Goodbys

Well, we said good by to Jamie last Friday and to Tyrone on Saturday. We thought about tying them to the ship, but gave up the idea... We surely do miss them both! We had a treat, though, when Rick and Brittany Schommer stopped by for a visit. It was wonderful to catch up with them. They are on a fundraising tour then plan to head to Honduras for a new land-based adventure with Mercy Ships. We give them our blessings!
This week we are doing our check-offs, cleaning up the place (a never ending job!), and trying to stay cool in record temperatures and humidity. Friday the heat index was 110+.
Well, here's the latest scoop. Bill and I will be going home on August 8 for a leave. We have some family things to take care of. Please pray for us as we prepare to leave "home" to go "home." I know this sounds confusing to some of you, but those who are former Crew know EXACTLY how we feel. We will do some re-evaluating while home and make a decision later about returning. We really want to be here when she gets ready to sail out again!
Thanks for the encouraging emails you send us. We love hearing from you! You can email all of us at once at cbmcaretakers@mercyships.org.

This is the installation of the security fence around A-Deck. Note the pitiful faces of those who participated in the installation. We are trying to figure out if the fence is to keep intruders off or us on - what do you think?

Tuesday Morning

OK, I don't like this at all. Yesterday we said good-by to Jeremy and Katie. While we are excited about their new adventures including the friend-family tour and a trip to Europe, we will miss them terribly. Jeremy's quiet, steadfast presence (and his amazing humor!), and Katie's enthusiasm and youthful energy have been a real blessing to us. We are looking forward to the day when Jeremy will remember his old ship buddies and provide free tickets to fly around the world! They leave with our blessings and prayers for a wonderful future - one filled with joy and peace, success and prospertity - the kind that only the Lord can give. We miss you, already, dear children! Go in the Lord!

Hard work, but someone needs to do it

As we prepared for Dennis' arrival, some one was needed to do the hards tasks. And then we have the onlookers.

As promised!

So, here is the picture of Charlie. He (she) finally came out of hiding and spent quite a long time checking us out as we were checking him (her) out. We think we may have seen one more gator over by the corner of the swamp, but we're not sure. Bill and Tom braved the waters (therefore, no picutres of the new Bosun - Kathy who is our OS in training!) and paddled over to the other side of the slip to bring back the lines that we set out for Hurricane Dennis. This is no easy task since it is the paint float they use for transportation, but they are getting pretty good at it! Charlie stayed in her corner of the water and watched as the boys were pulled back to the ship.
It has been raining - actually pouring outside with some thunder and lightning. The good news is that it has really cooled down and we are appreciating the nice little breeze that has come up. Tonite is "Community Meeting" and we plan to start the video series we found in the Chaplin's office: "The Five Love Languages." We are well and acclimating to the ship and the heat after the little jaunt to East Texas. It is good to be home.

Sugar and Gators...

The sugar is directly South of the salt, its in a plastic bin/container underneath the counter. Your choice of white or brown.

I think I would have better chances of petting the Gator and making friends. But Keeper seems to be a good dog for those of you that can interact with her. hahaha.

Some have implied that I don't like dogs, but thats not true...our family even had a big ole mongrel we loved to death for ten years. Keeper just seems to be overly suspicious of me (kinda like most people in Mercy Ships, just kidding!). Maybe I remind her of someone who used to abuse her?

You can quote me, 'I am not a dog hater' just ask Billy and Dancer!

Good luck with the cornbread, its needs all the help it can get straight out of the bag!

tyronebcookin

Return of the Prodigal!

Sighted: Chickasaw Charlie, aka Albert Aligator, was sighted this morning just aft of the mooring line to the other side of the slip. We tried to get a picture of him (her?) but all our stomping around caused him (her?) to submerge. We will keep an eye out and try to get a picture. This afternoon we will pull the lines away from the other side and it is rumored that Deck Hand Kathy will be on the paint float. For this we will definitely get pictures, so stay tuned!

Cornbread, anyone?

OK. So who knew?

The last time we had cornbread I thought it was not sweet enough. So yesterday, when it was my turn to cook I decided to bake some and add a little sugar to it. So – well – ummmm – I guess the plastic container on top of the shelf in the galley is NOT sugar. It is salt. Tom was the first to discover this and I have apologized all over myself to him. Bill thought it was a hoot because this has happened one other time with me – to lemon meringue pie - this was during a church campout and it was discovered before it was inflicted upon any innocent bystanders. I am humbled by the experience. And to think... the cornbread looked so pretty. Hmmmmm, there must be a sermon in here somewhere...

