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Chapter 7 A School I wish to thank Art M. and Marcus for editorial assistance. Thursday, April 13, 1978 NTC San Diego Porter was terrified as he watched the buildings race by while he looked out the window of the jet airliner. ‘My God, we are lower than the skyscrapers. There’s a freeway, we can’t be more than a few feet above the cars.’ Porter felt and heard the tires of the airliner touch down. The approach into San Diego’s International Airport went through downtown San Diego. After Porter disembarked, he collected his duffle bag and uniform bag and left the terminal. As soon as he was outside, the warm afternoon sun warmed his spirit. He walked over to the nearest cab and got in. “NTC (Navel Training Center) please,” Porter instructed the cabbie. “The standard fee from the airport to NTC is ten dollars. “That’s fine.” This was Porter’s first cab ride. Porter knew that cabbies liked to rip people off and was glad that he’d given him a standard rate. It only took about fifteen minutes to get to NTC San Diego. Porter noticed that they’d passed the Marine Corp training center, which seemed to be connected to NTC. Porter observed as much of the area as he could during the ride. It was refreshing to see the green grass and trees after 6 months of winter. Soon the taxi pulled next to the NTC main gate. Porter paid the driver ten dollars and picked up and carried everything he owned. He asked the guard at the main gate where he needed to go. The instructions weren’t too difficult and soon Porter was handing a sealed envelope to a petty officer. “You’ll be assigned to a BEQ (Basic Enlisted Quarters?) until you’re assigned to a permanent BEQ while attending your A school.” ‘Why isn’t this guy yelling at me? He’s actually treating me like a human being. Perhaps after boot camp the Navy really does become like a real job?’ “Here’s a map of NTC. You’re standing right here.” The petty officer said, pointing his finger. “Your BEQ is here and the chow hall is over there. Make sure after breakfast tomorrow that you hang around your BEQ until someone comes looking for you.” Porter wasn’t impressed with his BEQ. It was clean but it was also old. ‘This building must have been built before WWII. There’s no air circulation and it’s hot in here.’ The layout of the barracks was much the same as boot camp with 40 two-man racks on both sides of the barracks. Porter made his rack in a proper boot camp manner. He didn’t realize that no one cared whether or not his rack was made in a certain way. ‘I don’t see anyone I know? I guess I’ll go outside for a cigarette by myself.’ Porter thought as he scanned the barracks only noticing about 15 men doing their own thing, none of which he knew. The landscaping around the building of the barracks impressed Porter. There was green grass next to a bed of flowers with ferns and topped off with some small palm trees. ‘We’re not in Michigan anymore!’ Porter had no problems going to sleep that night. Even though it was only 2200 hrs, his internal clock was still set on Eastern Standard Time and not Pacific Standard Time. He did notice that others were moving about and going to bed.
Friday, April 14, 1978 ‘Where am I?’ Porter wondered as he opened his eyes and looked around the barracks. Light streamed through the glass illuminating the dull walls. He noticed that the population had grown by about thirty since he’d fallen asleep-most of which were still asleep. I might as well get up and face the day.’ Porter picked up his shower kit, towel, and headed for the head. (Bathroom) After finishing, Porter was walking back to his rack when he saw his friend, Art Heinz. “Welcome to San Diego, Heinz. What time did you get in last night?” “About 2300 hrs last night, good to see you again Porter. You have this place figured out yet?”
