Eggnog Thoughts

I've never done a Christmas at sea. My ship was always in port, or I was on vacation. Such was the case last year, when I was in a Singapore shipyard. Many of us went 'out to town' and came back to the officer's mess with stories of our adventures in the city-state, where most venues and activities are open on Christmas Day. For Christians, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus; but in the broader societal sense, is about connecting with people, friends and family. In contrast to my experience with United States public vessels, most ships do not take a day off for Christmas. You might need a tap on the shoulder to remember that it is a day of joy and merriment; at the same time the folks back home are caught up in their Christmas activities- shopping, church, and gatherings. Here's to the seafarer in your life.

First Class Cabins for All

On the ships Titanic and Olympia, First class was not a monolith: while the titans of empires and businesses enjoyed a luxurious experience with multi-room suites and ocean views, many cabins could be assigned to either first- or second- class passengers, with the difference between the two classes being the public amenities available. Notably, the ship was constrained in both food refrigeration capacity and freshwater production. In terms of dining, adherence to the set menu was expected; and outside of top tier suites, bathtubs were supplied with saltwater, and tap water was rationed by cabin stewards. Third class accommodations, mainly occupied by working-class immigrants, were spartan, and meals predominately made of porridge, bread, and potato stew. In the postwar United States, the builders of the liner SS United States considered a two-class arrangement, breaking from the pre-war and European class divisions. Third class was retained, however, to allow economical transportation of enlisted military personnel. Today, on modern cruise ships, class distinctions have fallen away.

The Year of Yes

If I look over the past year, I could tell you that I've broaded my horizons. Not so much through international work travel, since that was already happening, but through journeys undertaken in the United States. What was the reason for doing it now? There was the fear of turning 30 and entering middle age (by some peoples' definition). It felt like the right time to complete items off the bucket list. There is also the fact that the quality of travel and accomodation services are returning to pre-COVID norms; more hospitality, and less travail. Supplementing my actual vacation time, this year I also received weeklong interludes of basket leave - or administrative leave- while awaiting training classes and travel to and from the 5 ships I have spent time onboard this year. In April, I submitted my package for a Chief Engineer's License, issued by the US Coast Guard in Baltimore. In May, I hiked the first 100 miles of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Maryland, with an interesting 5-day Turbo Activation of a reserve ship in-between the two hiking trips. In June, I learned how to dig holes with an excavator. I was surprised the construction equipment company rented it to me without proof of training. In July, I visited Tijuana, as my ship was in San Diego. In August, I drove an electric car long-distance to see the giant rubber duck in Crisfield, MD. This is where I boarded the ferry to Tangier Island, a historic community in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. In November, I attended a family Thanksgiving in Seattle. This was the first large reunion since 2019. And I am writing this blog post from Amtrak's southbound Crescent Train, an overnight trip from Washington, DC to New Orleans.

Signing Off the Ship

There I was, standing awkwardly on the MacArthur Promenade at Naval Base Sasebo, six hours before my bus was due to depart for the airport. I'd forgotten that most ships, especially those overseas, are in a continous state of motion. While I was packing to leave, the ship was preparing to go to sea for underway replenishment. You're with the mission, or you're left behind at the pier. For the past year, I'd ridden the edge cases: the ship that had a 50% crew turnover leaving the Singapore shipyard in January; two based in Norfolk that rotated officers every month; and another that shed most of its crew as it headed into the Portland, Oregon shipyard. But the shock was getting to me; there was no time to unwind while still onboard- I had to demonstrate equipment, evaluate crewmembers, and replicate or delete computer files. I'd be away from the ships until after the New Year; and I was unlikely to return to Japan - or to those characters on the USNS Yukon- in 2024. While no day onboard was the same, there was a particular routine. Be in the engine room at 0530 to check people in for overtime, come back at 0800 to handle urgent issues, and then attack the monthly preventative maintenance worklist. There was also the guilt of bounty: while the deck officers were counting their days overdue for relief (43! 90!), I was getting off early, as one of the other engineers onboard was promoted into my position as First Engineer, allowing one of us to leave. Although all the officers are US citizens, many grew up overseas, so there was confusion over why I wanted to sign off the ship before a red letter day (as seen on government calenders) called Thanksgiving. Red letter days were overtime days, after all. Then I remembered what I wanted to do, if I ever had the time in Sasebo. This was the best opportunity to take the train to Nagasaki; those in less senior positions, with time to spare on weekends, had often talked well of the city marked in history. The train station had baggage lockers; due to security concerns little need, there really is no public place to keep unattended baggage on military bases. Once my train was outside of Sasebo, I relized that I was a tourist on a paid vacation in Japan.

