Ten Days At Sea. (Shrimp trawler blues)

[oneighty]

The sixty five foot shrimp trawler is tied up at the dock in St. Augustine, Florida. The Captain is up in South Carolina for Thanksgiving holidays. He is also up in South Carolina because he is afraid of the ocean. I am alone on the Trawler tied up to the dock. There is little food aboard and no money. I am broke. So I write a lot. Dream.

Ten Days At Sea.

To the laundromat I took my clothes
To wash them clean
In those two quarter washing machines.
Ten days I was on that hard luck boat
Me and my clothes, we stink like goats.

Others are there just like me.
I take a chair and wait my turn.
I count ten machines against the wall.
Their glassy eyes are dirty clothes
Going round and round in those soapy churns.

Long blond hair, blue flashing eyes.
Adorn the girl sitting next to me.
Not bashful a bit, ten days at sea.
I smile at her, hopefully!
And we drink a Coke from the red machine.

"Hey" she says "I must go."
"Would you mind please to watch my clothes?"
"Sure" I say happily.
Planning ahead for later this day.
I mean,aw what the heck. Ten days at sea.

Graceful she turns quick to leave
Beautiful she is I be hypnotized.
Her long blond hair, blue flashing eyes.
Bone white teeth, red smiling lips.
Her tight blue jeans caress curving hips.

"Wait" I say "Which are yours?"
"Which machines hold your clothes?"
"Well all of them against the wall!"
"And here's some dimes to get them dry."
"Okay" I say. Ten days at sea.

She clears the door out onto the street.
And with her goes one just like me.
A shrimper-man, lonely too.
Ten days at sea!
"Thanks." he says grinning wide.
Aw! What the heck. Ten days at sea!

And so it was in St. Augustine. And when the Captain returned from South Carolina I jumped ship and I walked and hitchhiked home. Mostly I walked.

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[ClintonTyree]

1. Shrimping..............

crabbing, bill fishing........hell, any type of living made from the sea is a hard, dangerous and lonely existence. It certainly isn't for everyone. It takes a special breed of human to carve out a life like that. Here's to the fishermen ( and fisherwomen as well). :toast:

[enough]

2. oneighty, I like this a lot.

Reminds me of shrimpers I have known, and also guys on boats in the Aleutians. (Strange what a media blackout we have had on the BIG spill in Unalaska last week. I've got to go search out that news.)

Any way -- I really like "those soapy churns" and "Bone white teeth." And a totally compelling story, and that believable heroic compassion:

And with her goes one just like me.
A shrimper-man, lonely too.
Ten days at sea!
"Thanks." he says grinning wide.
Aw! What the heck. Ten days at sea!

[oneighty]

3. "Guys on boats in the Aleutians"

Have you done that enough? Catching the King Crab has got to be a job from Hell!

My laundromat story is a composite of the many laundromats I have made use of over the years.

I had not thought of being compassionate as you kindly assume. I always thought of me coming in second in pursuit of women!

Thank you for your comments.

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[BikeWriter]

4. ROFL! Very good. Pard.

That one sort of reminds me of the time a so called friend borrowed twenty from me. I found out later he took out a girl I'd been seeing.

[oneighty]

5. Oh the humility!

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