“Not yet, but I think I know how to get to the chow hall, I have a map.” Porter said with a know-it-all look. “I bet I don’t need it to find the chow hall. I can just follow everyone else!” “Wait up for me Porter; I’m going to take a quick shower.” “No problem, I’m going to read my map.” Porter said with a smart-ass grin. In a few minutes the men stood at the front of the barracks ready to walk to the chow hall. “Let’s see how far away the chow hall is, Heinz. I figure that it takes about 20 minutes to walk one mile. What time is it, Heinz?” “It’s now 0730 hrs. Let’s see how long it takes.” The two men MARCHED together to the chow hall. They were in step most of the way with Porter often making sudden, abrupt maneuvers in order to change direction. This was Porter’s idea of follow the leader. He didn’t have his map out but knew the general direction he needed to go in. There were also others headed in the same direction. “How was boot camp leave, Porter?” Heinz inquired. “It started out all messed up. I got to the airport and I didn’t know where to go. In all the movies I’d seen, people wait in the terminal until they announce that their plane is now boarding. I didn’t know that you had to go to the gate. I sat in the main lobby until I’d missed my flight. Someone finally steered me in the right direction and I was able to catch the next plane. I didn’t have to wait too long but it cost me a couple of hours. “I can’t believe how warm it is! It’s like summer out here. “Anyway, I was pretty much wasted the whole time. I had a ¼ ounce chunk of really good smoke waiting for me and that was just the start. Me and Mike went down south to Kalamazoo to party with my Cousin Nancy. We went and saw ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and then we went to a Disco called ‘The Light Factory’. Personally, I don’t get Disco at all! I got so drunk I got up to go dancing and I left like thirty dollars lying on the table. When I got back it was gone. Then we went cruising around and ended up parking back near my Aunt and Uncle’s house. Mike kept trying to get alone with my Cousin but nothing he tried worked. “The only time I spent with my parents, we went out to eat in a small town called Frankenmuth. We went to this restaurant called ‘The Bavarian Inn.’ I wore my uniform and they offered me a child’s menu. It really made me mad. How was your leave, Heinz?” “Great, I spent most of my time with my girl, Barbara. I partied pretty good too but I mostly just got drunk.” “I didn’t bring any smoke with me as I didn’t know what to expect. So far things seem pretty much laid back. That must be the chow hall over there? Everyone seems to be gathering towards that big building. What time is it, Heinz?” “It’s 0800 hrs, looks like we have walked a mile and a half.” “That means it’s a three mile round trip or nine miles a day just to eat. This is the last time I’m eating breakfast. I’m waiting for lunch from now on.” The two men approached the chow hall. At this mess hall they also had a mess hall master at arms at the door. He was young and slim, not old and fat like the mess hall master at arms at Great Lakes. After presenting their meal card they were allowed to enter. It didn’t take nearly as long to get their food either. There were far more selections than boot camp and the food tasted good. Shortly after returning to the barracks everyone went to a lecture hall for orientation. “Welcome to Navel Training Center San Diego. This orientation is to help you adjust to your new home for as long as you are training here. First, we’ll go over rules and procedures. Open your Student Information Booklet. All of you will be assigned to a permanent BEQ. You’ll share a room with three other sailors. You’ll be required to keep it clean and it will be inspected once a week. “Our training classes are Monday through Friday with weekends off. There will be no duty watches during your stay at NTC so when not in class you’re free to do as you like. You must be in uniform everyplace on base except in the BEQ and the EM (Enlisted Mans) Club. When off base you can also wear civilian clothes. The EM club will serve you 3.2 beers no matter what your age is. The drinking age in California is 21. When entering the chow hall you’ll be checked for proper uniform and haircut. If you are out of uniform, you’ll not be allowed to eat and you’ll be written up. There are other places around the base that will also write you up for not being in proper uniform and hair cut. You can grow a mustache or beard as long as it’s within Navy standards.” “You’ll be assigned permanent BEQ before you leave here today. Your roommates will be assigned so don’t bother asking to have your friends assigned to your room. After your gear is stowed, you’ll be free to do as you please until Monday morning.” ‘I no more than get here and I’m getting the weekend off, this is great!’ Porter thought. The rest of the room started buzzing with the news too. “Ok, settle down, we have more information to cover. The chow hall has two different lines open for lunch and dinner. Regular cafeteria food and a fast food line with burgers and fries.” Porter’s mouth started to water. ‘I can eat burgers and fries for every meal.’ “There are many activities you can do on base. We have a movie theater with a different movie every week, recreation centers with pool tables and ping-pong, basketball courts, and a golf course. For your shopping needs we have the PX (on base store), uniform shop, barbers, snack shops, vending machines, and a laundry. There are several places on base that you can buy cigarettes for 35 cents a pack. Porter smiled, ‘that’s about a dollar less a pack then they cost off base.’ “We do have recruit training command here on this base. You must stay out of that area and leave any recruit alone unless you want to be treated the same as a recruit. Also, only a fence separates us from Marine boot camp. Every once in a while some recruit will try to run away from RTC and jump the fence finding themselves in the Marine recruit training center. Needless to say, they are treated the same as Marines that are caught trying to run away. “A few words about your A school - You were guaranteed an A school when you signed up for your tour of duty. You may be dropped from your school for any number of reasons, which will mean that you’ll be chipping paint for the rest of your time in the Navy. Activities that may get you dropped from your school include but are not limited to: missing classes, failing tests, most violations of the UCMJ (United Code of Military Justice) and getting in trouble with civilian authorities. For more serious offences we have an on base brig. “One place that you can stay fairly inexpensively downtown is the Armed Forces YMCA. I believe that the cost of a room is seven dollars a night. Right next-door is a Christian out reach center that has free food for servicemen 24 hours a day. You’ll find that the weather is fairly consistent. We don’t get much rain and temperatures are in the 70’s most of the year. Thirty miles away, in the desert it gets much warmer in the summer. The breeze coming off the cool Ocean makes our climate very comfortable.” “Make sure that you use the buddy system when leaving the base. Two minds always work better then one. For more information about going off base we have with us Sergeant Miller of the San Diego Police to speak with you.” Sergeant Miller approached the microphone. “Welcome to San Diego! Like any big city we have crime problems. Most of the complaints we receive from sailors are some form of fraud. These people are experts at separating you from your money. The best thing you can do to avoid these kinds of problems is not to talk to strangers. These people will first try to con you out of your money. If that doesn’t work more than likely they’ll use violence and take your money from you. “If you go looking for trouble you’ll find it. And most importantly stay away from drug deals. Should you get caught either using or possessing less then an ounce of marijuana in this state, it is not a criminal offence it’s a civil infraction. You’ll receive a notice to appear in court and have to go before a judge. Then you’ll have to pay a fine, kind of like a traffic ticket.” After being told of the many rules and regulations, the sailors were taken on a tour of the base. After that they were divided up by their school type, and Porter found that about 20 were going to be in his class. Then they were assigned a room in a permanent BEQ and were told to pack up and move. The room was small but nice. It had two bunk beds with wood grain, (not metal racks) and 4 large wood grain closets. “Hi, I’m Porter.” Porter introduced himself to the others already mostly unpacked. “Hi, I’m McFarland.” “I’m Davis.” “And I’m Slone, Paul Slone, and I’m from Alabama. Tell me Porter, do you get high?” “Hell Yeah!” Porter replied. “Davis get the towel.” Slone ordered. “And McFarland turn up that song that just came on the radio. I just love that running with the devil song by that new group, Van Halen. Let’s go over by the window and I’ll light this up.” Davis got his towel and stuffed it under the crack in the door. And the men moved over to the already open window. Slone pulled out a joint and lit it. After taking a big drag he handed it to Porter. “Isn’t this dangerous?” Porter asked. “As long as we don’t try to smoke too much and smoke cigarettes to cover up the smell, we should be ok. I like that Van Halen song but Leonard Skynyrd is the greatest rock and roll band in the world,” Slone remarked. Slone was of average height and had brown hair and eyes. Davis was also of average height and had blond hair and blue eyes. McFarland was tall and skinny and looked like a geek. Porter was the only one in uniform as the other men had changed into civilian clothes. “This is pretty good weed.” “Where can I get some smoke, I didn’t bring any with be because I didn’t know what to expect,” Porter inquired. “You can find it downtown or at the beaches. People come up to you left and right asking if you need any drugs.” “That’s cool; I’ll have to check it out. Tonight I’m going over to the EM club to check that out with my friend from boot camp, Heinz, as soon as I get my stuff put away.” “We’ll help you as soon as we finish this joint. We’re all going to the EM club too.” The men quickly finished the joint with the four of them smoking it, they only got a few hits a piece. It wasn’t enough to get high but it did help to open everyone up. “You don’t need to have your locker in any kind of order,” said Davis. “No one cares whether or not you fold your underwear.” Porter dumped his duffel bag out on the floor and in about a minute everything was thrown into his locker. Porter changed into civilian clothes while he was smoking a cigarette. He still wasn’t sure about smoking dope in his room but he also felt he could trust his roommates. The four men chatted on their way to the EM club. Porter was surprised by what he saw inside. It reminded him of the Disco he’d seen while on leave. He spotted his friend Heinz sitting by himself at the bar. Porter introduced his roommates to Heinz and they went and did their own thing, leaving Heinz and Porter together. Porter ordered a beer and chugged as much as he could. “This tastes terrible. I don’t like beer much to begin with but this has to be the worst tasting beer I’ve had. My dad calls this 3.2 beer belly wash. I guess I know what he means now.” “Yeah it sucks, you’re going to have to find us some pot to smoke Porter!” replied Heinz. “I already smoked a joint in my room with my roommates. They gave me some ideas on where we could find some pot.” “Well we have all weekend to look around town. There’s a bus stop just outside the main gate. From there we can go anywhere in town.” “I want to go down to the beach. The guys said that’s a good place to score.” The crowd became fairly animated when the D.J. played ‘In the Navy’ by the Village People. Porter was surprised to see that the D.J. was replaced with a live rock and roll band later that night. After drinking four or five beers, Heinz and Porter went back to their rooms to get ready to go to bed. Porter went down to the head to take a shower and was really surprised when he entered the toilet stall. The walls were covered with graffiti, even though it looked like they were cleaned often. Most of it was gay oriented. Then there was anti-Navy graffiti, and an assortment of bathroom poetry. ‘This is really something, I’ve been here 24 hours and it’s been great. I’ll be right at home here.’ Porter thought.