The End of Overtime

Overtime pay, “time and a half” by law, and sometimes higher by employer-labor agreement, has been one of the building bricks of the postwar middle class. The first working-class beneficiaries of this provision in the 1940’s were familiar with six-day workweeks, and for those who grew up on the family farm, a seven-day workweek. The 40-hour workweek was foremost a job-sharing measure to end the Great Depression, but was also recognized as a move that gave the workforce more time for rest and recreation. White collar professionals, domestic workers, and many small-boat mariners do not receive overtime pay. Over the decades, retail managers have also found themselves as “exempt” workers. At least one maritime officers’ union has switched contracts from overtime-eligible to pure salary. For those still eligible for overtime pay, the allure has lessened, especially among the youngest generations. Time-and-a-half doesn’t go as far as it used to. Oliver Anthony sung this year: “Overtme hours for bull---- pay”. Baby Boomers worked long hours to buy grown-up toys: seldom-used RVs and boats that are still in shape to be used by the next generation, no new payments needed. In the past, overtime hours were often voluntary, in that you opted to stay to finish a job, of signed up for an extra shift. But in a time of staffing shortage, mandatory overtime offers less flexibility. Where there might have been a sense of obligation for a sole breadwinner to earn a little more money after-hours, today’s more-than-likely two-income household must share domestic chores, and passing jokes in the air-conditioned control room may appear more enjoyable than Saturday diaper duty. To cope with these changes in expectations, factories that were once running 60-hour average workweeks are adapting to a two-shift schedule. As far as practices in deep-sea shipping, weekly workhours have probably increased in the past 50 years, with the reduction of dedicated positions such as Radio Officer, Purser, and Machinist. However, tours of duty on American ships have fallen from an average of 6 months to 3 months; work harder for fewer months per year. Reliable automation, like the new cargo winches onboard USNS Arctic requiring half the operators as older systems; and increasing the mean time between equipment failures, do hold promise for freeing up mariners’ time, while at sea.

Israel Has Ships

Israel has had a problem that was revealed by the 1970s. The Promised Land was oil-poor, compared to all of its neighbors. While the nation has embraced both low tech (water heaters) and high tech (electricity generation) solar energy, a war of survival- with its tanks and airplanes- relies on scare petroleum. While the details of such critical information is a military secret, Israel must maintain significant stockpiles of fuel. The Abraham Accords and previous agreements with neighbors Egypt and Jordan have reduced the existential threat - in trade, diplomacy, and military arenas- of hostile neighbor nations. But as much goodwill can come from peacetime trade, Israel’s neighbors are in no strategic position to provide fuel for Israel’s military. Thus, the US has for decades exported fuel to Israel on a run from Texas to Ashkelon via the Mediterranean Sea, on ships flying the American flag. With access to the Black Sea restricted on account of Turkey’s neutrality in the Ukraine war, this thin lifeline could be critical to the defense of Israel. Fortuitously, the US Maritime Administration increased subsidies for American oil tankers several years ago, putting this part of the fleet in a relatively robust position. Although less efficient in size than commercial tankers, the Military Sealift Command has an excess of fleet oilers as the new John Lewis class is introduced into service, with retiring ships in serviceable condition. Crewing of merchant vessels might present the weakest link. Wartime double pay proved to be sufficient incentive during the Vietnam and Gulf War eras. Even without this bonus, American ships have been successfully supplying defense materials to Eastern Europe for the past 18 months. But in terms of shipping, Israel is not dependent on allied nations. Zim, the nation's flagship line, sails globally, and has done so since the founding of the State of Israel.

Shutdown Averted

On Saturday night onboard a supply ship in the Phillipines (daytime in the US), I anxiously watched the news to see if the government would be working as usual in the morning. If I had paid attention earlier, I might've worried myself sick. Instead, and very fortunately, a compromise Continuing Resolution passed the House, then the Senate, and signed by the President shortly before midnight. Now, instead of receiving the more typical apporpriations, Military Sewlift Command dips from a different pot of money known as the Navy Working Capital Fund. The paychecks would continue to be issied and cleared, but based on previous experience, paid overtime hours would be curtailed to conserve money. Other services used by mariners, including the US Coast Guard's National Maritime Center, would offer reduced service in issuing license renewals, and upgrades would be put on hold. Those participating in the US Navy Reserve's Strategic Sealift Officer Force would see their annual training postponed. The US Merchant Marine Academy has sent midshipmen home during past shutdowns, although operations continued- with faculty on deferred pay- during the most recent shutdown. I could happily report to my crew that it would be business as usual, at least through Thanksgiving.

The Forgotten Maritime Movie from 2015

I was surprised to learn that the old-time New England whalerman movie "In the Heart of the Sea" was released way back in 2015. I had only recently seen this movie starring Chris Hemsworth as Chief Mate, and thought it was a new picture. Despite medicore reviews from the cinema intelligentia, the plot is compelling, and culminates in a board of inquiry that pits the Chief Mate against The Powers That Be. The film actually inspired me to make a trip to New Bedford, the center of 19th century whaling activity in the United States. Digging further, I understood why this movie did not gain traction in maritime circles, as the 2020 Tom Hanks action film "Greyhound" did. Personally, I was onboard the USNS Sacagawea in provincial Korea at the time, and thus could not view the movie in theater. As an industry, the film was released just two months after the SS El Faro disaster. Existential questions abounded concerning the roles of the US Coast Guard, the American Bureau of Shipping, the maritime unions that crewed the ship, the insurance companies, and the ships' senior officers; in that they all deemed the ship fit to sail- or were under financial pressure to keep quiet. All ears were tuned into daily findings from the ongoing deep-sea salvage effort; and later to what the NTSB would reveal in a present-day, real-life inquiry. For the movie producers, it was simply bad luck that the relative escapism of the sailship era was out of touch with the active concerns of the maritime community at the time. In conclusion, I believe that "In the Heart of the Sea" deserves a second look.

