ChrisKavanaugh
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I was finishing my Coast Guard enlistment in Alameda California on a manmade island with the inspiring name of government island. It had been formed during early dredging. It was the old Pan American China Clipper base and nearby I located the spot nearby where Jack London tied up Razzle Dazzle when a oyster pirate. Aside from the standard seagulls and pidgeons nature had fled the area to rusting WW2 ships waiting for the breakers and trendy fish retaurants trying desperately to look nautical with knock off antiques from New England. My barracks was a rather uninspired two story brick affair. One evening, we were watching the cult movie Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford. Several of us had served together in Alaska. Come commerical break, and we all ran to get a soda, use the lou etc. I was getting a coke from the vending machine when my friend Timmy walked up, tears in his eyes. "I miss Kodiak" escaped from our mouths simultaneously. So, I hatched a plot. My last duty billet was an insulting stint supervising the base grounds with a crew of drug rehab idiots doing everything ( and conversely nothing productive) to get discharged. We had taken delivery of several score 5 gallon pine trees to landscape the base. I cleared out my barracks room and with my 2 roommates 'borrowed' 24 of the trees over the weekend. I even had another Redford narrated LP playing various wolf howls and several of us 'camped out' getting drunk and telling Alaska stories everyone had heard ( and claimed the real role as the potagonist.) It was the CAMPFIRE that did us in and the hotdogs and smoors. The duty master at Arms, a sweet, 280 lb tongan named Sui Tuitasie knocked on the door, took one look and fled. I went below after him with a soda and hotdog. After promises to have it all cleared by Sunday evening and NO MORE FIRES, he agreed he hadn't seen or heard anything. We woke before reveille in our sleeping bags and withing minutes a line of sailors looking like Tolkien Ents went walking past the base chaplain on his bicycle. That monday the Co pulled a suprise inspection. He commented how nice our room looked ( no centerfolds) and SMELLED almost like a campground. "yes, I need some leavetime men. I swear I can smell pinetrees, a campfire and even smores."