Saturday, April 15, 1978 After waking up, showering, and getting dressed, Porter found Heinz ready to go. “Where do you want to go today Porter?” Heinz asked. “My roommates said that Mission Beach is pretty cool. They said that we’d have to take the bus downtown and then transfer to another bus that goes the rest of the way. That way we can see downtown and the beach too.” It was a short walk between the BEQ and the main gate - only about 200 yards. Porter saw one sailor who wasn’t waiting for the bus. He had tight shorts on that ended where his legs began. He had on a tee shirt that was cut off just below his ribs exposing his belly. In one hand he was spinning a Frisbee and his other hand had his thumb stuck out looking for a ride. It didn’t take long at all before someone slammed on their brakes and picked him up. ‘That sure seems dangerous – at the very least some homosexual is going to pick him up. Perhaps that’s what he wanted? Still that’s too dangerous for me to do.’ Porter thought. Porter and Heinz got on the bus and deposited $.35 for the fare, and requested a transfer to get on the bus to Mission Beach. It took 30 minutes to get downtown. Porter and Heinz were animated, pointing out every little thing they saw along the way. They passed the Marine Corp main gate, the airport, and finally they were downtown standing outside the Armed Forces YMCA. It was on old building standing 6 stories high and covering a city block. While waiting at the bus stop, a guy approached them asking, “looking for any smoke?” “Yeah, sure what have you got,” Porter Replied. “I have a quarter ounce for $20.” Mike (Porter’s best friend back home) had warned Porter that prices would probably be quite a bit higher then he was used to paying back home for drugs. Porter and Heinz walked around the corner of the building and they made the deal. Porter noted that it was more like an eighth then a quarter ounce but he was happy to be getting something. They thanked the guy nevertheless and went back to the bus stop. Heinz and Porter got on the bus headed for Mission Beach. They went by Sea World and a number of other sights on the way. Mission Beach featured an old closed down amusement park with an old roller coaster. Porter found some rolling papers at a small store but they had a difficult time finding someplace private enough to roll a joint and smoke it. There were people everywhere - people on roller skates, throwing Frisbee’s, playing volleyball, and surfing. It sure seemed to Porter like the typical California Beach he’d seen on TV. A few people asked them if they wanted to buy any drugs and they told them no. “This is played out Porter.” “I know what you mean Heinz. I was looking for the ultimate party spot and we can’t even find someplace to burn a joint. It also took forever to get here; we’ll have to find someplace else to party!” Heinz and Porter took the buses back to the base and finally ended up smoking a joint in Porter’s room as his roommates were off someplace. “I’d say that this weed is brown Mexican. Back home this bag would have cost five dollars. I caught a very little buzz off that joint,” Porter said while rolling up another. “We need to find someplace better to smoke this up than in this dorm.” “One of my roommates said something about a place near here. He’s been here since Tuesday. I’ll see if he’s in my room, be right back, Porter.” “Ok, Heinz.” About five minutes later Heinz showed up with another guy, “Damn Porter, it does reek of pot in here, this is Gwinn.” “How’s it going?” Porter asked Gwinn “Not bad, I know a place we can party. It’s a ravine not far off the base.” “I have five joints ready to smoke, lead the way.” Gwinn stood about six feet tall and had really curly hair. The men walked out the gate of NTC just about the time the sun was setting. “This is probably the best time of day to get to this place without being seen.” A few blocks away from the main gate Gwinn turned west and headed up a street. The incline was steep but that didn’t seem to affect them much. After walking about a half mile, they turned around and they could see the whole base from their point of view. To the left was a dead end road with a nice house on either side. Porter could see the ravine from where they stood. It was twilight as they started down the heavily wooded ravine. Down the path they found several places that had been used for parties before. They found an area about eight feet across and four feet high completely covered by bushes and trees so that the young men couldn’t be seen. The ground was dark dry dirt almost covered with empty beer cans. They found several logs that the men reasoned were chairs and sat down. “We should probably keep it quiet. Your voice travels a long way from down here,” commented Gwinn. Porter pulls out a joint and lights it. He takes one hit and passes it to Gwinn. Gwinn takes one hit and holds it for about 30 seconds working on it to stop it from sidetracking. Then he takes another hit and