It has been an interesting year. So far. Between the so-called pandemic and the so-called anti-fascists, most of us are feeling like the deployment has been extended about three times too many. Maybe four. And there’s not much left in the storeroom but flour and dried beans.
We’d just like to get back home, wherever that was, and enjoy some time with our wives or sweethearts, relax with family and friends, put some space between us and the boat (and our shipmates!), and wash that boat smell out of our civvies.
The pain is particularly acute this year, because we chose to postpone REGROUPEX 20. It is bad enough that we had to miss the a couple of great boat tours, but the three or four days of camaraderie, sharing, and remembering we lost exacerbates our malaise regarding the current state of affairs.
Somehow a periodic dose of swapping sea stories and digging through thousands of old photographs with the brothers that shared the bond of Cold War deployment seems to be good for what ails you, and I for one find it certainly eases the ache in my heart and my bones for the unbridled energy of youth and the adventure of the sea.
Being reminded of those days keeps the slow fire going under the teakettle of our reunion plans. I haven’t given up on the next reunion, but I think we can say at this point, REGROUPEX 20 is about to become REGROUPEX 21.
Given the existing state of government intervention in our lives and the somewhat unpredictable and hopefully localized chaos that is almost certain to accompany any outcome of the November elections, there seems to be no way that we will gather formally before the end of the year.
I’m thinking June of 2021 right now, just so you know what’s on my mind. I’m open to suggestion, so feel free to chime in, but we are essentially starting to schedule from scratch, and there is still much that can happen in national affairs that will influence the final date.
For now, at least, start considering REGROUPEX 21 in June, at the Best Western in Silverdale, WA, and let me know what you think.
In the meantime, I’ve got something that will help us get through the winter and into next year, but I’ll spell that out in another post.
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