In The Navy (BE&E), Part 3

We were physically located just north of Chicago and I had my bored moments when I would tune my crappy transistor radio around the dial. I was always looking for new music and still do so to this day. Instead I found something I had not run in to on the Radio in a long while. A person caught my interest, a talk radio persona that I should have expected, but didn’t.

I started listening to Steve Dahl on WLS radio out of Chicago, most afternoons (drive time). He was a pompous and funny character and for that time, pretty raunchy. It was a rock format so I was digging most of their playlist too. I understand Dahl is still there now, but I never listen to anything but local DC radio on the internet or podcast feeds. Don Geronimo came on after Steve and is actually now on in DC on the Don and Mike Show. I have listened to them since 1987. http://www.donandmikewebsite.com/

We (my few friends) took a few trips into Chicago and I experienced a real Rocky Horror movie with a full costumed compliment of amateur actors. Every major part was played out on stage in front of the movie. It was the “real deal”, with toast and rice flying everywhere…brilliant. We went back more than once. I also got to take in Rush Street, which I found to be over crowded and disappointing. Especially so when we took a wrong turn when leaving and wound up in a very bad neighborhood. Creepy and right next door!

Some weeknights on base, I would wander over to the “E-Club” (Enlisted Men’s Club) and see what was happening. Usually there was nothing good happening; bad repetitive music and a bunch of very drunk guys who just got out of boot camp (like me). A few chicks, but nothing available; ever.

The thing about the E-Club, was that the beer they served was called 3.2 beer and it sucked!!! Normal beer has 4.5% (or more) alcohol content, but this crap had 3.2%. The concept was, there would be less drunk sailors. People just drank more. It would give you a nasty headache and since you were drinking so much, you felt bloated. I got sick of the stuff pretty quickly.

I started heading out to the seedy bars just outside the base gate, not a log walk at all. I would just sit alone most of the time and knock back some brew and people watch out the windows. I figured out where people were getting the pot. Dealers hung out there and you could sit, looking out the window at the street and watch the deals go down. It looked like the bad side of Detroit. I didn’t get hassled, which was amazing. Some of the drunks and dopes would get pretty rowdy and I would bail out and go back to base, hopefully with a little buzz.

Shoot me if that bothers you, I was killing the time and fairly lonely. No harm, no foul.