On Decommissioning a Suitcase

The suitcase has developed a terminal flaw. A wheel missing or a threadbare coat. It is now time to decommission the suitcase, and prepare it for new life as a storage box. Remove the airline luggage tags and stickers. The ones with your three-letter destination and the bright orange ones shouting"Priority". Toss the paper baggage tags- they rarely last more than one journey. Save the plastic baggage tags for your next suitcase- make sure the contact information is up-to-date. Take off the custom boonoggles that identify your bag from a hundred others on the airport carousel, including the ironic "remove before flight" lanyard. There will certainly be writing pens and change in the outside pockets. Save these for later. Check for cash and cards in the inside pockets. They have a propensity to get lost in there. Don't forget Saint Christopher's memento. Make sure he keeps travelling with you in future years.

What Happened when We Expected More of Ourselves

In 1975, the US Naval Institute reported on the status of the US Merchant Marine, then in its federally-subsidized heyday. Its officers, sons of the middle or stable working class, were disillusioned with the rambunctious, hedonistic crewmembers sent forth by the union hiring halls. Being manager, foreman, diplomat, and warden, these officers' skills could be put to productive use in business ashore, rather than a professional career at sea. In 1983, CJ Forsyth reported the same sociological conditions in a Louisiana State University thesis on the occupationally-induced marginality of Amerocan seafarers. Just a decade later, the carefree "sea daddy" was gone. Mandatory drug testing did him in. Initially, unions were wary of this mandate, believing it was another device in management's toolbox. Yet, with the higher standards implemented, safety, efficiency, and morale improved. In the past couple of years, a one-time in-service maritime training requirement on human resources came into full effect. This was a collection of coursework, which for seagoing engineers included a total of three weeks in human resource management, leadership and teamwork, and the management of electronic systems. Fpr the most part, unions and employers covered the cost of this training. Yet a one-time continuing education requirement drove a good number of senior-level American seafarers to take their retirement. Maybe it was for the better that these rigid and unchangeable individuals pursue satisfaction in another activity. Self-reflection and human insight has, for half a century, been seen as a critical part of safety-sensitive work. By raising the bar, counterproductive habits and people are whittled away.

The Fantasy and the Facts

In a suburb of Washington, DC, Tracy Rebello opened the "Piratez Tavern" after a career in corporate communications. Like many brick-and-mortar entrepreneurs, she sold the family home to start this restaurant, and keep it running for 8 years. As revealed in a memorable July 2012 episode of Bar Rescue, the establishment was a million dollars in debt; but the owner was found to be thoroughly living the dream as captain of a pirate ship eatery. Displeased with the sleek renovations aimed towards the white-collar lunch crowd, the family sang sea shanties while burning Jon Taffer's new furnishings (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSPkbJohdyo). I never went myself, though. While I knew that the "pirate tavern" existed during my undergraduate days, it had a dive reputation, as seen in contemporaneous discussions on City Data forums. I celebrated my 21st birthday at Phillip's Seafood Restaurant in Downtown DC, before the Wharf area was redeveloped into its condo-friendly form. "Piratez Tavern" closed down shortly before my 22nd birthday. This episode hit home with me, not just for the nautical theme, but over our occupational identity as swashbuckling mariners. This attitude is more prevalent in the lower-compensated and less-regulated sectors of the industry, such as research ships and small government vessels; and non-existent in oil-and-gas. Between the oil price drop of 2015 and the Great Resignation, we hit an inversion point where college-educated marine engineers could get higher-paid work ashore in maintenance and R&D environments (power plants, Tesla, and others), despite the challenging lifestyle and working conditions. Fortunately, instead of blanky shouting "nobody wants to work anymore", new contracts between maritime employers and their unions have restored the supply-and-demand equilibrium of mariners to jobs. This experience is one more reminder to keep nostalgic sentiments at bay when thinking about business, personal or corporate.

