When we returned to the ship the following day, I proceeded directly to the ship’s store to buy James the promised hat. The next day a jeweler removed a link so the watch fit right, and I soon found its simple elegance suited me. I thanked him profusely, later showing the watch and telling the story to my equally mystified pals. James eventually provided his mail and email addresses before we all parted ways that evening. I waved them off with an I’ll-explain-later look and tucked the watch into my pocket before rejoining the reverie. I followed a few feet behind still in mild shock, fielding curious looks from my squadron buds. James slapped me on the back and returned the table before I could form a coherent expression of gratitude. I regarded the watch with curiosity, unable to immediately tell if it was a gas station special or something nicer. I vaguely recall a story of a friend of his father’s who had bestowed the watch on him, and now James was passing it on to me. And since I’d had a few refreshments at that point…well, let’s just say my mental race car was bouncing off the guardrails. He thrust the watch into my hands and began telling a story-I wish I could remember exactly what he said but my mind was racing to figure out what was happening. “Then here, I want you to have this,” James said, suddenly displaying a silver watch. “You’ll really send me a Nimitz ballcap?” James asked yet again. I played along, bemused that he felt it necessary to provide his address in private. I chatted with the others until minutes later James caught my attention from near the elevators and waved me over. “Wait right here.” James abruptly left the table, presumably going for pen and paper which struck me as odd considering we could have simply asked the servers. I wondered why this was a big deal to him but dismissed my concern, assuming there must be something at play I did not fully understand (this is one of my most oft-used coping mechanisms). The conversation shifted just then, as is common in large gatherings, but James soon turned back to me, “You’ll really send me a Nimitz cap?” “Of course,” I answered, thinking nothing of it. Ballcaps weren’t that expensive and he was providing us a steady supply of refreshments. “Give me your address and I’ll send you one,” I replied without a moment’s thought. “It’s too bad,” James added ruefully, “I would have liked to buy a Nimitz cap.” I mentioned that Nimitz offered tours but James said he and his wife were due to return to the U.K. And talk of flying soon led to questions of what it was like to operate from an aircraft carrier. It did not take long before the conversation turned to-what else?-flying. My squadron buddies seemed to be occupied talking to his attractive younger wife, so he and I made small talk as the drinks flowed. James was older than us, perhaps in his early 50s, and had an air of comfortable success. I joined them and was introduced to James who seemed genuinely interested in making my acquaintance, promptly asking what I would like to drink. They had met the British pair at the pool bar earlier and had eventually migrated indoors where the drinks continued to flow. Years earlier I had passed on an opportunity to be part of a limited Breitling buy customized for TOPGUN instructors, so I thanked my wife and told her I’d “shop around.” After a full day haggling over Persian rug prices, however, I lacked the energy and instead made my way back to the hotel where my squadron was staying.Įntering the lobby with a rug under each arm (these were for family-I’d already bought all the rugs my home could handle on previous deployments), I discovered several squadron mates at a lounge table with a couple I did not recognize. With Dubai being known for its abundance of fine consumer products and my 35 th birthday fast approaching, my wife suggested I treat myself to a quality wristwatch. We had been busily flying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and looked forward to taking a break during the coming port visit to the UAE. In fact, it was my department head tour and for months the PBS film crew had been following us around USS Nimitz chronicling daily life aboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. It was the fall of 2005 and we were halfway through deployment-my fourth. Except, of course, for my Omega Seamaster, but that has more to do with how I came into it as the timepiece itself… I don’t play golf, I don’t drink coffee, and I’m not all that into big fancy wristwatches.
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