Since I have been relating everything to literature in some way, I was hard pressed to make a connection today. Hmm...what to do? What to say? There have been many poems about boats, ships, and other vessels. Much has been written about the wars. We just finished reading Red Badge in this class, but that was the Civil War, not WWII, and there were no aircraft carriers, subs, or destroyers on Henry's battlefields. I finally came up with...heroes, wars, and boats.
My dad is a WWII Navy veteran, one of my heroes. He died three years ago from mesothelioma, a disease he contracted from the asbestos that had lain dormant in his lungs since he was on the Destroyer Escort, DE Eldridge. The visit to the USS Yorktown was one that put me close to my dad and his stories. He would have loved the walking tour we took (four of the six within the ship, then the DD Laffey which was also docked next to the aircraft carrier). Actually our visit would have been double or even triple in time had he been with us because he would have had stories about the bunks, the galley, the bathrooms, the torpedoes...all of it he would have shared. Even though the ship (and I often called his DE a 'boat' and was promptly corrected each and every time) was much larger than Dad's, some things were the same and he would have shared all of the details. I wish he had been with us.
While we were walking on the flight deck and looking at the planes there, I spotted a group of sailboats in the water between the Yorktown and Charleston. There was a motorboat, I think, in front of the group, and as they approached the bridge, they seemed to stop and perform a type of routine. Finally I guessed that those steering the sailboats were taking 'sailboat sailing classes' of some sort and learning different moves. Someone in the main motor boat must have been transmitting commands because the sailboats would move in a circle around the motorboat, then split off into groups of two or three, then move in a straight line. It was rather comical watching some of the boats tip so far over that I feared they would capsize, but then they seemed to right themselves and all was well, until the next move! What seemed so simple to me as a spectator was probably frustrating and difficult to the individual sailors. I could compare this activity to my experience with my husband, canoeing down Sugar Creek at Turkey Run State Park a few summers ago. Paddling the oars a certain way made the canoe travel in a specific direction, and I am sure the sailors were struggling with their sails and the wind also. Longfellow in "A Psalm of Life" (ENGL 222) said 'Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife!" Each one of those sailors today was striving to succeed and not follow the others as they tipped and swayed in the water!
A different connection to lit was found in the Medal of Honor room. Here I learned several things---O'Hare Airport was named for a Medal of Honor recipient, and a post office in New York was named recently for another one. Obama has awarded just one Medal during his presidency. I began reading Seal of Honor last night, and Michael Murphy came to mind, plus the play on words for the title of the non-fiction book.
There you go! Connections! I can make connections to just about anything....just give me some time and I will do it.
In the pictures today you will see my husband in front of the USS Yorktown, a picture of a Navy helicopter, and the sailboats-in-training and the HUGE bridge. Enjoy!
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