and kill ready...
and those sir, are her sisters behind...
Her only purpose in her whole existence...
is to kill and kill other men
many times over...
on the shore...
in the air...
upon the sea...
and under...
She is unlike anything you have ever known....
She is fat and sassy...
Bold as brass...
heavy and dark...
Good and trusty men live inside of her...
and love her, my God!
they love her!
like women ashore
can only dream...
They would to the number...
die instantly for her...
because only here at sea....
only here on this mighty ship...
is the ship greater than any
damned individual on it...
Greater...
because the ship is life itself...
All else at sea
sir...
is certain death...
The individual Sailor
sir...
cannot live...
without his ship...
It's the men aboard these ships
that this series is about...
Men that you probably never knew
and will never meet...
You see, the sea holds a long line of tradition...
We might live in modern times...
sir...
but the ways
and the dangers of the sea
have not...
and do not...
change.
The dangers,
the concerns,
the laughter,
the prayers...
and oh my God
the cursings too...
are still very much the same
with the sailors of every damn nation
on earth...
and with the sailors
of every age...
You have been seeing a
variation of a knot
sir...
Its called a "Turk's Head".
For the sailor it is a simple play knot
that amuses
and delights
his heart.
Yet, in a way it is symbolic
sir...
of the strange complexities
and dreams
that go to make up his life.
Why do men who go to the sea
fall so deeply...
so longingly...
so infinitely...
and oh my God,
so finally...
in love with her...
and are willing to forsake
a dry, warm home...
and the loving arms
of family...
The man below is named Mr. John Skon.
He's an American Sailor on a Man o' War
the USS Raleigh...
sir...
He's a gunner's mate
of the finest quality...
Take a good look at him...
because this man...
is just like me...
sir...
doing his job...
and doing his damned duty...
Gunner Skon is shown here at his gun...
and I know sir...
he lived with that gun...
he lived on that gun...
he loved that gun...
and loved also the heavy cold steel
that hugged him
all around...
On the 1st of may,1898...
in Manila bay, Philippines...
sir...
the gunner John Skon took that gun and fired it
from the USS Raleigh...
Oh my God...
And the blast of it
ripped like a line drive...
delivered out of hell
sir...
straight into the enemy...
and shattered...
bone and plate...
He fired the first shot...
Oh, Damn!
that started...
the Spanish American War...
I have heard the stories of the sea...
and of war...
told by the gloried gray heads
of the old salts...
Just like these men below...
I have gathered also
like angels
before that great throne...
and bathed our heads
in the rich experience
where no rule or knowledge
goes before...
the majestic rule of war...
and the God awful knowledge of survival...
These are master seamen...
make no mistake...
sir...
Angels before their throne...
before their almighty oceans...
This picture above
in time was taken on board of
the steam corvette...
the USS Mohican...
Though I cannot know what they are saying
sir...
I do know how they are saying it...
I know they are laying tradition
like carefully placed stones
for tombs
in the wake of a
Sailor's life...
oral traditions...
Just as they learned,
damn it,
I also learned...
of my love for the sea...
This is a grand Turk's Head centerpiece.
There has never been a machine made
that can produce anything close to these knots...
all sir
were made by human hands...
all sir, made only
by
Sailors' hands...
The End
of part one
of three
Parts
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