Party time

Its an occasion for celebration and joy. I have signed off from my ship and its back to home for me. Years back, when contracts were longer and booze available, it would have been a pretty good excuse for a party like the above. Typically the mate would raise the topic of a farewell get-together with the old man over breakfast and instructions would be given to the catering department to get things ready. The crew would then meet in orderly groups at the pre-assigned time and talk urbanely about wide ranging pertinent topics such as the changing cup sizes of Pamela Anderson. The "get-together", would then steadily go downhill till the old man left for his cabin, after which people would be often be spotted in poses like the above, gyrating to lyrics of some pubescent girl , claiming to be a "Barbie Girl". This would go on till enough people were escorted to their cabins drunk, or the scene looked too gay for even seamen like us!

I'm not sure if I'm actually sad that these parties don't happen any longer. Now that I'm the old man, I realize that the poor sod might have been going off to his cabin, probably to offer a long prayer and prop himself at the porthole to keep a lookout for the rest of the night.

What I feet sad about is that I no longer have a twinge of sadness leaving behind friends with whom I have shared my life with so intensely for such long months. Instead there is only a sense of relief that the contract went off safely and without incidents / detentions / observations / accidents. What I feel sad is that the chap seeing me off at the Gangway isn't really thinking of me as he says his byes, but is probably offering a prayer that his contract goes off the same way.