Virginia Beach Rejuvenated

In Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront, the streets are alive with people at all times of day, which is how it should be during peak tourist season. I was pleasantly surprised by this summer’s rebirth, and I surmise that a reckoning moment had come in the city’s Tourism Bureau after a lackluster performance in the first post-pandemic summer of 2022. Much credit has been given to the return of the Summer Work Visa, in which young adults, mainly from Eastern Europe, share an apartment and work for the summer. I have heard them working- with Slavic language- in places ranging from a Japanese buffet to hotel lifeguarding work. I have realized that transportation is a barrier for getting locals to take these jobs. The neighborhoods closest to the Oceanfront are upscale, with the fact that those youth have other summer opportunities. The Virginia Beach Oceanfront is served by one through-bus line, which ends 90 minutes away in the inner city of Norfolk. (A daytime express service is geared to tourists). While there are many moderate-income families living near the downtown terminus, I would predict that the teenagers are already likely to have year-round after-school employment. Overall, it appears to be easier to commute across the ocean from Europe than from adjacent Norfolk. Credit should also be given to the tourists themselves, who have given Virginia Beach a new look. The city may have been overlooked during last year’s “revenge travel” trend, but being within a day’s drive of a quarter of the US population makes for a friendly destination in economically inflationary times.

Fitting the Mold

I came across the upcoming contract for Military Sealift Command's internal ship inspection contract. For once, I felt that an opportunity presented itself up my channel. When I was working in thr office (2019-2022), these ship inspections were a big topic. The civil service engineers felt that travelling to remote locations, to verify the ship's fitness to sail, was not part of their job description. A minority, including myself, felt otherwise. So did my predecessor in my own cubicle; I have good confidnece that he will be best suited to win the $20 million, 5-year contract. This feels like the adjacent possible, and not the first time I made an effort to fit into expectations. About two years ago, I reviewed what it would take to become a maritime program manager. A professional engineer's license, a master's degree, management experience with an USCG-issued Chief Engineer's License. So I took the effort to put myself in line for the Chief's license by goinng back to sea. I hope to obtain it this summer. I feel like I have made it through the wilderness of my '20s.

Run Times: Last Month Ashore

In contrast with union-hall hiring, Military Sealift Command mariners, like other salaried mariners, can be assigned to any ship in the fleet. While I have been working in and out of Norfolk, VA since January, where I have a home, this arrangement is unlikely to continue. After all, with the Pacific Pivot, there's a 60% chance that I go to a Western Pacific Ship, in addition to the probability of landing a ship based in the Persian Gulf. What needs to be done? Since travel to the ship can be short-notice, I have a checklist of standard tasks: place valuables in a safe deposit box, park thr car in long-term storage, and forward the mail. Having time in homeport has allowed me to have "capital maintenance" performed on my home. I am currently arranging for repointing my brick foundation; this was a task I did not complete immediately after purchasing my fixer-upper. I've also made my backyard more evening-habitable with a new firepit and light string. Navy Reserve duty comes up annually. This year, I helped activate a ship from the ready reserve fleet, taking it to sea for a week. We also have a medical check-up, which I completed in Washington, DC; and a physical fitness test that I did in Chattanooga, TN. After a long drive, the car likes an oul change and tune-up. Having spent much of the last ten years at sea of overseas, I also find it good practice to refresh friendships with gatherings and visits.

The Dobbs Genie

When the Dobbs ruling came out last year, I was surprised that the Supreme Court decided to scrap Roe vs. Wade precedent altogether, returning the abortion issue to the states. Initially, I considered the decision as a harbinger for a national return from “hustle culture” to a newfound domesticity. The COVID-19 Pandemic created an environment where this reshaping of norms became possible. Even while the overall birthrate declined, many high-earning professionals took the opportunity to begin families. In national discourse, the 40-hour workweek, going to the office, after-work cocktail hours, and in-person business conferences were dead and buried. Meanwhile, returning to a 1950’s understanding of social responsibility, the government surrendered individual liberty to the needs of the community for the duration of the Pandemic. Some legal scholars have pointed out that Jacobson vs. Massachusetts, a 1905 case often cited in enforcing Pandemic-era restrictions and vaccine mandates, predated the 1960’s focus on individual rights and privacy. The social and political environment made Roe vs. Wade ripe for reconsideration. On one hand, the Roe vs. Wade decision prematurely ended the political process of state abortion law reform that had begun in the 1960’s. Yet, it is naïve to think that the clock can be reset to 1973 without considering how much society had changed. The wage economy was structured differently in 1973, prior to economic deregulation. National policy favored robust wages and a commitment to full employment, instead of stockholder value and free market absolutism. The Nixon Administration supported employment for American seafarers in the post-Vietnam era by subsidizing the construction of merchant ships through the Merchant Marine Act of 1970; a program that was ended by Ronald Reagan in 1981. Reflecting this trend, Roe vs. Wade was a controversial decision in the morals of 1973, but accepted as a commonplace institution by the 1980s. This latter attitude is evident in the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, where a character obtains an abortion without on-screen commentary. In most professions today, the average wage-earner cannot comfortably support a family on a single income. Yet in certain areas, such as the military services and seafaring, there remains a critical mass of workers who refuse to accept less than family wages. For example, maritime employers are often paying officers a higher salary than agreed upon in “sweetheart” union contracts. Notably, these occupations are male-dominated and socially conservative in general, and were late to engage in political correctness. In the past year, about half the states have found a compelling interest in limiting abortion in the first or second trimester. Few of these states have offered remedies to alleviate social concerns arising from the effects of these restrictions. One promising example is a paid parental leave bank, a voluntary insurance program for employers in Virginia and New Hampshire. Notably, these two Republican-led states are unlikely to enact strict abortion limits. What other ideas could work? GI Bill for Mothers For military members and reservists, the relevant law instituted during World War Two is now known as USERRA. Under this act, a servicemember’s civilian job will be held until they return from military service, up to three years, even if the employer backfills this vacancy with a new hire. In the 1940’s and ‘50’s, these provisions covered up to a quarter of the American workforce due to the large number of war veterans. It is therefore able to scale to cover working mothers, who are currently guaranteed by Congress just 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Enhanced Child Tax Credit or Universal Basic Income plan Local governments invest between $10,000 and $20,000 per year for each school age child. With this in mind, a generous child tax credit would allowing working-class parents to provide infants and toddlers with early childhood enrichment, and offer a standard of living better than mere sustenance that is provided today through SNAP and WIC benefits. Eligibility for Child Support during Pregnancy Lack of paternal involvement is a leading factor in the decision to have an abortion. Especially in the third trimester, a woman’s ability to participate in the workforce may be reduced, and it is reasonable for a single mother to fear this loss of income. Currently, child support proceedings do not commence until the child is born, which often makes it difficult to track down a wayward father, who may have changed addresses or moved out-of-state. Some pro-choice people oppose this kind of policy, as it may implicitly recognize fetal personhood. This policy, however, would be inexpensive to implement.