OK, so where IS the sugar in the galley, anyway?

Hints from tyronebcookin

IF, a big if, you are refering to the tupperware container on top of the small frigerator in the galley on the counter by the radio...none of you, I repeat, none of you are tall enough to read that it is labeled salt on top of it unless you take it down. Or, you did not turn it around to read the labeling on the other side.

Next, taste! Always taste!

Lastly, if you read the bag of cornbread mix you will see that its made with honey already (yuck, thats Northern Style cornbread) so if you added any more sugar to it (Mrs. X) it would be corn cake!

BUT the fact is its an honest mistake and I can't hold my southern grudges against a premixed bag of cornbread...but rest assured if I was there the day that came in on the US Food truck I would have sent it back quicker than Tom spitting it out!!!

Don't let this discourage you from trying again Mrs. X!

tyronebcookin

Don't try the cornbread!

Dinner tonight provided much entertainment and laughs for all. A particular crew member, who we shall refer to from this point on as "Ms. X", made beans and cornbread for everyone. Tom grabbed a big hunk of cornbread and started in on it, when all of the sudden the color drained from his face and he made a mad dash to the garbage can and passionately spit out what was left of the cornbread. Now, for those of you who know Tom, he is not the drama queen that this incident would suggest. "Something wrong with the cornbread?" I asked. "Not if you like eating a salt lick," he answered. We decided that we'd try it on Bill, since he eats just about anything and enjoys it. Bill took only a few crumbs to taste, and the look on his face was priceless. Along with his comments afterward. It turns out that though the cornbread was from a box, Ms. X had decided to "sweeten" it with some of the white granules from the not-so-clearly labeled tupperware on top of the microwave. Oops! Bill took it outside and dumped the remains into the water. You know it's bad when he won't even give it to the dog!

Speaking of Keeper, her first bath today was very successful and uneventful. At first she tried to run away from the hose, but then resorted to standing still with her tail between her legs, all the while glaring at me as I soaped her up. We're still friends though, and now she smells of Pert Plus rather than dumpster drainage.

And we're back

Well, it turns out that Hurricane Dennis' bark was worse than his bite, at least for the Gulf States. The storm weakened to a category 3 hurricane when it hit land on Sunday, and wasn't nearly as destructive as his buddy Ivan from last year. Unfortunately Pensacola was in the direct line of this one as well. I think that if I own(ed) a home there, I'd seriously think about relocating.

The 6 of us (me, Jeremy, Bill, Rebecca, Jamie and Tom) enjoyed a long weekend at the IOC, visiting former crew members and trying not to speculate what shape we'd find the ship (or the freezers, which had been unplugged) in when we returned. Jeremy flew out to New Mexico to check out a flight school on Monday afternoon, and that night the 3 remaining guys drove back to Chickasaw. Rebecca and I left this morning (Tuesday) around 7:00 and made record time getting back. The ship looks about the same as we left her, aside from a few differences:

1. The dumpster, which hasn't been emptied in 7 weeks, STINKS! The heavy rain pounded on the garbage for awhile on Sunday, leaked out the bottom of the dumpster, and created a wide river on the dock that smells of wet dog and raw sewage. I nearly gagged when I stepped out of the car today.
2. Our pepper plants have suffered, probably from not receiving enough sunlight indoors. I watered them tonight and placed them back in their spot where they had been thriving. This spot, however, is in the path of the dumpster's river, so perhaps our fresh-picked peppers will be no more.
3. The pool is overflowing and leaning even more towards the edge of the dock. All I can think is that the day we finally get Tyrone in the pool will be the day our pool decides to become one with the larger body of water just a few feet away. People screaming, limbs flailing, Keeper biting the flowing water...it would not be pretty.

I am on night watch right now, at least for a few hours. Chief Officer Jamie drove all through the night, then worked all day putting the ship back together, and was scheduled for night watch. So he's catching a few much-needed winks. It's a little scary walking through B-deck late at night. I thought of taking Keeper with me, but she's even afraid of those mini crabs in the water here, so she wouldn't be much help or comfort.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post: Keeper's First Bath.

