April Writing Challenge/Engage Challenge
No Time to Volunteer — I’m Busy With My Life
It took me half my adult life to find joy in Volunteering
For the first half of my adult life, I was a Sailor in the Navy, way too busy to do any volunteer work. I had the opportunity, just not the interest or motivation.
Perhaps it goes back to Navy Bootcamp, when a buddy told me, “Never volunteer for anything.” This advice often rang true in the military, but not always.
The occasion when the Commanding Officer said, “If you would like to volunteer for six months in Egypt, step forward one pace,” was an example.
I did and it was a wonderful tour, and one occasion when my buddy was wrong.
My ship often held what was called “Public work events.” These were efforts to improve the public’s perception of the US Navy, which unfortunately often was an image of a drunken sailor stumbling back to the gangway.
I never had time to participate in these. While everyone else got time off in port, that was one of my busiest times.
The title picture is an event I spent several days working on while my shipmates were off on liberty.
