.. and there are certain unexplained occurrences in life.
..have told this story numerous times.. it always has a weird effect..
..once out of college, during the last years of the Vietnam War..
..I was 1A draft status.. waiting to be called to active duty (and undoubtedly head off to Indochina)..
..no corporate employers would bother with me, so a job hacking a NYC cab filled the bill during that time..
..on a day-off, was shopping in New Rochell in Westchester, not far from Iona where I had gone to school..
..I ran into someone who indicated they knew me very well from college, acting as if we had been something like best friends..
..to this day I honestly have no recollection as ever having met him previously..
..anyway, we chatted for a bit, and of course the topic came up about what was happening with me and the war..
..once he knew, he straight off said he was a member of a local Naval Reserve unit, and that his unit was looking for new recruits... and would I be interested..
..I've never had such a desire to suck a man's face before or since..
..that evening I went and signed right up.. two weeks later found myself in Norfolk, Virginia part of the 'plank-owner' pre-com crew for the USS John F Kennedy CVA-67 aircraft carrier...
..for the next year was stationed in Virginia while the ship was being made ready for sea-duty, and coming home every weekend on leave..
..then a year in the Mediterranean on the ship's maiden showboat cruise to all the NATO countries of Europe.. it was a whirlwind, and lots of good times..
..never saw that guy again after running into him on the street that fateful day.. even though this was a very small unit I had signed up with..
..it still remains one of the most surreal happenings of my life..
ps.. ..in all the years attending Iona, I never ever remember shopping in New Rochelle... (just sayin).. was a city kid, day-hoppin to college.
