The ship is currently at a small atoll in the middle of the Pacific (I will not say which one, since I do not want to violate OPSEC, especially since Tom is the XO, and I can not even claim ignorance of such things). There is very little development except on the main island where the ship ties up. The locals live on neighboring islands and commute via ferry to work and shop for supplies on the main island. That should pretty much set the scene for you. I do realize that most people have not been to obscure atolls in the middle of the Pacific, and it is hard to picture if you have never been there, so here are pictures of two different atolls:
So, today, Tom went to the local "thrift shop" where they reportedly sell a variety of odd things. He bought several books for a fee ranging between $.25 and $1.00. As he returned to the ship, he realized that he had left his sunglasses on the counter, and turned around to go back. He returned to the store a few minutes later, and asked about his sunglasses. The two women at the counter seemed dismayed, and told him that they had just sold his sunglasses to a local woman on her way to the ferry. Now, Tom's sunglasses are prescription sunglasses, and were not exactly cheap. He informed the ladies of this, and they replied that the sold the glasses for $2.00, along with the very nice case he had them in for $1.00.
There is very little chance that the sunglasses will be returned since:
1. The woman does not live on the main island, and
2. The shop is only open when the volunteers work, and there are no posted or expected hours.
Tom's theory is that the woman stepped onto the ferry in the glaring late afternoon sun, pulled out her new sunglasses, put them on and decided that they made her head feel funny, so she threw them overboard.
So, that puts the thrift shop up $3.00 and us down $200.00 or so. C'est la vie.
2 comments:
This reminds me of Scott's propensity to leave his sunglasses on the tops of cars and leave his cell phones in the bottom of Long Island Sound.
Stories like these remind me so much of just hanging out with you two. Also of how many times we hear eachother's old stories because we're telling new people, yet we're still together. What a fun 3 years in CT. Miss you guys like crazy, but looking forward to hearing stories of Guam and of telling stories of how Joe is training Robin to torture me. They're "best friends" now says Joe.
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