Current Chickasaw Forecast: Direct Hit, Late Sunday Afternoon

Story: Dennis Plows Through Gulf

Evacuation from Mobile

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ride out a Cat 4/5 hurricane on a 80m long vessel. That is what our merry little band of Caretakers had plan to do if "Dennis" had of take a more easterly route. But when the officials from the two counties Baldwin and Mobile were going to order a mandatory evacuation and the US Cost Guard recommend that we do the same. I figured that we should head to Texas to Mercy Ship's International Operations Center (IOC). I decided to leave Noon on Friday fun. We had to totally shutdown the M/V Caribbean Mercy, disconnect stom shore power, disconnect water & Sewage, all cables and shore connections. Putout additional lines, lower the anchor, secure the decks, lower the gangway and then disembark from the vessel- jumping about 5 feet from the pilot ladder to the dock. doing all this with a crew of 1 engr, 2 deck hands and 1 ordinary seaman. However the real fun will be reboarding, reconnecting, and restarting all of the systems on board.
After we left the ship a 7 PM on Friday night we were caught up with major traffic so I called my personal OnStar person, Cindi- my wife and she redirected us onto an alternate path. Where the road not so busy, just long. Our normally 9-10 hour trip was a mere 12 hours to drive. We arrived at the IOC at 8 AM after having Breakfast. Only to find out that the Cat 5 was now a 1. But, mandatory evacuations are still taking place and all roads into the area where converted to outbound so we missed the heavy traffic out.
We are now at the IOC and will contact the Chief of Police on Monday to determine when we will be returning to the Ship. As it looks we are planning to return Tuesday and start the process of reconnecting everything.
Keep us in your prayers.

IOC Edition

Every once in a while we like to shake things up a little, just for fun. This week we decided to change around our entertainment schedule a bit. Rather than knocking off an hour or two early on Friday and going to the movies, we threw our clothes into bags and evacuated the ship and drove all night for thirteen hours to get to Texas.

So we're at the IOC, except for Tyrone who's hoping his parents will take him in. Last we heard last night on our way out, the governor of Alabama has declared a state of emergency and ordered mandatory evacuations for all counties along the coast - including the whole city of Mobile - by six o'clock tonight. They said the state troopers were going to close down all the southbound interstate lanes and use them for northbound traffic (asTyrone apparently discovered this morning). We heard this just as we hit the solid wall of red taillights, an hour and a half north of the coast. Half a million people fleeing in Alabama alone. All night we saw fellow refugees straggling north. Families crammed in pickups, dogs in the back, rich and redneck alike standing bleary-eyed around fluorescent-lit gas stations at 2 a.m.. Kids little excited, adults a little lost.

It keeps you fresh, you know, this kind of thing. Don't want to get in a rut.

South I-65 closed from Montgomery down...

I left at 5am Saturday morning heading North on I-65. Traffic was slow here and there...but what was amazing the exits on the left side (going south side) were all full with State Troopers and all kind of state vehicles, EVERY EXIT!

I posted these pictures that were taken (about 7:30am) from the North side of Montgomery cars trying to go South or trying to turn around and find another way to go.

See ya on tha other side (of the Hurricane, not life)!



tyronebcookin

Current Pics & Ship Trivia

Trivia items for the week -

1. Nice and sunny today. Very pleasant.
2. According to Fox News, if Dennis hits with its current strength it will be the most catastrophic hurricane to strike the U.S. in thirteen years.
3. Dennis will probably continue to strengthen tonight and tomorrow before it hits us.

Have a nice day!

Dennis Reaches Category 4

...and is only 6 mph from being a Category 5. If you don't hear from us for a while, we'll be on the beach.
In Bermuda.
Sipping cuba libres.

Special Thanks to the Caretakers!

I was content to stay on the ship for my birthday this year (July 4th)...and my mom was actually happy I wasn't going to try and drive home. Being that the 4th of July weekend is one of the worst to be traveling.

I got wonderful cards, had special birthday head gear to wear (see picture on earlier post), didn't cook a thing...and enjoyed quite a nice time.

Rebecca cooked and we had Hot Dogs (Hebrew National - one of the best brands), potato salad (her own recipe, very good!), and baked beans (not the ones in the can either!). Katie made a wonderful spice cake with a divine frosting to go on top. We had our choice of either Double Strawberry or Vanilla (Blue Bunny) Ice Cream. I took a little of both!

Most of the day I just slept or watched food network, I think even a movie or two. Yeah, perfect, relaxed, peaceful bliss on a wonderful birthday...Oh thats right, It was Independance Day!!! (almost forgot it was a public holiday besides being my birthday!)

