Gear Adrift…
…is a gift, or so the saying goes. In the Marine Corps we live in a strange world of absolute integrity alongside the knowledge that anything not locked up or on your person could be ganked at any time. It is never permissible to steal. Never. But if someone’s belongings have been left so as to leave open to question the intent of the owner to retain those belongings, that gear may very well be adrift…and, consequentially, be a gift to whoever might find it. Let me explain.
My roommate had been lacking a wall locker since we moved into our trailer. He had tried repeatedly to procure one through the proper means, all to no avail. Finally, as I walked to our trailer one day to change into PT clothes, I struck gold. By the beard of Zeus, a wall locker and a mini-frig were conspicuously sitting outside a seemingly abandoned trailer! It appeared the trailer was being cleaned after the previous inhabitants had vacated it. I immediately rushed to my trailer to inform my roommate. He was nowhere to be found. I decided to go ahead and carry on my routine in order to give the owners of this equipment time to claim it, should they desire.
Five hours transpired before I caught up to my roommate. He was asleep, as usual. I woke him up, as usual. “Hey man, there’s a wall locker and a mini-frig sitting outside, three trailers down!†He groggily came to and replied “On fire?†“No, not on fire,†I replied, “just sitting outside. We should go get it.†I get a blank stare in reply. My roommate is obviously not fully awake yet. I further expound “Let’s go get the wall locker and bring it in here.†Now awake, but unable to muster the motivation to get out of his sleeping bag he replies “Ah, I’m gonna let Gunny get one for me.†“Fine with me,†I think as I leave the trailer. I’m not the one living out of seabags; he is.
The next day I see him and add “I’m telling you, man, we ought to snag that wall locker.†“What wall locker?†he replies. Over the course of a few minutes I explain the situation and convince him that accepting the gift of the gear adrift is indeed the answer. We go and retrieve the wall locker. The mini-frig, however, is long gone. At this point a rapid transformation ensues in my roommate. Having one experience under his belt, he is soon chomping at the bit to get more furniture. I told him of a primitive but functional wooden desk I saw about ten trailers down. Sure enough, we check it out, and it’s a beauty. Back to the trailer it goes. Now it’s time to arrange all of this furniture. That means almost everything in the room either comes out or gets shifted around. Realizing this is a great opportunity to clean the floor we go in search of a mop bucket and quickly find one, complete with mop, another few trailers down.
It was one productive Sunday afternoon.
It’s comforting to know you and your roommate are safe. It appears your furnishings of your trailer are progressing. Your latest NYT blog was great. I was LOL at the end.
Be SAFE