frets with it some more. Then he takes another hit and passes it to Heinz. Heinz takes one hit and passes it to Porter who takes one hit. Porter then passes it to Gwinn who takes three more hits and, by the time he’s done with it there’s nothing left. Porter has been observing all of this and by now is pissed. “This place is played out Heinz, I’m paranoid, let’s get out of here!” Porter whispered. “I thought you guys wanted to get stoned?” Gwinn questioned. “We do, but this just doesn’t feel right anymore, let’s go,” Porter replied. The young men walked out of the ravine and back down the hill towards the Navy Base. Porter was catching a slight buzz which only irritated him that much more with the constant chatter coming out of Gwinn’s mouth. It was already dark outside and Porter thought the view was outstanding. After getting back to the BEQ the young men went back to Heinz and Gwinn’s room. “Heinz, come on. I want to show you something in my room,” later Gwinn.” Porter walked straight towards the exit with Art on his heels. Once they were outside Heinz asked, “Where we going Porter?” “Back to the woods of course!” “I thought you didn’t like it?” “It was Gwinn that I didn’t like, the party spot is great! We’ll call it ‘the woods.’” “Why don’t you like him Porter?” “You see, I had two hits off my joint, you had two hits off that joint, and Gwinn had six. He was hogging that joint! He’s nothing but a sponge. I have four joints to smoke with you Heinz. That’s two a piece. If we had smoked them with Gwinn, that would have been three for him and one for us. I might as well just give him my smoke so I don’t have to listen to him. I don’t believe that guy asking if he could clean out our pipes and seeds. That guy will do anything to catch a buzz for free. The only way I ever want to party with that guy again is if he’s buying!” Porter and Heinz marched back out of the gate and up the hill. It was a little harder to find the small clearing in the dark than it was while there was still some sunlight. Porter and Heinz spent the next hour smoking the rest of the pot Porter had bought that day. Porter’s mind was racing. That’s what happens when Porter gets high on weed. He thinks deep thoughts and his mouth can’t keep up with his brain. But, if he looses his train of thought, it’s probably gone forever and what sounds really deep when he is high, but makes no sense mostly once he’s sober again. That is if he can remember what he was thinking or talking about. “What’s it like to do harder drugs, Porter,” Heinz inquires. “I guess first you need to understand what is really happening when you drink alcohol, smoke pot, smoke cigarettes, and use other more common drugs. Let’s start with talking about alcohol. “Alcohol is as old as recorded history. Four thousand years ago water wasn’t safe to drink, but beer and wine was. This was true up until about one hundred years ago. Like other drugs, alcohol has two versions, natural and synthetic. It can be made naturally or it can be produced in a lab. Distilled liquors have been around for hundreds of years and have destroyed many lives. With any drug natural is always better for your body than synthetic. Alcohol’s drug classification is central nervous system depressant or downer. It slows down and stops nerves from sending electronic messages to each other in your brain and body. It is a poison and kills many nerve cells in the brain and body every time you drink. Your liver has to detoxify alcohol to rid your body of the poison. This destroys the liver after a while. My Dad has told me stories about people who drank two or three drinks everyday for many years becoming vegetables. Because alcohol is socially accepted, this information is mostly ignored. Alcohol related deaths are the number one cause of death for people between the ages of 20 and 40.” “Another central nervous system depressant is opium drugs. Again the most dangerous is synthetic heroin. The difference between feeling good and overdosing is a very fine line. Morphine is another opium derivative. It’s also a very good painkiller. Both are physically addictive to 100% of those who abuse these drugs whereas alcohol is only addictive to a percentage of those who use it. Opium is a natural form of the drug and is smoked. It’s just as addictive and dangerous. I know of at least one person from my neighborhood that died from smoking opium. I’ve never tried any of these drugs or used a needle to get high. Mike tells me that heroin is the granddaddy of all downers. Most downers’ affects are much like alcohol and opiates. Myself the only downer I use, or perhaps abuse, is alcohol. It’s easy to get and mostly you get sick and puke before it kills you. Downers generally impair your judgment, motor skills, and can still affect you many hours after being taken.” “Another category of drugs is called uppers. These drugs generally increase heart rate and blood pressure. They have a way of changing how you perceive reality and are also considered