Although later that night I do regret not seeing Keeper (ships dog/mascot/security) try to eat the fireworks after they were lit!!! Hahaha

Thanks!

tyronebcookin

more pretty cloud pictures

I see a llama... Wait - no - a herd of stampeding ground squirrels.... no...um...Jon Voight being attacked by his electric toothbrush?

Anyone?

--jeremy

Dennis, as of Wednesday night

Bill

Ever since Bill came back from visiting his family he's been acting kind of strange...

Radios

Jeremy and I were on duty today, which requires us to carry around a radio, pager, phone and set of keys. This morning I heard something kind of interesting coming through the radio, kind of like a muffled snorting. I chalked it up to Tropical Storm Cindy creating strange electromagnietic fields around the ship and went on with my duties. An hour later, however, I heard the same sort of thing, although this time it distinctly sounded like slurping. "Oh well," I thought, as the wind and rain pounded the ship. But when it happened for the 3rd time this morning, I knew something was up. The 3rd time around the sound was even clearer - yes, someone has been licking the radios. I have my guesses as to who it is, and will get to the bottom of this somehow.

Tropical Storm Cindy

Well, here we go with tropical storm #2 for the Caribbean Mercy. This one is called Cindy. This morning she woke me up at 4:20 with rain beating against the window. I checked and sure enough there was a little bit of a leak so I put down a towel, got up and dressed and started checking out boat deck for other leaks. There were a few very minor ones, one steady drip outside of Tyrone's cabin and one drip right on top of the computer monitor in the Chaplain's cabin. I put out the appropriate buckets and towels.
By the time I got through with that the rain had stopped so I got Keeper and we went for a walk on the dock. The wind was pretty strong and the warehouse was making all kinds of noise as the wind blew through it. I put Keeper on the leash and we walked down to the end. The water is just up to where the concrete slopes and Keeper had fun splashing around. On the way back to the ship we checked out the pool and found the float actually floating in the aligator's domain, but we braved the water and captured it, along with a pair of sunglasses and a deck chair that had flown away from their original resting places. By then the wind was kicking up again so we went back to the ship. Keeper was not enthusiastic about getting back in the kennel, but I baited it with some food, so there she'll stay until the next break in the weather.
The weather man says we are in for some more heavy rain and wind, thunder and lightning and some possible tornados, but for the most part should be gone by this afternoon. The ship is moving around slightly, but no seasick pills are required :) ! We'll keep you posted!

Chickasaw Grocery

I made Tyrone's birthday spice cake this morning (slightly intimidating to cook for one of the best cooks I know!) when I realized that we were out of milk. So I hopped in the Automatic and drove one mile to the Chickasaw Grocery. It is located in a strip mall and is only slightly larger than most gas station mini-marts. There were only 3 gallons of milk in the cooler, dated June 30, July 2, and July 13. Seeing as today is July 4, this was quite amusing to me. Also, they have Coke in glass bottles, complete with "1/2 LITRO" marked on the side. Between that and the potholes in our road, I was right back on outreach.

Birthday Boy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYRONE!!!

Late-night recreation, Chickasaw style

It's two hours into the night watch, and i hear voices drifting across the water. This is unusual. I scan the inlet, seeing nothing, and look out toward the river. Still nothing. Finally, i peer directly down over the rail. Four scruffy faces look back up at me, surrounded by a jumble of flashlights, long-handled nets, and five-gallon buckets. A guy in a baseball hat offers a gap-toothed grin (i am not kidding) and hoists a beer can in a happy salute. "How ya doin', brother?" It's the fifth johnboat of the night, out looking for crabs.

Oh, almost forgot. Here's the inside of the preschool classroom - recognize? - during the thunderstorms the other day. The water cascades in from aft deck through the rusted-out bulkhead (as well as directly in through the holes in the starboard side), but it cascades out again just as quickly through the even bigger holes in the deck. So it all works out very nicely.

