The question has been put to me more than once in some variation or another: Why does anyone need an I Love Me Wall so big for all these certificates? Its also been stated to me: I know where Ive been and I dont need a piece of paper to prove it. One is a valid question. The other is a personal statement valid to the person stating it. Either way, they both deserve responses. Ive been mulling them over in my head the past few days, thinking of a way to articulate my answer, because off the bat I already know. So, shipmates, here is my response: An I Love Me Wall as theyve come to be known by us sailoring types has been laughed at as a type of vanity, set up by some narcissistic sailor whose only life was the service. It has been scoffed at by the 4 year sailor, collected for by the lifer, and looked at as an I wish I had. . . by the salty veteran whose memories of the sea are the closest hell ever get to sailing again. This wall is more important that you think. It is your story. It communicates to your friends and relatives right now what youve done and where youve been. . Your I Love Me Wall, full of official certificates of achievement, awards, LOA and LOC shows to those people the sacrifices and military accomplishments you made. Your unofficial certificates on the other hand, those big, gregarious, often politically incorrect and a little tough for the landlubbing laymen, communicate your personal achievements while on the far sides of this planet. They are your milestones. While little 10 year old Timmy can say hes already been to the P.I. or to Egypt, he most certainly cant say hes a Shellback whos crossed the Equator while being initiated by Neptunes Court. He cant say hes crossed the Shit River Bridge or passed through the Straights of Gibraltar. Not every snot nosed kid has joined the ranks of The Persian Gulf Yacht Club or its bigger, more storied Sea Daddy the Gulf of Tonkin Yacht Club. When I was a snot nosed kid in boot camp, my Chief Company Commander made me do ridiculous amounts of pushups before his Shellback Certificate. Ive crossed the Equator 12 times underwater, I can still hear him say, What the HELL have YOU done, Recruit?? It was impressive to me. It made me want to excel. A year later, I was a shellback. While the Worldwide Web and jet travel have turned the world into a much smaller place, kids today think they know and have done everything. Your wall full of these certificates puts them in their place. But thats not the only reason. Its not even the most important. Someday, well all be dead. Your sea stories will nary be heard from again. All your ancestors will have are the certificates, official and unofficial that you preserved for them. Some of those future generations will have a lot to go off of. My great-great-granddaddy plied the Pacific and went up against Neptunes Court, and then sat on station in the Gulf of Tonkin, or the Persian Gulf. Your wall isnt for just you. Its for those who have yet to embark on this world. Collecting these certificates isnt for everyone. But it will keep youre great great grandkids from having to spend $100 a month to subscribe to findmykin to figure out what you did with your life. And youre a United States Sailor. What you did was substantial. It deserves a substantial certificate or three. My job is to provide an extra mark of substance. So you can say that youre certificate was designed, drawn and personalized for you by a Shipmate. My goal is to turn these certificates into lasting works of nautical art that youll look at in years and remember where youve been. So thats why I believe an I Love Me Wall should be big and why it should exist in the first place. Boats
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 22:18:36 +0000
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