Unit 47
“UNIT 47”
today I woke up in Riverside
and took a drive to San
Diego. there I met a man
named Joe. he’d taken me out
to eat ribs. I finished what
I could of the food but the
rest I took home. we soon
found ourselves on the pier
of the Imperial Beach.
we talked about the pigeons,
the seagulls and the water
itself. from our benches, we
could see Mexico and it’s
border. as we drank our
beers, I asked him about his
days in the Navy. he told me
after boot camp, he went to
submarine school. after he
finished, it was time to put
his training to use in the
water. he’d drop into the sea
by day and surface at night.
he spied on the Russians he
said, and went from port to
port traveling the world. the
year was 1952 and he was
eighteen. his service was
over in 1956. on one of his
port visits, he and three
naval buddies hit a tattoo
shop. they all got Thumper
from Bambi. the price was
only $2. I asked him if he’d
ever trade those days for
anything in the world and he
said no, it was the most fun
he had ever had.
on the way back, Joe
remembered he had left his
air conditioner on. He
laughed with a careless fear.
“My house is gonna be frozen
when I get back!” we arrived
and in we went. the house
wasn’t frozen but the spy was
happy to be home. I stood
proud of my day, spending
time with a war veteran who
had gotten a $2 Thumper
tattoo when he was a kid.
before I walked away, I
shook his hand, thanked him
and gave him a hug goodbye. I
was happy the man from the
Cold War wasn’t frozen.
the unit Joe lives in is
specifically marked and it’s
number is 47.
By: Chicano Eddie
8-31-2016
Copyright © Chicano Eddie | Year Posted 2016
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