Lifejackets

My first project after the crew left was to visit every nook and cranny on the ship and find every single lifejacket onboard. I then took them up to the International Lounge and covered about half the Lounge with them, therefore creating Lifejacket Summit. Then I had to wrap them all up properly (reflecting tape and lights on the outside, whistles in their pockets, strings through the loops) and group them according to the expiration dates on the lights. It was at that point that I suggested that all incoming crew be given a training class on how to wrap lifejackets. Impressively, only 3 lights were already expired, thanks to our hard-working Safety Officers. Kathy and I grouped them on tables in the forward dining room, using almost every table, stacking the lifejackets 6 high, creating Lifejacket Canyon. A few days later Jamie made a chute out of a tarp from Promenade Deck down to the dock, and we threw the lifejackets down (in groupings according to expiration dates, of course), stacked them on pallets and shrink-wrapped them. It was almost painful to watch all of the whistles that I had so carefully placed in their pockets come free as they were tossed down the chute. That afternoon we put the pallets into the cargo hold.

In the end we counted something like 250 lifejackets onboard. The only ones we found after the proces was over were the 2 in Reception - my old workplace and one of the most frequented places for the caretakers, go figure!

Keeper Update

Nuff said?!
(This picture may have been modified to accentuate the authors feelings)

Da Hoopty (my car)

My car had a slow leak in the back passenger tire that became a fast leak. When I tried to get it patched Walmart told me it was because the rim was dented. So today I went to the junkyard to get a rim. The rim cost the same amount whether it had a tire on it or not! So Bill and I ( Thanks to Bill for taking me there and helping me find the wheels!) found a rim with a good tire on it that was still holding air..then I got to thinking about getting a second one...hmmm. Now I could replace that bicycle tire they call a temporary that was in my trunk with no air in it!!!

I bought two wheels today, both with excellant tires on them that still held air and had good tread. When I got back I took the two back tires off...I kept the one that was flat because it still had a good tire on it (remember the rim was dented) and I took the other off and replaced the temporary in the deep part of the trunk and lo' and behold!!! There was enough rust down there to deteriorate part of the temporary rim and the rest of the trunk!!!

Well I am not certain that the actual trunk was in danger of falling thru like spots on the ship...I just looked around quickly to make sure Katie had not seen this and come running with a needle gun (I think she has an obsession with that thing and rust!) whewwww, I quickly breathed a sigh of relief remembering they were gone to the movies.

On second thought maybe I should let her get at it, then primer and coat it when they get done..what do you think? Nahhhh, its just Da Hoopty!

tyronebcookin

To the person who kept a Kenny Rogers CD stashed under their mattress (and forgot it when they left):

We know who you are.

Hahahahahahahaha

It is Friday!

Today is Friday - clean-up day for the ship. I have always appreciated those who do the daily housekeeping aboard this ship, but I now have a new appreciation for all of you after vacuming this huge (OK, it just seems like it is huge...) place and up and down all those stairs! I say a hearty "thank you!" to all who have served in this way! I think I have sweated off at least 5 pounds by now.

Also, we have sort of started a tradition for Friday afternoons. After a week of working in this heat we are now setting aside late Friday afternoons for the movies. Where else can you obtain mindless entertainment in a wonderfully air conditioned room with comfortable seating and popcorn and lemonade at your fingertips? This week its "War of the Worlds" which beats out the "war of the rust" that has been waged this past week aboard ship.

Bill is back to work after spending a week with his family in California and recovering from the angiogram he had. We are happy to report that he is back to normal. Kathy Long is visiting friends in California for a couple of weeks. Tyrone (the wonder-chef) went to a Food show in Biloxi and has returned to do his magic in the kitchen. Katie "Needle-Gun Queen" has been working in the hot sun on the bow, learning the delicate (haha) skills of rust removal, along with Jeremy and Jamie. Tom has been hauling out rust and other junk from the cabins that we are destroying (OH! sorry...) I mean removing the flooring and some of the bulkehads so inspections can take place. Maria Elena, our night owl has been keeping us safe at night. We get to see her around noon everyday. I am doing housekeeping stuff, running errands and dealing with whatever paper work comes up. We have devotions together Monday, Wednesday and Friday and on Thursday evenings we meet for our "Community Meeting." We are all getting along wonderfully well, feeling more like a little family all the time. We have been focusing on the idea that we are here to do the Lord's work, no matter if the ship will return to service or not. We are here to be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us AND we are here to be an example of Christ's love for each other. We are also having a lot of fun along with all the hard work.

NOTES: 1. Found in a crew member's ex-cabin (OK, it was Kathy Long's!) behind a dresser-
a still wrapped slice of processed cheese that was flexible and looked like you
could still eat it. We think it has been there for at least a year...