mind-altering drugs even though the effect on the mind is less noticeable than downers. I’ve never done speed or cocaine, the most common forms of uppers. These drugs are both physically and psychologically addictive. Lots of kids get through college taking these kinds of drugs to keep awake. Cocaine makes your body produce Adrenaline. This is a natural hormone that is used to help you defend yourself in an emergency. Mike calls cocaine a rich mans drug. There are also uppers that are socially accepted such as coffee. Myself I don’t get it. I guess I’m just naturally hyper and don’t need anything extra. “The next category of drugs is hallucinogenic drugs. These include marijuana, LSD, some kinds of mushrooms, and cactus. These drugs change the way you think and your perception of reality. Like all the other drugs I’ve talked about, there are both natural and synthetic. You can OD on LSD or have a bad trip, I guess, I’ve never had a bad trip. They say you can OD on pot but I’ve never been able to do it. The buzz with LSD is comparable to pot except its more intense and lasts for hours. This category of drugs is only psychologically addictive instead of physically. I’m definitely going to have to get you high on acid at least once Heinz. It’s really intense. “Another drug I do from time to time is PCP. There are a bunch of street names for it but it’s basically an elephant tranquilizer. At least that’s what it was developed for. It didn’t work for that use. This drug is like getting really drunk. You lose all motor skills and ability to make even the easiest decisions. The trick with any drug is to maintain yourself and not let anyone know you are high. PCP is the hardest drug to maintain control. Some people loose all control on this drug and freak out. They often end up in hospitals, jail, or worse.” “The last drug I use and probably one of the most dangerous is smoking.” “This is played out Porter, lets get back to the base, I’m ready to crash.” “Yeah I’m getting tired too, Heinz. We’ll have to find some more smoke tomorrow.” Despite the sobering reality of boot camp, Porter still prefers the dream world of drugs. He might know mostly all there is to know about drugs except self-control. You see, by abusing drugs you lose control of your mind. Drugs have a way of convincing your mind that you are in control when really it’s the drugs that are in control.
Sunday, April 16, 1978 Porter slept in until almost 0900 hrs the next morning. His friend, Art joined him on the long walk to the chow hall for some brunch. Sundays were more relaxed as far as meal times but both men were inspected to insure that they were in proper uniform. “Gwinn wanted to know where we disappeared to last night. I told him that we ended up just walking around and talking. He didn’t look like he believed me but we did walk and talk.” “My roommates were gone all night. I’ll probably hear about it later. The three of them are pretty close. You still want to go downtown and score some weed today, Art?” “Yeah, sure, sounds like a plan.” “I only have $15 dollars left. Can you put in anything Art?” “I have about that much money too.” “Good, then we should be able to get at least as much smoke as we did yesterday.” The young men went out the gate and to the bus stop for downtown. They got off the bus at the same place as they did the day before across from the Armed Forces YMCA. They walked across the street when two black men approached them. “What’s happening? My name is Charles Green and this is my partner George Harris. Are you guys looking for any drugs? “Yes we are, what do you have?” Porter responded. “Whatever you’re looking for,” Charles Green replied. “Two dime bags would be nice - one for each of us.” “We don’t have anything on us to sell you but we know where to get it. A friend with the pot is staying in a hotel room near here. My partner here, George, will go get it while I stay here with you guys,” explained Charles Green. Porter and Heinz both looked at the two men skeptically. They’d been really friendly and with Charles staying with them they figured everything would be ok. Porter and Heinz gave George their money while they waited on a park bench with Charles Green. Charles made small talk and treated them very friendly. Porter was amazed at just how friendly two perfect strangers could be! “I’m going over to the snack shop and get a coke, you guys want anything?” asked Charles Green. Both Heinz and Porter told him they were fine and off Charles went. He wasn’t gone more then a few minutes when both young men started to realize that he wasn’t coming back. Nevertheless they waited almost 45 minutes. “The thing that really gets me, Art, is I know better. I know never to give my money up front. It was so stupid. It looks like we’re not going to get high today, Heinz. I only have some change left to pay the bus fare back to the base. I can tell you this Art – I might get ripped off again but I’m NEVER going to forget the name Charles Green.”