Crowdsourcing the Answer

There are facts, and then there is reality. What do things look like on the deckplate of a ship, rather than from a textbook page? This is where internet forums play a big role. What does it feel like to work for a certain company? What is the likelihood of making the estimated salary? Is the mariner shortage real, or just a concern for low-pay employers? With a few general inquiries that I just listed, I could spend an hour or more browsing the maritime forums of Reddit, GCaptain, and even Service Academy Forums. While crowdsourced answers may not be definitive or scientifically rigorous, they do paint a broad picture, providing a qualitative view of the world. Right now, I am participating in a Turbo Activation, where old vessels are brought out of laid-up state and into operating condition at sea. While it took until thr last day, we crewed all the maritime officer billets, although I must say that the wages offered for the two-week excercise is enough to bring mariners back from their vacations. What is the real state of the maritime industry? One hypothesis is a happy equilibrium of demand for good-paying work, and a healthy dearth of interest in low-paid work. In other news, we hit a recent readership record with the last blog post, "Boston and the Sea". Hope to keep this trend going.

Boston and the Sea

I recently made a trip to Boston. While I could’ve spent a week or more visiting the usual tourist sites, I was out to answer a question: why seafaring? Why didn’t the maritime culture dissipate in the Bay State like it did in other upwardly-mobile, increasingly-educated locales? For this adventure, the MBTA’s Regional Rail system, and occasionally Boston’s subway (The “T”) connected me to various points in the Boston area. My first destination took me 30 miles inland from Boston’s North Station. I travelled up to Lowell from North Station in order to visit Jack Kerouac’s gravesite. As I was carrying my suitcase and backpack, I didn’t want to roll a mile to the cemetery. Instead, I settled for the park named in the author’s honor. Although new investment is freshening the city’s facades, Lowell spent decades a tired factory city, and the buildings showed this experience. Perhaps even then, Jack Kerouac found more opportunity on the road, and at sea as a merchant mariner. Quincy was my next destination, just south of Boston. Here was the home of museum ship USS Salem (CA-139). A heavy cruiser, the ship was built at Quincy’s Fore River Shipyard at the end of WWII, sailing just a decade in active service. Mariners, both active and retired, serve as volunteers doing the important work of chipping and painting; as well as higher-skilled tasks such as maintaining the ship’s electrical system. A ferry, one of many running frequently in Massachusetts Bay, would take me back to downtown Boston. My next day started in Boston Common. As I was crossing a footbridge, I noticed a plaque memorializing a young man who died in Vietnam; he had worked the lagoon’s swan boats as a high school student. I was impressed that this busy, world-class city, could take a moment to remember one of its working-class youth. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, the Commonwealth Museum, and a University of Massachusetts campus are located on a peninsula known as Columbia Point. The state archives was dedicated by Michael Dukakis, who took credit for the “Massachusetts Miracle”. I am too young to remember a time prior to New England’s economic pivot from small-scale manufacturing to education and healthcare. Perhaps this was another piece of my puzzle: In the last half of the 20th century, a sole breadwinner could live an upper-middle class lifestyle anywhere in the United States with union-propelled American seafaring wages; and relatively isolated from local economic conditions. Nearby is South Boston, or Southie, traditionally Irish-American working-class community whose cold-water beach is known as the “Irish Riviera”. While bar-hopping college-educated professionals now blend into the Southie environment, the area used to be synonymous with trouble. Despite the environment, strong family ties persisted, and educational attainment was encouraged. There was a strong draw to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (some 50 miles south), and thence to sea. Legend has it that upwardly mobile “Southies” made their home in shoreline suburbs south of Boston. But this answer isn’t quite straightforward, as I learned on the train to Scituate. This line was abandoned for 50 years, and when service was restored against local opposition in 2007, ridership fell short of MBTA expectations. These residents were neither trust funders nor the 9-to-5 commuter crowd. Who were they? Retirees, perhaps; but one could look up to banners on the lampposts, bearing a compass rose and geographic coordinates. These small towns purposefully continued to orient themselves towards the sea. I rented a car for my last day in Massachusetts, driving by Plymouth Rock and Buzzard’s Bay, home to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Rick Gurnon, a previous President of the Academy, had spearheaded a transformation of the physical campus, adding green energy education (including a windmill) and a police training program (Emergency Management) to the maritime institution. The student body remained rooted; in the parking lot were pickup trucks and modest sedans. Approaching New Bedford in the morning, I was stopped at a drawbridge, but unlike my Virginia usual, I wasn’t upset with this affair. Instead, I observed that the town still has a good waterfront industry, with finishing boats and ice houses. I arrived at my destination, the New Bedford Whaling Museum. New exhibits are added regularly, but the mainstay is the half-size replica ship Lagoda, built in 1916 at the end of the whaling era. By this time, foreign crews were working these vessels, to include the Portuguese. Towards the end of the 19th century, whaleship owners diversified the local economy, building on the industrial base of whale oil refining and harpoon making. Whale tails can be seen on shop logos, harkening back to the town’s adventuresome days of sail. The race was on. I had a dinner invitation in Boston, and it was noon. On the drive back, I would settle for seeing the US Naval War College, in Newport, RI, from afar. I went by Roger Williams University, Rhode Island’s sole law school, and one of the nation’s premier Admiralty Law programs. In Providence, I stopped by Marvin’s Pizzeria for a good slice. The Narragansett Brewery and Gift Shop is located at India Point Park, a former ship anchorage. One thing you will not find is the traditional lager that serves as the beginning to many New England stories. In good time, I returned the rental car to Motor Mart, a 1920’s-built garage at the edge of downtown. All bags packed, I took the subway to Cambridge, and found that “two girls were waiting for me” at our restaurant. I knew them from the US Merchant Marine Academy.

