Thread: It's Like Shuffling a Deck of Cards

When I was a little boy, people would ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Aside from the silly answers like "toilet seat" or "giraffe", I usually said I wanted to be either a veterinarian or a tug boat captain. My parents sent my brother to college but for me that was not an option. I worked third shift at Raybestos Manhattan Friction Materials for a while after high school but that was Hell. I went into the service. I was in the U.S. Navy from 1977 to 1981. After that I worked at Avco Lycoming on the development of the gas turbine engine for the new M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. After that I worked for a few years on the installation and maintenance of navigation and communication electronics on yachts and ships. I moved on to work in the aerospace industry with Barnes Engineering for four years. We made infrared Earth detectors for satellites. We made the horizon sensors for all the GPS satellites! From there I moved into the medical device business when I accepted a job with American Cystoscope Makers Incoporated (ACMI). I was a Quality Engineer investigating field failures of our endoscopes (primarily urological and gynocological devices). Seventeen years of travelling from hospital to hospital, working in the operating rooms with surgeons and nursing staff correcting problems, saving patient lives. Then somehow the priorities changed and customer satisfaction was no longer Job #1. Patient safety took a back seat to shareholder profit. It was suddenly too expensive to travel to the field to investigate Complaints. I was reduced to a clerk who was to document the receipt of a Complaint and close it as soon as possible with no Corrective Actions. I was not on the same page. The new management sent me a memo saying I had 30 days to become "a better team player" or face disclipinary action (including termination). I quit before they could fire me. I was able to get subcontracting work with the National Trust For Historic Preservation which I parlayed into a full time job at http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/ where I was Special Projects Engineer. I helped get the estate ready to open to the public. My work is all over the estate. Many of the things I built I signed like this louvered panel in the Painting Gallery right next to a huge Andy Warhol: Or new round windows for the Brick House:
But soon after we opened to the public I got very sick and spent seven months in hospital. I was the first to be let go. Since then the economy has taken a downhill ride and I am in very good company on the list of unemployed. Sadly I have no college degree. I am completely self taught. When there are folks with master's and PHD's shuffling around with me, my years of experience don't mean much, at least not in the corporate job hunt.

I recently realized that I do have some very marketable skills and valuable experience. It is odd that I have come full circle since I was a little boy. I still would like to be a veterinarian but at fifty years old, with no money it is not likely that I will be able to go to school for such a long time. I did some research and I can still be a tug boat captain! I have decided to go back to sea. This is why I said I will be changing my Every Day Carry (EDC) from this:

To this:

As it turns out, I have enough sea time from my Naval service to qualify for an Able Seaman's license with the Merchant Marine. I have to pass some exams regarding ship handling, buoyage, practical seamanship, lifeboat survival, firefighting and the like. Most of this I already know but there have been some changes in equipment since I was at sea. Since 9/11 all Merchant Mariners have to obtain a Transportation Worker's Identity Card (TWIC). Yesterday I applied with TSA for my TWIC. I found there are courses offered by State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime college to help me get my Merchant Mariner's Documents (MMD). My brother has agreed to loan me the money to enroll in the courses I need. He has faith in me. If all goes well, I will get my AB (Able Seaman)license by the end of this year. With that I should have no trouble getting on a ship or with a towing company. I am a pretty good cook so I can get a gig cooking on a ship and use that as a stepping stone toward Engineering Officer and ultimately Captain.

Suddenly I feel human again. I am qualified to do something. I may be at sea for a stretch at a time but I will be doing something that needs to be done. I will matter.