I found out today that there is a pretty good chance that I'll be able to go on a tiger cruise. A tiger cruise is where family and friends board the ship of a Navy loved one for the last few days of a deployment. If I go, I will board the USS Nimitz in Sandy Eggo and land in Everett four days later around the middle of December. I am super pumped to go. I have to start practicing my sailor talk. Aft? Mizzenmast! Poop deck! Mains'l! Port, bow, stern! Aarrgh (wait, no, that's pirate talk). Starboard! Keel - I wonder if the Nimitz has a keel? What an opportunity to see a carrier at work, to see fighter jets land and take off, to see the crew at work and to meet some of people Offspring #1 spends his time with. I had to fill out an application, promise to act responsibly, and have my doc sign a form saying I was physically fit enough to make the journey and carry my own luggage up two sets of ladders. I know I can carry my luggage up two sets of ladders. I can manage the stair master at level 6 for 30 minutes, I can certainly go up a couple ladders. I just hope I don't bump my head too hard or, worse yet, bump my shin. Or fall off! Yes, that would be terrible to fall off and land in the Pacific. Being seasick would not be good either but I usually don't have any trouble with that. My doc think I'll be fine and will have a good time. Strange man that he is, he told me about the medical problem of most of the pilots on carriers who make repeated landings and take-offs; hemorrhoids. Yes, that part of the body gets damaged the most from the G forces. When the pilot comes to a sudden stop I guess that is the last body part to end the journey. If I meet any pilots I hope I don't think about hemorrhoids and come up with something appropriate and cultured to say.
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