The Archivist

I've spent the last couple days on vacation organizing boxes of handwritten music scores and partial manuscripts. In corporate terms, we would call this the management of "Organizational Process Assets": how can we take a look back to see how we did things before? Many of this music and writing date to my middle school years at Saint Thomas Choir School. In contrast to a previous blog post, "Why No Digital Office", I might be considered a convert, since one of my initiatives is to digitalize much of these scores and manuscripts. I also got some ptractice in dating manuscripts based on the quality of handwriting: coarse to fine, and back to coarse- as I gained access to digital music writing software. While cataloging the works was important, one area I did not broach was assigning "opus numbers" to my work. Perhaps the fear of falling short of perfection- to make a mistake in dating works- held me back. In past centuries, these numbers asigned by scholars to composers like Bach and Mozart, were rarely sequential anyway. Yet I put together opus numbers for a couple friends who are no longer writing music- as the third-party observer it was easier to date their body of published works. Music composition may be a hobby and not a career for me, but reviewing the past is useful to predict my future.

Do Leaders Get a Break?

I've been busy over the past week, wrapping up things onboard my ship. My relief is onboard, and I have brought him up to speed on how to do rounds of the engine room and how to log water test results. When I was a Third Enigneer, there was a certain finality to this occasion: detachment from the vessel, and 30 to 60 days of uninterrupted time off. At the First Engineer level, there is a new cross-current of talking to peers- and to the "marine placement specialists" or detailer. The result being alternatives to the 30-to-60 day off routine. So I have to learn to embrace the ambiguity of when I'll get called back to a ship, and when I'll be assigned to Navy Reserve duty. And for the other First Engineers wondering when I'll be available to cover their time off, I can honestly say, "It'll happen when it happens". Happy Easter Season to all!

