Much Have I Travelled: Back at the Zoo

Vickery Gate

After ten and a half months straight at sea, Sea Year ended. I had five weeks of summer vacation before reporting back to Kings Point for 2nd Class (Junior) year. When we got back on campus, we were advised that Kings Pointers were no longer referred to as cadets. We were now to be called midshipmen. We still considered ourselves cadets and didn't like the change.

I was moved to section 70-103 and assigned a room in 6th Company. I had several different roommates that year, most notably Mike Ryan and Bob "Ying Yang" McConnell. Ying Yang was a former 70-101'er and a good friend. When we had time off, he would often spend it at my parents' home, an hour away. Ying Yang's and my room was on the third floor directly over the arch. On weekends, when Boy Scout troops often toured the Academy, we would place my Akai M-9 tape recorder in our window and blast the Dudley Do-Right cartoon intro theme that I had recorded. It went something like "Into the northern region of Canada at the close of the 19th Century rode Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties, lonely defender of justice and fair play, handsome, brave, daring and hopelessly lost." It always startled the scouts and made them laugh. It made us laugh too.

It was not easy having to crack the books again after being away at sea for a year but we managed.

It was good to see Denny Gross again. He was the Regimental First Lieutenant and later in the year recommended me for that position.

The best thing that happened to me 2nd Class year was that I met my wife to be. The weekend before first semester finals, several of us decided that we had done enough studying and needed to relax before Monday's exams. We had seen a flyer for a mixer/cruise on the Circle Lines in midtown Manhattan and decided to attend. During the cruise, I noticed Ying Yang talking to a particularly good looking co-ed. As she put it, I rescued her from him. We exchanged phone numbers and the rest is history.

Junior Prom July 1969

1st Class Year

Prior to the academic beginning of 1st Class year, we had to spend two weeks working as shipping company interns. I chose to work for Trinidad Corporation in New York City and commuted there from home.

1st Class (Senior) year was a testament to the original 70-101 section members; many became Regimental, Battalion, or Company officers. Steve Ford (RX), Ennis Kay (BX3), Dave Whitty (BX2), Jim Sweeney (CC1), Bob McConnell (RA) and myself (RFL) all made the list. If I've left anybody out, I apologize.

Ying Yang and I discovered a kitten trapped behind the soda machine in Land Hall. We named him Bronson. Bronson lived in my room because I had a lock on my door but Ying Yang spent as much time with him as I did. Ying Yang would tuck him inside his shirt and take him to class. He'd also ride on his shoulder when he walked around the Academy. I was behind Ying Yang in line at the Ship's Store one day and Bronson was on his shoulder batting at his ears. The cashier freaked out when she noticed. I wound up taking Bronson home during Christmas break and my mother found him a permanent home.

The Reg Aide was unofficially responsible for the keeping the "Job Book" and the "Date Book." Ying Yang, being the Reg Aide and my best friend, always saw fit to include me in the best weekend job offers, where midshipmen could make spending cash doing handyman jobs outside the Academy grounds. Valet parking jobs for affluent Kings Point villagers' functions were great jobs that paid good tips and let us park fancy cars. Perhaps the best job Ying Yang and I did together was a landscaping job for Ron Swoboda, a hero for the 1969 Miracle Mets World Series championship team. He had recently had an in-ground swimming pool installed in his back yard and needed the lawn around it graded and seeded. We spent a Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday hauling wheelbarrows of dirt from his front yard to the back, dumping and raking it out and then planting grass seed. It was sweaty work but Ron was a good boss and let us take frequent iced tea breaks. When we were done, he told us if we ever wanted to use his pool to just call. We never did since the end of 1st class year was fast approaching.

I was only peripherally involved in "Date Book" happenings. Ying Yang had sent out "Date a Midshipman" flyers to all the local colleges hoping to line up dates with prospective co-eds. The response was mixed, some serious, some humorous. On a couple of occasions, I was dragged along to college dances to be the designated driver. The girls from Grace Downs flight attendant school in Glen Cove also visited the Academy frequently however I'm not aware of any hook-ups that evolved from "Date Book" encounters, but they were great distractions from Academy life.

I was fortunate enough to be named Acting Regimental Commander for a weekend while Bob Lavinia and Steve Ford were away representing the Academy. That weekend happened to correspond with the Maritime Administrator's annual visit to the Academy. He mentioned to me during the Regimental Review that, when he first started sailing, he had a Scottish girlfriend named Laidlaw and was curious if she was a relative. Although I have many Scottish relatives, she was not related.

