Night watch in the Maneuvering Room

Jim Nelson " Nellie " EM-3 SS

Sometime in late 1966, while standing watch in maneuvering as a Jr. controllerman. I can remember it being a very boring night. I knew we were somewhere very far from home and with no bell's to answer, made each watch seem the same. Leave it to the electrican's to come up with a idea to help pass the time, " MUSIC " !! Someone had brought with them a stack of Country & Western albums. If my memory is correct, I think Dave Simon, EM-1 was the Sr. controllerman at the time.

Anyway, someone also had a old turn table that didn't care if we rewired it to a set of sound powered head phones. This is where the story really starts. We set it on the center work table along with the albums and plugged them into the head phones.

Before setting back and enjoying our music in our custom highback V.W. seats, we had told the forward engine room to give us a bell if a officer was headed our way !

Since I was the Jr. controllerman, the Sr. controllerman made me wear my head phones with one ear off so I could hear any bells. By this time, we both were kicked back with our feet up on control center and almost to doze off, when out of no where, who come's through the center of the main control cubicle, but the Skipper !! I jumped up, damm near tearing my head off trying to get the head phones off and trying to look like I was busy. Well, the skipper didn't say a word at this time, but he stopped where we had the stack of albums and started looking through them. He still had not said a word until he got to a certain album, which he then said " Buck Owens Sucks " !! He laid the albums down and went into the stern room. I thought we were in big trouble !! So we put everything away and looked like we were busy ! About fifteen minute's later, the Skipper came back through headed forwared and to our relief, didn't say a word.

Well, that was the end to our music playing days until we could think of something else to do to pass the time !!

Jim