Vacation Plans from 2019

While on Navy Reserve duty in Naples, Italy, I was able to make weekend trips to the ruins of Pompeii and the town of Kocevje, Slovenia in January 2020. A week later, Italy and the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet began lockdown procedures. That was the last trip for several years. From March 2020, and on paper until mid-2022, my employer enforced a 50-mile restriction of movement. This was a mild limitation compared to the total lockdown of merchant vessels, but did affect my ability to plan for a safe vacation. On return from outside the area, I would have to remain quarantined for two weeks. The message- go big on vacation, or stay at home. I stayed home. If vacation destinations – save for natural wonders - are about the people, then the immediate post-lockdown era was going to be a letdown. To summarize the ennui bluntly, the New York Times stated that hospitality became hostile. There were many underlying factors- from a labor shortage, transportation shortage, and supply shortage to a fickle customer base, and possible owner’s liability for a localized COVID-19 breakout. My impulse during this time was to make myself busier. While working ashore, I took a weekend job onboard a dinner cruise boat in Norfolk, VA; when it was ready to relaunch in the summer of 2021. Before COVID, the vessel had been at the center of the city’s social life; however, I saw that the clientele had changed: suburbanites had become accustomed to entertaining guests in their homes and backyards; and on their personal boats. Perhaps, life for the privileged set became more insular than outwardly focused. For me, planning interesting things to do on vacation seemed daunting, when “everything has changed”. Nevertheless, there are vacation plans from 2019 that are still good to go: a planned hike on the C & O Canal in Maryland, and a visit to the newly-built Christendom College chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Nature and religion; the two stalwarts in a changing world. We are in what is called the “Fourth Pandemic Year”- the time elapsed since early 2020- now represents 5% of a lifespan. It’s time to live your best life.

One Magazines and the Student Loan Craze

The American student debt issue is multi-pronged, some of which have been addressed by previous government programs ranging from alternative payment plans, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and the rare approval to discharge through bankruptcy. These programs were designed for students who attended for-profit schools, like Corinthian, that targeted revenue goals over student achievement; students who had to drop out for personal hardship related to family or health issues; and graduates of high-price, high-reward professional schools interested in community service rather than country clubs. One magazine, however, made six-figure student debt a cultural phenomenon. Ten to twenty years ago, there was one authoritative source of truth on the best colleges in America: The US News & World Report. This annual compilation synthesized various data such as standardized test scores and acceptance rates (the lower, the better) to rank the prestige of America's universities. I had a classmate who chose Stanford (#3 in 2011) over Harvard (#1), and this decision was talk of the campus- both students and parents- for several weeks, reflecting how much influence this list held. As a "normie" high school student, the goal was naturally to attend a Top 25 university. Rebels and artsy students could attend a small liberal arts college instead. Classmates at my preparatory high school made contingency plans for surviving at a "second page" college, namely, an institution ranked between #51 and 100. Oftentimes, these universities offered generous scholarships; and it was this tier that represented large state universities in my classmates' suburban home states of Virginia and Maryland. Until the US News & World Report era, going out-of-state for college was fairly uncommon. It was common for the Ivy Leagues, the Service Academies, and specialized programs like Naval Architecture; but financial and practical issues kept it from being a cultural phenomenon. So-called "no-name" schools actively strived to increase their ratings. The University of Alabama offered free tuition to any student with 1400 out of 1600 on their SAT score, or the top 5% of scorers. The people of Alabama, and the other 95% of students, had to pay for this indulgence. Other colleges sent out application forms to students who certainly wouldn't be admitted anyway. George Washington University (#51) thoroughly gentrified its campus. Utilitarian dormitories built in the 1930's and 1950's were gutted and rebuilt as palaces for students of higher learning. Student loans could also be used to lease cars, and take vacations to Montreal or Cancun. Tuition rates became uncoupled from reality- from the real inflation rate and from students' actual earning potential. Finishing students four years was no longer a priority for many colleges; the "forever student" was the new model. Yet this amenities race was not universal. At some small colleges like Deep Springs and my alma mater, the US Merchant Marine Academy, students continued to clean the dormitories and perform other on-campus work. Today, there is better understanding that "strength" comes in multiple forms. You are more likely to see more focused lists such as: "Best Upward Mobility" and "Best Mid-Career Income". Even better, "Lowest Cost of Attendance". The hangover from the US News and World Report era is far-reaching. There are fewer traditional college students now than in 2011, and a greater appreciation among them for acquiring marketable skills. Some small liberal arts colleges have had to close. The maritime industry is a good place for graduates to pay off their loans, yet the price of trade-offs is apparent now: a smaller mortgage, a later retirement age. But wasn't college a blast? "If I knew then what I knew now...", they begin to say.

Adjacent Possibilities

Onboard a ship in the Far East, I found a sort of Edwardian fatalism that prescribed "stuckness" to one's career as a civilian mariner with the Military Sealift Command. I immediately attributed this mentality to the hardships of the COVID-19 era: restriction to the ship, delayed reliefs, no hazard pay. A large percentage of the workforce took retirement or other employment. Some, including myself, took the opportunity to promote into the power vacuum. Others will retire in the next several years, so they endured the transitory inconvenience. But there were others who were institutionalized into the Western Pacific carousel of port visits and girlfriends, before and after COVID-19. They offered advice contrary to my bookshelf of career guidance material: "What are you saving your money for?" "You're too young to have that position, why don't you ask for a demotion and take it easy?" While gray hair might help in establishing gravitas on personnel problems, I held a Master's Degree and Professional Engineer's license that attested to my experience in handling technical and planning issues. A crew swap brought me back to the East Coast this month. While I anticipated the same issues related to personnel readiness and attitude, I was surprised to find the "Old MSC" of competent and hopeful mariners onboard. In a way, this makes sense: While the COVID-19 era hardship conditions lasted 30 months in the Far East, normalcy was restored within 3 months onboard Norfolk, based ships. The attitudes of "Stuckness" were positive in nature, and related to building and supporting one's family in Virginia or a nearby state. Long-timers could see the up-or-out dynamics in the officer's mess: recent college graduates often wear the shirts of their family's contracting business. Implicit was the idea that MSC was a good place to start a career, but that the future was open-ended. The visibility of shore staff, and small repair firms on a daily basis emphasied that work could be found in adjacent fields. The employment relationship, then, was more of a two-way partnership, than a dependency on the employer's paternalistic support.

