I am hanging out here waiting on these guys. I worked awhile in my Day Timer. You would think that with a Day Timer, Palm Pilot, I could keep up with things. Here's what I said to these guys, "You guys have got to quit drag assing in here about noon. If we are going to wait till noon, we might as well eat lunch."

Naturally, they paid me about as much attention as a tree. I was there about thirty minutes before Michael and Gary showed up. I was sitting in a middle booth and these two guys in the next booth were jabbering away. And, guess what they were talking about? Mostly politics. I eavesdropped for about ten minutes intently before I got engaged in other stuff. It was the war, some politico trying to mess over the Boat People of Sausalito. (This is a group of early settlers on the water in their boats. They pay no rent, live on their boats and generally flaut the various laws. At least that is what the word is). Interesting looking twosome. One guy had no teeth. Now, that is interesting. Oatmeal I guess.

Contrast those guys to the girlfriends and I have to smile. You wouldn't believe it. Honestly, we talk about everything, tell war stories, women, politics--there are no subjects off limit. This morning, Ray told this great war story. As a twenty year old, he joined the Merchant Marines, kind of on a fluke. He needed a summer job and signed up. One day they called him and said they had a job on a ship, something like a transport ship taking old planes, parts, other sort of stuff to Vietnam. This is 1965.

The war has not really cranked up yet. So, he's on this ship with about thirty other guys, the youngest one by far. Basically, he's in the engine room sweeping floors. They go to the Philippines, then Pearl Harbor and finally in about a month end up in Vietnam. He has a night of off when they hit the port in Vietnam. So, here he is: this twenty year old, out by himself, away from home for the first time. He goes to this bar. There are these beautiful Vietnamese women and one comes over to him and says she is claiming him. What! Doesn't have a clue what is going on. Somehow he finds out that they have to pay the bar owner and then they can go somewhere. He gives the bar owner about $5 and then they go outside. He doesn't know anything, all he is interested in is getting some. Anyway, in those days in Vietnam, Madam Nhu, the corrupt premier who was a good Catholic, kind of a morals police. The girls could not be seen outside the clubs and then they couldn't even ride in the same taxis with the man. She tells the Ray to get in another taxi and she gets in one and he follows. They wind all around, alleys, all kinds of stuff and finally gets into this maze of apartments, finally get to hers and go in and it is a great little pad. They spend all night together, great night; he has to be back at the ship at eight andhe's up all night, finally realizes that at six, he's got to get out of there but no taxis and the gal gets him a pedicap. The guy is about a hundred who is pedaling the cab. He finally makes it back. Is this a great story or what? I might have to turn this into at least a short story.