Yesterday I was a maritime anthropologist. We’ll assume I’m using that title correctly and move on. Friends came to NYC for a visit and, thanks to a little extra cash from selling my bike (see previous post) I had the bonus fun bucks to go on a little exploratory adventure with them to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum this morning.
If you’ve never been it is worth a visit. Maybe not on Memorial Day (it was crowded… shocking) but worth it nonetheless. As a kid I travelled on a dependents cruise on my dad’s ship (I was a Navy brat) and during our time living in Charleston we took a dozen or more trips to tour the U.S.S. Yorktown. The smell of paint, oil and old that fumes from these giant metal rigs is intoxicating… not in either a good nor bad way. But they bring back memories of family vacations and that is always a fairly appealing flash of “was.”
Now, I will say, if you are not a fan of enclosed spaces or steep stairways (i.e. ladders disguised as stairways) then skip it. You will have an anxiety attack and fall apart within minutes. But if you enjoy a little climbing and a little sweat then spent the $20+ and check out the history that is splendidly shared by the Intrepid Foundation and staff.
Not expecting it, I was shaken by the sudden red flashes and piercing alarm as someone came over the speaker system, “Red Alert! Red Alert!” This came just as we entered a circle of guests on the hangar deck who were glued to a suspended screen, watching vintage footage of sailors cleaning and dancing to the Andrews Sisters. The celluloid joy came to a halt with the sirens and suddenly the newsreel changed and we were watching original film of kamikaze planes crashing into the mammoth ship. Smoke (stage fog) poured up from hidden vents and the red alert lights flashed on and on. It took less than a second to realize that the “attack” was a carefully orchestrated stunt for the visitors but it still gave me a momentary jolt. Let’s face it… if a museum ship was going to get attacked it would be THE DAY that I tour it. That’s my kind of luck.
I’m also fairly sure this bohemoth is haunted. I was sure that by flashing my iPhone into dark corners and closed off cabins that I’d catch something lurking in the photos… but nothing. That was the only disappointing portion of the adventure. Well, that and the sweat.
But it was a really fun, education and patriotic way to enjoy Memorial Day with old friends. Now, to save up my excitement for when the Space Shuttle Enterprise arrives. One of my best friends is quite excited about the arrival of the real ship that gave its name to the Star Trek franchise. That will be a whole different adventure. I won’t be wearing a uniform but I’ll go in full support and imagine that I’m in Space Camp (which I never got to do as a kid. Come to think of it… I don’t know anyone who actually did go to Space Camp! Wait a second… was I scammed as a kid??) Well, regardless, I will take my souvenir (the sun burn you see on the side) and enjoy the experience I had on Memorial Day 2011.
Now… the big question is, how did my danger-prone self not fall off the boat?? Another mystery of the universe.
Tommy Karr 