Unit 47

“UNIT 47” today I woke up in Riverside and took a drive to San Diego. there I met a man named Joe. he’d taken me out to eat ribs. I finished what I could of the food but the rest I took home. we soon found ourselves on the pier of the Imperial Beach. we talked about the pigeons, the seagulls and the water itself. from our benches, we could see Mexico and it’s border. as we drank our beers, I asked him about his days in the Navy. he told me after boot camp, he went to submarine school. after he finished, it was time to put his training to use in the water. he’d drop into the sea by day and surface at night. he spied on the Russians he said, and went from port to port traveling the world. the year was 1952 and he was eighteen. his service was over in 1956. on one of his port visits, he and three naval buddies hit a tattoo shop. they all got Thumper from Bambi. the price was only $2. I asked him if he’d ever trade those days for anything in the world and he said no, it was the most fun he had ever had. on the way back, Joe remembered he had left his air conditioner on. He laughed with a careless fear. “My house is gonna be frozen when I get back!” we arrived and in we went. the house wasn’t frozen but the spy was happy to be home. I stood proud of my day, spending time with a war veteran who had gotten a $2 Thumper tattoo when he was a kid. before I walked away, I shook his hand, thanked him and gave him a hug goodbye. I was happy the man from the Cold War wasn’t frozen. the unit Joe lives in is specifically marked and it’s number is 47. By: Chicano Eddie 8-31-2016