Monday, April 17, 1978 “I’d like to welcome you to your A School for mess management training. If you didn’t sign up for mess management school, then you’re in the wrong place. If you did sign up for mess management then you are some kind of nut and you need to have your head examined.” The instructor read off the enrollment list of which there were 20 including one girl. Porter knew that the Navy did have girls but that they weren’t allowed onboard ships. “I have some good news,” announced the instructor. “As you know payday was the 15th. I have your checks for those of you who might need some money.” This made both Porter and Heinz smile after being cleaned out the day before. Things were looking up for Porter he thought. ‘There are three in this class I know from boot camp: Heinz, Sheridan, and Tomas, my roommates and Gwinn. He could go away and I wouldn’t care. The classroom is near the chow hall so I only have to walk three miles a day getting here. I’ll go find some weed tonight and get Heinz high to make up for yesterday.’ “Your instruction will consist of six weeks of theory and two weeks of lab. Lab will consist of one week of galley training, one week of bakery training, and some steward training. Every Friday you’ll be tested. You must pass all tests with a 70 percent or better to move on to the next week. If you fail, it will result in your being reassigned as a painter. I can tell you life, as a painter, isn’t that bad, you still have time to get out of being a cook! You’ll still end up working on the mess deck sooner or later anyway. Every sailor is required to spend time on mess duty.” “Class will be Monday through Friday with weekends off. One good thing about being cooks is you’ll never stand another watch. Should you make it onboard ship, which is where most of you are headed, you will, however, be assigned to a general quarter’s station. They love to have a general quarters drill before a meal period finishing right at the meal period. So after playing with fire hoses for a few hours you’ll have to feed a bunch of hungry men with nothing prepared.” The instructor spent the next hour basically trying to talk the sailors out of being cooks. At lunch Porter and his roommates along with Heinz sat together. Porter was telling them about his weekend. “We went to Mission Beach on Saturday and checked that out. I wasn’t that impressed. There were lots of chicks to look at but I couldn’t find anyplace to party and it took almost two hours to get there!” Porter explained. “We found a cool beach to party at this weekend. It’s called Ocean Beach. It has a pier that runs out a long way into the ocean. It also has lots of rocks and cliffs carved out by the waves making for lots of places to party. There were also lots of junkies walking around looking to sell drugs to support their habit,” replied Slone, Porter’s roommate. “We’ll have to check it out. How do you get there?” “You go out the main gate and walk about 1 miles north on Rosecrans Street until you come to the first stop light. Cross over to the other side of the road and wait on the bus stop on the other side of the street, which turns right and heads due west towards Ocean Beach. You could walk but it’s like 6 miles. The buses run every half hour until 2000 hrs and then once an hour until 2400 hrs. If you miss the last bus you’re either walking or crashing out on the beach.” “We’ll have to check it out later Heinz, you think?” “Sounds good to me but first we need to cash our checks.” After classes got off at five, Heinz and Porter headed out to catch the Ocean Beach bus. They got off the bus about 5 blocks from the pier and about every ten feet someone approached them about buying drugs. Porter was able to score a half-ounce for $30, which was a huge bargain compared to the deal he’d gotten downtown. Mission Beach was all sand but Ocean Beach had large sandstone formation with title pools and small rocky island. The waves crashed on the rocky shore sending a spray of salt water into the air. Porter loved the smell. “This place just feels so right, Heinz, it’s much better than mission beach.” “I agree Porter; let’s find a place to get high.” The young men walked around the rocky shore. There was perhaps as much as 50 feet between the Ocean and a cliff that was all sand stone. They came upon a horse shoe carved out by the ocean in the sandstone that had a shelf running along the horse shoe about 5 feet below the main walking area. Art and Porter climbed down to the shelf and found that it was secluded enough to keep prying eyes from seeing them. A large High Times logo was carved into the sand stone. “This looks like a good place to party Art, let’s call this place ‘the rocks.’”
