I served in the U.S. Navy back in the 80’s, and into the start of the the 90’s. The biggest highlight of that was the birth of my daughter in 1986. And then, later that year, was the second biggest adventure: riding a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean onboard the USS Thorn (DD-988).

See that video above? That was mild compared to the hurricane we rode from Charleston, SC, up to the North Atlantic for NATO Ops, and Baltic Ops. I was sitting in the signal bridge (where the signal men hang out), which is above the bridge. In the video above, the bridge is the top part with all the windows so they can see where they’re going. While in the Signal Bridge, a Gunner’s Mate came up because a piece of equipment had its cover blown off and he had to put it back on. When he asked for help, I was glad to go out there with him. Watching the waves crash on us was one thing, experiencing it was another.

So, I put on foul weather gear, strapped a life jacket about my waist, and had a lifeline hooked to me as well. (I did have a new baby girl, right?) After we replaced the cover on the equipment, I signaled I was going forward, to look over the wall atop the bridge to see the ocean. I saw firsthand what is shown above. We were crashing down after cresting waves. The signal bridge was 6 decks (six floors) above the waterline. The water was hitting me in the face as I looked at the pure, unbridled power of nature.

In a play I was in here in Jackson, MS, there was a bit where a woman talks about how people only have at most 5 stories they always talk about. This is one of mine. That hurricane crashing in my face is my main story.

I not only rode the storm, I went out into it.