Naval Base Shuttle is no Squeaky Wheel

I’ve used up several blog posts to discuss buses, bus networks, bus system funding; and thankfully, this effort has paid off at Naval Station Norfolk. The crux of the transportation issue was severe gate traffic, as 50,000 daily commuters in mostly single-occupancy vehicles needed to pass through a limited number of Entry Control Points. In addition, 12,000 junior enlisted sailors live onboard ship or in barracks onboard the Naval Station. The local transit provider, Hampton Roads Transit, had until 2017 served the Naval Base at the end of several regular routes. Because gate traffic, and gate closures, were so unpredictable, Hampton Roads Transit ended on-base service as part of a “Service Reliability Plan”. Some rush-hour commuter routes continued until COVID-era restrictions in 2020. Without reliable transit service, the junior enlisted sailor heads to a car dealership on Little Creek Road to sign an expensive lease, or make a purchase at a high interest rate. While there was no base-wide transit coordination, some ships and shore commands did take their own initiative to furnish vans for the convenience of their sailors. These were often funded by profits from onboard ship’s stores. I performed research into furnishing similar service to the predominately-civilian Military Sealift Command. It all came down to funding: due to “prevailing maritime practice”, beer, cigars and other “vice” items could only be sold at a 10% markup; in contrast to the market price allowed for warships. Another option was the commuter benefit program, but that would require close cooperation of shipboard supervisors, who are preoccupied with other ship’s business. Nevertheless, I had a plan on paper. While on-base transit service is usually paid for from facility operating funds, Naval Station Norfolk restored on-base shuttle service with a three-year grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Rail and Passenger Transportation. With 50,000 commuters, the lack of on-base transit was of statewide significance. Ironically, the service was contracted to James River Transportation, the same firm I had identified in my own transit plans. Hopefully, a permanent funding mechanism will be identified before the grant money ceases. Our sailors deserve it.

Benedict XVI: America's Pope

Pope Benedict XVI, known as the Reluctant Pope, or God's Rottweiller, presided over the Roman Catholic Church as Pontiff from 2005 to 2013. Far from being a forgettable footnote, I would argue that he ranks among the heavy-hitting Popes who influenced Catholicism in the United States, alongside Leo XIII (1878-1903) and Pius XII (1939-1958). Two tangible factors of Benedict XVI's Papacy include the rise of non-official Catholic news websites and social media; and stabilization of enrollment at American seminaries. He had his human shortcomings, such as being blindsighted by abuse scandals that were handled ineffectively. These scandals severly discredited the Church in places like Ireland and Australia, but only to a lesser extent in the United States. While his predecessor John Paul II, and successor Francis were focused on new evangelization in South America and Africa; Benedict XVI sought to reclaim a Catholic heritage in rapidly-secularizing Europe and North America. One such method is the Anglican Ordinariate, first envisioned in the mid-1800s by John Henry Newman. Under Benedict XVI, Episcopalians gained the opportunity to become Roman Catholic as their protestant church split between the liberal Episcopal Church USA and more conservative Anglican faction. Catholic intellectual tradition, with a focus on strong families, charity, and widespread propsperity, offered an alternative to the bluntness of neoliberalism or economic libertarianism. These ideas are translated for the American audience by center-right publications like the National Review. One of the hallmarks of mid-century suburbanization was for American Catholics to leave their ethnic, inner-city parishes with statues of patron saints; to assimilate into White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant culture in newbuilt neighborhoods and new, streamlined parishes liberated from Old-World sentimentality and the rigidity of the Tridentine Canon. But, as former US Vice President Mike Pence remarked about attending Mass during the era, there was a loss of personal touch, or a vibrancy that could have been. As one of the last living participants of Vatican II, Benedict XVI's writings came full-circle on the interpretation of the Council. Once a progressive who embraced the unenumerated "Spirit of Vatican II", his later option called for closer adherence to a hermenutic of continuity with pre-Conciliar heritage. If the onetime pre-eminence of Catholic culture was taken for granted in Boston, New York, Chicago, and elsewhere in the Northeast and Midwest; the pugnilistic enclaves of Catholicism in the metropolitan South emphasize traditions and practices distinct from the Baptist and Evangelical majority. It is in places like the new town of Ave Maria, Florida, where the Church is re-established at the center of the community, both physically and spiritually. If the "Spirit of Vatican II" called for opening up the Church, Benedict XVI's exhoration is do so with a firm foundation.