* * * * *
Tuesday, April 18, 1978 Upon waking up Tuesday morning, Porter wanted nothing else but to stay in bed. This however wasn’t possible as he had school and a rock and roll anthem was blaring loudly in the background. "Sweet home Alabama, where the skies are soooooooooo blue." "Shut the &*%$ up Slone, and turn that *&$^ down," Bill griped, pulling his pillow over his head. "That isn’t *&$^ it’s the greatest song ever written!" Slone replied. "I thought you said the greatest song of all time is 'Free Bird'," Porter said, peeking his head out and sarcastically rolling his eyes. "Okay, close second." Slone said with his thick southern drawl. Porter and Heinz had enjoyed an incredible sunset before leaving ‘the rocks’ and taking the bus back to NTC. After getting back he’d smoked another joint in his room with his roommates. He must have fallen asleep around 0100 hrs and wasn’t ready for the intrusion of his sleep. Porter grabbed his towel and headed for the head. The head had six separate shower stalls with curtains. Porter turned on the hot water and stepped under the spray. There were several young men also getting ready for their day. Porter hadn’t had to wait to use any of the facilities. It seemed that even though about 30 men shared this one bathroom they all seemed to be on somewhat different timetables. After a quick shower Porter looked at himself in the mirror. 'Still not enough hair to comb, no need for a shave, shaved last about five days ago. I’ll need to shave soon.' Porter thought. “Good morning sunshine," Slone said as Porter walked back in the room. "%$^7 you and the horse you rode in on!" Porter responded. "He’s feisty this morning," comments Davis. "%&8$ it lets smoke a joint, that will calm me down. Might be kind of hard to stay awake in class an hour from now but %&8$ it," Porter responded. Porter went to his locker and dialed the combination opening it. Then he opened a drawer and pulled out a joint and his lighter. Porter lit the joint and passed it to Davis while he threw off his towel and put on his skivvies and t-shirt. He took another hit and then put on the rest of his uniform. "Now that’s the only way to get up in the morning." Porter commented with a smart-ass grin. "Well perhaps I can think of a better way to get up." The men just had enough time to get to class without being able to stop for breakfast. The instructor was different today, "I’m chief petty officer Morales and I’ll be instructing you through your first two weeks of theory. You got your books yesterday. You’ll take notes of what I write on the board along with what you read in your books for your tests." Porter noticed that his instructor looked Asian but had fairly dark skin like Mexicans back home. He started writing on the chalkboard and the sailors started taking notes. Porter had been in class with a buzz many times before in High School. He wasn’t really that buzzed but he felt okay. He also knew that in an hour when he came down he’d have a really hard time keeping his eyes open. At lunch Porter sat with his classmates. "What nationality is our instructor," Porter asked? "You remember service week Porter?" asked Sheridan. "How can I forget," Porter replied. "Did you notice that most of the cooks were Filipino?" "Not really I never really dealt with the cooks because I was in Deep Sink I always dealt with the Mess Hall MAA." "What did you ever do to find yourself in the Deep Sink Porter," asked Thomas. "Just the luck of the draw, or my CC had it out for me as I was assigned there from my first day of service week." "Well anyway Porter," Sheridan continued, "Those Filipino’s aren’t Americans but they can still join the Navy as cooks or clerks. If they serve 20 years they can become American citizens but most of them take their Navy retirement pay and live like kings back in the Philippines.” "Where did you find out all that Sheridan?" Davis asked. "Some old timer I met at the EM club. He told me about his mess cook duties. He said that you have to do six weeks mess cook duty a year no matter what rate (rate as in rating or type of duty) you are." "Hey Porter how’s it going? You made it through boot camp I see," said Don Jackson who was in company 013 with Porter. He was the oldest guy in his company at 29. "Hey Jackson what’s up," replied Porter, "looks like you made it too. We should hook up later and talk about old times." "We could meet at one of the recreational centers and play some pool," said Jackson. "Did someone say Pool," said Dick Erickson, one of Porter’s "They serve beer. We can
shoot some pool, drink a few beers, and talk |