The Story of Grandad: Chapter 3
Life at Sea
Walter Myhre was a seaman during WWII. He was a member of the Merchant Marines. Some might argue that he still is, at least on the inside. Tales of sea travel and the ruffians who accompanied him on his many sojourns across the sea are a favorite of my grandfather.
As a matter of fact, where one tale ends, another begins, and so on until the listener gets up and leaves. Now mind you, questions are not permissible during tales of the sea. They distract trains of thought and are gainfully ignored.
The most interesting of the hundreds of sea stories I have heard on daily occasions details my grandfather, a Christian man with love for pretty much everyone, going berserk.
When a man goes berserk, according to Grandad, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. For the most part he blanks out, and doesn’t remember events occurring while he is berserk. I guess for said incident to happen, a man must be pushed past the point of breaking.
Well on this particular occasion, some man pushed my grandfather too far, and when Grandad came to, two men were holding him back, and a man was lying in a puddle of blood on the floor. He had beaten him pretty good, and knowing my grandfather, I’m sure the man deserved it.
Now, while that is an interesting tale all on its own, that isn’t what makes the story the most interesting. I had heard this story more than once, and I’m sure I’ll hear it again. But one time when said tale was told, my grandfather told it in the third person point of view: He had a friend who went berserk once.
Now usually I experience a feeling of dizziness followed by a feeling of entrapment, followed by intense sleepiness when my grandfather starts telling tales of sea, but not this time. I knew the story which he was telling by heart, and I immediately caught what he was trying to do.
I listened gleefully, wondering if good old Grandad could carry this out. And he did! Amazement must have passed over my face, which in turn probably made my grandfather’s day. He, much like anyone else, loves to be heard.
For the most part I have heard all of my grandfather’s stories of the sea. He may have one or two lurking around that I haven’t heard yet, but I kind of doubt it.
Walter Myhre was a seaman during WWII. He was a member of the Merchant Marines. Some might argue that he still is, at least on the inside. Tales of sea travel and the ruffians who accompanied him on his many sojourns across the sea are a favorite of my grandfather.
As a matter of fact, where one tale ends, another begins, and so on until the listener gets up and leaves. Now mind you, questions are not permissible during tales of the sea. They distract trains of thought and are gainfully ignored.
The most interesting of the hundreds of sea stories I have heard on daily occasions details my grandfather, a Christian man with love for pretty much everyone, going berserk.
When a man goes berserk, according to Grandad, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. For the most part he blanks out, and doesn’t remember events occurring while he is berserk. I guess for said incident to happen, a man must be pushed past the point of breaking.
Well on this particular occasion, some man pushed my grandfather too far, and when Grandad came to, two men were holding him back, and a man was lying in a puddle of blood on the floor. He had beaten him pretty good, and knowing my grandfather, I’m sure the man deserved it.
Now, while that is an interesting tale all on its own, that isn’t what makes the story the most interesting. I had heard this story more than once, and I’m sure I’ll hear it again. But one time when said tale was told, my grandfather told it in the third person point of view: He had a friend who went berserk once.
Now usually I experience a feeling of dizziness followed by a feeling of entrapment, followed by intense sleepiness when my grandfather starts telling tales of sea, but not this time. I knew the story which he was telling by heart, and I immediately caught what he was trying to do.
I listened gleefully, wondering if good old Grandad could carry this out. And he did! Amazement must have passed over my face, which in turn probably made my grandfather’s day. He, much like anyone else, loves to be heard.
For the most part I have heard all of my grandfather’s stories of the sea. He may have one or two lurking around that I haven’t heard yet, but I kind of doubt it.
posted by Damon | 7:32 AM
1 Comments:
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