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Reference

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Gyppo
Posts: 1340
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 3:28 pm
Location: UK

Reference

Post by Gyppo » Mon Jul 18, 2022 2:40 am

Found this from a couple of years back, whilst looking for something else, and decided to share it.

Reference

When Dad left the Royal Navy
he discarded most of his stuff.
His uniform symbolically shed,
thrown from a train window.

He boarded the train as a matelot, 
clutching his discharge papers,
stripped naked in the compartment,
threw out cap, jacket, and bell bottoms,
and arrived home in his demob suit.

He kept his 'watchkeeping coat'.

A freshly minted 'Civvy',
looking for a job.
With a simple hand-written reference
which said it all.

"This man is punctual, hardworking,
 and can be trusted to work without supervision."

Years later I earned something similar,
but it was only verbal,
passed between two foremen.
I wish I had it in writing.

"That man can shift some fucking work."

Gyppo
I've been writing ever since I realised I could.  Storytelling since I started talking.  Poetry however comes and goes  ;-)

indar
Posts: 2908
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

Re: Reference

Post by indar » Sat Aug 06, 2022 4:14 pm

When Dad left the Royal Navy
he discarded most of his stuff.
His uniform symbolically shed,
thrown from a train window.

So many situations in life call for some form of ritual or symbol to mark their importance. The other need we seem to have is for evidence, written or remarked in some way we can keep, of other's appreciation for our abilities. 

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Gyppo
Posts: 1340
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 3:28 pm
Location: UK

Re: Reference

Post by Gyppo » Sat Aug 06, 2022 5:40 pm

Rites of passage:

Indar, I still live in hope of one day finding the little photo we had in the family album when I was a kid.  but I fear it may have been lent to someone and never returned.  I was 18 months old, in the stoker's mess on Dad's last ship.  His messmates had carried me away into the depths of the ship whilst Mum and Dad had a cuddle when the ship returned from an extended deployment.

Mum said it was amazing how the waiting Wives and Girlfriends could pick out their man  from the sea of uniforms lined up along the rails as the ship came into dock.  Dad's bright red hair probably made her job easier.

When they found me a few minutes later I was dressed up in a little sailor's uniform 'the lads' had made up for 'Ginger's little man', including a cut-down cap and tally band with the ship's name.  I remember nothing of this, but the story was told so often when photos came out at family gatherings it's imprinted in my mind.

Apparently 'the lads', who had regularly seen pictures of me and heard about me, felt I should have a 'tot' so they gave me a drink of watered down Navy Rum.  Mum said I was clearly enjoying it and reaching for more ;-)  This may explain my love affair with the stuff until I went teetotal at 28 years of age.  When my mates were drinking beer as part of the teenage 'rites of passage' I was knocking back straight Wood Navy Rum.  100% proof spirit.  Never liked to dilute it. 

I never was much good at moderation ;-)

Gyppo
I've been writing ever since I realised I could.  Storytelling since I started talking.  Poetry however comes and goes  ;-)

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