Regimental Review Nov 8, 1969 - The Honorable Andrew E. Gibson, Maritime Administrator

Kings Point started an aggressive marketing campaign during the 1969-1970 year and was chosen to march at halftime during the Sugar Bowl football game on New Year's Day. I was one of a hundred cadets (excuse me - midshipmen - old habits die hard) who volunteered for the occasion. To practice for the big event, we marched at a NY Giants game at Yankee Stadium. We had no assigned seats for the game and were allowed to stand on the sidelines behind the players. On extra points and field goals, the stadium security guards stood behind the end zones to keep the footballs away from the fans. Several KP'ers decided it would be a good ruse to pretend to be helping the security guards but actually steal a game ball for the Academy. The quarterback of our football team stationed himself behind the end zone. Another cadet stayed in the baseball bullpen which led out to the street. Near the end of the game, when one team kicked an extra point, there was a big melee for the ball. One of our cadets grabbed it, tossed it to our quarterback who threw a perfect pass to the cadet in the bullpen who took off out of the stadium and onto one of our buses. They later presented the game ball to Admiral McLintock.

The Sugar Bowl trip was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I was asked to escort the Maritime Administrator's daughter, Janet Gibson, to the Gala events. That meant I was not available to march in the parade or game. I shared a room with the the Maritime Administrator's Aide at the Sheraton Charles while the rest of the cadets stayed out of town at the Belle Chasse Naval Air Station. The evening of the Sugar Bowl Parade, we dined with Moon Landrieu, the Mayor of New Orleans. During the parade, we stood in the reviewing stand. That night was probably the coldest I have ever been in my life. I was wearing my winter blue uniform and a heavy cravat overcoat with lining and shivered the whole time. My guess is the temperature was near freezing but it was so damp and windy that the cold just went right through you. I felt sorry for those marching in the parade, especially the one group from Hawaii who wore grass skirts.

The next day, I went sailing on Lake Ponchartrain with Jay Clark, a Kings Point graduate and president of Delta Steamship Lines. That night we attended a New Year's Eve dance at the Southern Yacht Club with the Gibson's. After a dance with Mrs. Gibson, she commented that it was too bad Kings Point didn't offer dancing lessons. I guess the dancing lessons I had taken in Bedford Hills during 7th and 8th grades were a waste of time. On game day, we had breakfast with Zach Carter, the president of Avondale Shipyard. The game itself, between Ole Miss and Arkansas, was held in Tulane Stadium. Arkansas was a slight favorite because of its All-American wide receiver Chuck Dicus. Ole Miss had Archie Manning at quarterback. Archie became famous during his Junior year when nobody knew who he was. That year, Ole Miss fans wore buttons saying "Archie Who?' His senior year, the buttons worn at the Sugar Bowl game said "Archie You Know Damn Well Who." Ole Miss won the game 27-22 and Archie Manning was voted game MVP but the most memorable thing to me was the Arkansas Hog Call cheer - "Woo Pig Sooie Sooie Sooie." It was loud and echoed throughout the stadium. When I see Arkansas on television nowadays, I root for them because of their cheer.

After the game, Janet Gibson and I went to Pat O'Brien's to sample their world-famous Hurricanes. It was a pretty powerful drink served in a tall fluted glass. We sat in the back courtyard and were entertained by frat pledges standing on the tables and leading the crowd in the Ole Miss fight song. There were plenty of football players present from both teams; most were feeling no pain. I went up to the bar to order another drink. People were 4 deep. I recognized the guy in front of me as Bruce Maxwell, the Arkansas fullback. He had his arm around an Ole Miss player and was saying something to the effect that he didn't mind losing to Ole Miss as long as he didn't lose to a Yankee team. When it was my turn to order, I did so in my best Southern drawl.

After leaving Pat O'Brien's, we made our way to Pete Fountain's club and topped the Hurricanes off with some gin and tonics. A couple of famous television sports announcers, Chris Shenkel and Bud Wilkinson, were there and were well on their way to waking up with hangovers.

Ying Yang invited me to his house for Easter vacation. He lived an hour east of Pittsburgh. We pulled an all-nighter the night before, attending a Lettermen's concert at the Westbury Music Fair then driving all night to his house. I had borrowed my parents' car for the trip. The return trip to school was a nightmare. Several feet of snow had blanketed the east coast but had stopped before we left. A tractor trailer had flipped over on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and blocked a tunnel. Traffic slowed to a crawl. We got off the Turnpike and headed north on local roads to connect with Route 22. Route 22 was very icy and at one point we went into a 180 degree skid and slid stern first into a snowbank. Luckily there was minimal traffic so we were able to pull out of the snowbank and back onto the road before any oncoming traffic got there. We were exhausted by the time we got back to school.

The rest of 1st Class year was a blur, mostly spent prepping for license exams.