A Little Bit of Old School Sailing

I just completed a voyage on an offshore supply vessel. While these ships tend to stay within a hundred miles of the coast of Texas or Louisiana, this one made a coastwise passage to Panama for specialty cargo. The voyage included a transit of the Panama Canal. As I had learned, the canal is of strategic importance to the United States, but the large majority of ships are in bi-ocean trading across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, perhaps without a stop at any port of the United States. So, the ship had a little bit of crew internet, but not a Starlink setup. In the offshore supply trade, vessels tend to stay in port or near a rig, where cell service is available. Particularly for the deck department, robust internet during transit from port to rig could be a liability, as there are a lot of obstacles to avoid- including abandoned oil platforms. In my case, the vessel was anchored off the coast of Panama for a good amount of time, so I was able to obtain daily access to Facebook, Reddit, and phone calls once we had completed the journey down the Mosquito Coast. As it was on Election Night, I had gone to sleep in the afternoon, and woke up to a changed America. What had happened? Congress had been punished, as one conservative pundit put it, for not doing its job in reigning in the President’s excesses. Congress was a doormat when it should have acted as a co-equal branch of government. Granted, there were some sensible things the President did, such as paying Coast Guard personnel during the DHS shutdown, reciprocal tariffs (not including punitive tariffs), and as I noticed on my return to the United States, dedicated customs lines for US Citizens, as every other country in the world offers their own citizens. I also thought, what if movement conservativism has won everything it has asked for since the Reagan Administration? Certainly, it has taken decades to appoint court justices, establish legal theories, and move the American consensus from New Deal Liberalism to embracing neoliberal economics. Looking at the checklist of issues, abortion has been returned to the states, second-wave feminism has run its course, parental rights in education (including home schooling, religious education, and charter schools) are the strongest they have been since compulsory schooling began, and firearm rights have expanded from hunting rifles to include handguns and possibly other commonly-owned firearms such as the AR-15. In a way, socially conservative, working-class Republicans got tired of winning. The Republican Party needs to find a path forward, something more inspiring than merely maintaining the status quo. Part of this may include embracing populist economic programs, as right-wing governments have done internationally. While working-class conservative voters may rail against other peoples’ entitlements, nobody wants their iron rice bowl broken.

Isaias' Weekend

While I was safely moored in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, Hurricane Isaias absorbed the summer heat of the southern Gulf, including of the particularly dry August, and turned it into a fast-growing storm that, after hitting the Gulf Coast near Pensacola, Florida, is sending rain into the Tennessee Valley. Reporters described the lightning as vicious and continuous, and the air blowing with tropical heat. What rain was owed to me on the moored oil tanker in August came all at one, as an October hurricane. Another fury is stirring in the news. I find it significant that Vice President J.D. Vance has stated he would not view the upcoming execution of the Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Hasan. As bizarre as the “livestream” method of witnessing is; it is not clear if the proceedings will be limited to Department of Defense circuits, or if the Secretary intends to make it available to the general public, a move highly criticized by many political and moral leaders. Mr. Vance’s demurral made me think about how he is well-regarded by the ordinary Marine and military member, and on the historic disconnect between leadership and the rank-and-file about the efficacy of public military executions. The famous case of Eddie Slovik comes to mind. Major General Cota stated about Slovik’s execution for desertion by the US Army: “If I hadn't approved it—if I had let Slovik accomplish his purpose—I don't know how I could have gone up to the line and looked a good soldier in the face”. Somewhat earlier, the United Kingdom’s public execution of deserters during World War One did not foster espirit de corps, but resentment and disillusionment; PTSD or “shell-shock” in that conflict too often resulted in a death sentence. A firing squad execution by the US Army is novel enough in the present day to demonstrate the severity of Nidal Hasan’s crimes. A voyeuristic media spectacle adds nothing of value.

Clouds Move, But Not All Ships Do

In August, when I was working in the Gulf off the coast of Texas, we had no days of rain. I was familiar with the tropical-like afternoon storms, but the first drizzle I received in August to cool the hot steel deck was a drizzle from Tropical Storm Edouard. But the dense clouds were a pleasant sight, providing for the first sub-90 degree day in weeks. And like that at home in Norfolk begins fall. Clouds overhead and weather within seasonable range (that is, below 80 degrees in mid September). The bonus summer weekends after Labor Day were beneficial for our beachfront commerce. I had spent a mere month on the ship off of Texas, and I anticipate going back again for a third stint. I guess Im a regular part of the crew now.