2. Never, NEVER plug in anything electrical in to an orange outlet in
Reception. This blows out 3 different circuits that have to be reset which
is a real trick especially when you don't know where the circuits are located!
Rebecca now knows not to do that ever again! Thank you Don Golden for
bailing us out!

3. There are many holes on the landing outside Cabin 353 - you can actually see
down in to some of the cabins on B-deck! Walk lightly in this area!

4. Never leave your flip-flops on the dock when you take them off to go in the
pool. Keeper has discovered the delights of stealing them and carrying
them off.

5. We want to thank Marta Toth for the wonderful object lesson she gave
to us some time ago about drinking lots of liquids when working in the heat.
We talked about it this morning and remember fondly the time she (at the
expense of the good Dr. Mike) showed us exactly what to look for in the
pee department.

Well, that's it for me for now. I have attached a copy of the "Keeper" for those of you who have asked me for one. This seemed like the easiest way to distribute it. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. We plug along daily and find that, indeed, the JOY of the LORD is our strength!

KEEPER

So, what is a ship anyway?

It is a container made of steel.

It is just a thing – a tool to be used.

It is a means to get from one place to another.

What is the Caribbean Mercy?

It is a little white ship,

a vessel that carries things.

What kind of things?
People
Cargo
Friendship
Hopes
Dreams
Expectations
Relief
Healing
Love
Compassion
Mercy
Purpose
Determination
A vision
A calling
Bugs
Answers to prayer
A light in a dark world
A new beginning

This ship has been a dearly beloved part of my life for 10 years. It has been a place that I have called home. It is a place where the dearest of friends have been met, said good-by to and met again and a place where good-bys are said to dearest friends who will never be met again in this world. It is a place where mighty work has been done in my life, where growing has sometimes been painful and full of groans. It is a place that has brought me some of the greatest joy of my life, some of the most precious friends, some of the hardest and some of the most delightful experiences I have ever had.

And now, this little ship is being laid-by for a time. She will be docked in a sweet place and will patiently wait for her resurrection. She will be lovingly taken care of by a small group of keepers: Keepers of the ship. Keepers of the vision. Keepers of the hope. Keepers of the faith. We will remain as the rear guard, to preserve her as best we can for the future when she will again sail the waters.

We will remind ourselves of the mighty things that have been accomplished in the past years by the faithful who have given up their lives for a time to serve aboard her: Time given to the Lord of Lord and King of Kings; Time when we came to serve and minister and found instead that we were served and ministered to; Times when someone came out of curiosity and went home with a brand new relationship with a Savior who loves them.

We will remember the faces of the ones who we saw with our own eyes regain their vision or smile again having teeth that did not hurt any more. We will remember the faces of those who have a new roof to keep the rain out of their humble dwelling and the little family that no longer lives in a chicken coop, but have a home with beds and even their own latrine. We will remember the death of the young soldier and the way the crew came to bring comfort and hope to his friends. We will remember the face of little Dulcie, who now goes to school because she can see. We will remember the delight on the faces of the elderly who for the first time in years are able to pick up their Bible and read with the use of a simple pair of reading glasses. We will remember the young man who has no legs, but now has a Personal Transport cart which gives him freedom to move around and even have his own little business. So many memories… so many blessings… so much emotion.

Yes, we will remain for a time as the rear guard. We will lift up our leadership as they seek the Lord for the future of this little sailing vessel. We serve a mighty God who is full of compassion and love and who can be trusted with the future.

Yes, we will be keepers of the ship… keepers of the vision ...

keepers of the hope… keepers of the faith.



Rebecca Long
Chickasaw, Alabama, USA
June 2005

New Habits

Don't they say that it takes 2 weeks to break an old habit, or to form a new one? Well, my first 2 weeks of needle-gunning have passed, and I find myself looking at the ship completely differently. In the shower yesterday, for example, I looked at a patch of rust on the wall and thought to myself, "I really should hit that with a needle-gun. Or maybe an air-chisel first, then a needle-gun. But if I did that all of the rust would fly through the air into the cabin, and get all over everything. However, if I were to shut the door and run duct tape all along the sides of the door and create a vacuum using the exhaust, then no rust would be allowed out into the cabin. After I needle-gunned I could stand in the shower for a half hour until all the dust settled, then take a vacuum to it. Oh, and I'd have to block up the drain so that none of the rust would go into the system" Thank goodness I only have 2 more weeks of this!