Arthur Miller's Life and Times

In reading “Death of a Salesman”, I became intrigued about the 20th century travelling salesman. I was moderately aware that hotels of the prewar era featured suites that doubled as showrooms, but had the feeling that the travelling salesman faded into obscurity. In the play, Willy Loman was at the peak of his career at the dawn of World War One (when he named the infant Howard, who would become his future boss). I found statistical evidence that there was a decrease in the number of salesmen over the 1920s. There was the use of telephone in business (as the 84-year old Singleton did in the play), which allowed making many virtual sales calls per day. There was also the centralization of business, where buying decisions were no longer made by individual store managers, but within the offices of a conglomerate. On the selling side, there was a flight to high performers; quality and performance over quantity of sales personnel. Who can forget Ben Loman’s cryptic proclamation that “When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich”. It’s not really clear if Ben, at the turn of the 20th century, had ventured to the Yukon Territory or colonial Africa. But to a contemporary student, this is an appealing prospect of winning the American dream. There are still many salesmen working on commission today. They don’t lug around heavy valises, but will ring you up to sell software or other services.

Third Battle of Bull Run

You need to pay attention when progressive environmentalists and Civil War enthusiasts are working hand-in-hand. Such is the case of a planned data center complex that would’ve been visible from Manassas National Battlefield. This hallowed ground- and its lack of suburban development- is cut solely by Lee Highway and Interstate 66, and is a stark contrast to the dense, freeway-based sprawl on both sides of this historical area. The battlefield gained local relevance when it became the adoptive home of adjacent Fairfax City’s Confederate War Memorial, commemorating the first soldier killed in action during the Civil War. Nor was this the first threat to Manassas National Battlefield: short-lived plans in the 1990’s called for construction of a new Walt Disney World complex in this area. In recent months, the Virginia Supreme Court nixed the data center proposal. In this circumstance, the data center was really a bad idea, especially when other parts of the City of Manassas and Prince William County are already equipped for new facilities. But it was a watershed moment, as cultural momentum nationwide quickly turned against the energy-gobbling, water table consuming facilities. Which I believe is an unfortunate reaction. In the past and to this day, conventional and nuclear power plants provided many shoreside second careers for marine engineers; and data centers were growing to provide the same roles. As someone described the qualifications of a marine engineer to operating a data center: “when you’re on a ship, you generate power and, using only the tools you have onboard. Compare that to a data center getting electricity from the public utility, and calling in reinforcements if a job gets difficult”. On another note: Leon Weckstein, an American soldier, had the Leaning Tower of Pisa in his crosshairs while liberating the Italian city from the Nazis in 1944. The famous tower may well have collapsed before the turn of the 21st century, as happened to the medieval Civic Tower in Pavia, in 1989. However, engineers were able to make the first effective fix to the tower’s dangerous lean. (lower the high side foundation of the tower, instead of trying to raise the low side).

Christened on the Fourth of July

I had been researching nostalgia for London’s pea-soup fogs of the 1950s and earlier, when I had the opportunity to experience one myself in Virginia. This was the acrid haze from Canadian wildfires, which have blanketed much of the eastern United States this week. While disconcerting to many residents, it reminded me of being in Bahrain and Dubai, where the sand mingles with the warm air. Leaving the United Kingdom behind, “America 250” would feel shallow if it was a veneer over crumbling foundations. Shortly before July 4th, the US Supreme Court affirmed the concept of birthright citizenship. This is the predominant practice in the Western Hemisphere, where one is automatically a citizen in the land of their birth. Citizenship by blood, as traditionally practiced in Asia and continental Europe, led to the problem of stateless residents when totalitarian governments stripped citizenship from undesired groups of people. I only recently learned that Britain practiced birthright citizenship until the end of its era of empire. So this principle of Americanism solidified, the celebration felt appropriate. With the plethora of available patriotic activities in June and July, one needed to chart their own course. Just one day, one week, or all month? There were naval and sailboat flotillas, the Great American state fair, vibe attire in red white and blue, firework shows small and great, and cancelled parades (it was a scorching week on the East Coast). I even came across Oliver Stone’s movie starring Tom Cruise, Born on the Fourth of July, watching it for the first time this year. To an extent, this annual celebration is a soft litmus test. Do you embrace the idea of the Fourth of July wholeheartedly, observe it dispassionately as a cultural phenomenon, or protest it? Overall, in communities across the nation, there is great staying power in the values of Mom and Apple Pie.

The Nuptial Detail

Over the weekend, I did a thing. I was a groomsman at a wedding for the first time. I didn't realize at the onstart that performing such a role is a series of intensive maneuvers. I had made other plans on both Saturday and Sunday morning, but decided to go with the flow. For those coming in from elsewhere, the travel is harder, but its easier to be "present". On being present, its often hard to do when you're at sea over half the year. Certainly, I've bought more wedding registry gifts for couples than Ive been to weddings. The come-to-Jesus moment for every mariner is the half-rhetorical question: "do you want to sail for the rest of your life and lose all your friends?" On the other hand, if one can set their work-life balance, as I did from the most recent hitch at sea, one can be more present. What is three days off to a mariner, when most workers have to carefully ration weekdays away from the job? Yesterday, I spent the day breaking down the wedding apparel: we handled swords in dress white uniforms. I'm glad I participated in this important event. Congratulations to Larry and Jen.