HER NAME WAS ''KATY''

For a long time I have hesitated about telling anyone about this but it has been so long ago now that I guess it dont matter now …
Back in, I believe 1960, we made a North Atlantic cruise which included Scotland. I will say here and now that the Scotish people are some of the most beautiful people in the world. Their use of the English language is a thrill and a delight to listen to and it is something I never got enough of while we were in Scotland.
As I remember we pulled into Greenoak Scotland. I can stand corrected on this because it was a loooooooooooong time ago. The ''big city'' was Glascow some miles away by bus. My first liberty I, like most all the guys, went over to Glascow for fun and recreation as necessary. I would spend a lot of time in the pubs just listening to the people talking. They are truly beautiful and sometimes I could understand most of what they were saying.
The last day there I had had the dirty duty that night and I had stood a mid watch (from midnight until eight oclock) I had liberty but I chose to get in some ''rack time'' and then hit the beach. I kicked out about noon, showered and shaved and ''spiffed up''. I went to noon chow and hit the beach. All of my friends were gone long before this. They had gone back to Glascow for fun and adventure as necessary. I walked down the pier and ambled into Greenoch. I wasnt really going anywhere and doing nothing in paticular except just walking and taking in the scenery. I stopped in a park with a sack of peanuts and fed the pigons and talked to some people. About one thirty or two oclock I discovered that I was getting hungry again so I started looking for something to eat. I finally found what I would call a cafe on a corner. I had no idea where I was or which way it was back to the ship but it didnt matter. I went inside and sat at a table. I dropped my ''dixie cup'' on the table as a beautiful lady walked over.
''Wats your, sailor man?''
''Oh, I dont know, how bout a cheese burger''...............
''Oh my God,,,,,,,,, a southern gentleman''.........................
From then on all everyone wanted me to do was TALK. Several of the locals gathered around and started asking questions. They would ask me anything to get me to talk and the waitress was one of the instigators. I later learned that they loved to hear southern people talk as much as I love to listen to them. She finally brought me over a '''cup of tea'' and ''some biscuits'' (cookies)... It seemed that I was the main attraction for about thirty minutes when the waitress came over and informed me that they could not make me a ''wimpie'' (burger) here but she would be glad to make me one if I would come over to her ''flat''. She folded her apron, put on her coat, and told the owner that she would have the rest of the day.....
''Be gentle Katy, he looks kinda young''.
I turned on my heel and replied with a smile that ''I was sure that I can properly navigate this channel with my eyes closed and with 'fog on his face' and properly 'drop anchor' in an ''ideal cove'' and ''remain secure for the time allotted'' and that this was not my first voyage into foreign waters. ''
A roar of laughter filled the room as Katy and I closed the door.
Her name was Katy O'neal. She was probably in her late twenties or very early thirties. Red haired and eyes the color of emeralds and she was absolutely beautiful.
We walked and talked. She asked many questions and I would answer.
Was I married? How long had I been in the Navy? Where had I been? Was I going to stay in the Navy?
As we walked I got a very good look at this lady. She was absolutely stunning. She was in the full bloom of womanhood, well formed, perfect teeth and a smile that would melt snow. I finally got the chance to ask a question or two. I was very curious as to her purpose. What exactly did she want with me? ''Never you mind about that my southern gentleman........... I am going to show you some real Scottish hospitality. You wanted a ''burger'' and a burger you shall get.''......
I was just a teenie bit uneasy as we entered her ''flat''. You could get rolled in this situation and I was all alone and virtually no one knew where I was. We went inside and we removed our coats and I dropped the ''Dixie cup'' on a table. She went to the kitchen and started preparing to cook. She asked if I would like a drink and I said sure. Scotch is the big drink over there and they can drink it like water. She fixed me a scotch/rocks and I sat down on the settee. Her apartment was very clean and very small . She told me that she would like to put on something more comfortable and she would be back in a few minutes. While she was gone I looked the place over real good. I still was not sure that I might have to ''break and run'' like a rabbit if necessary. She finally came out in a nice ''dressing gown'' and house slippers. The burger she made was a great deal better than nothing but not near to the standard that I was looking for. It is that way overseas. Things are different, even Coke tastes different over there and ''ciggies''' are not fit to smoke........
It could have been the scotch/rocks or the food but I finally started to feel ''at ease'' and I settled back to see what was going to happen next. Katy came over and sat with me and we had idol chat about mostly nothing. Again, I observed her beauty at close range. This was going to be different. Not at all like other encounters I had in other ports of call. No getting dog drunk and bartering about the ''price'' and ''what is included and not included'' or buying drinks for them that is mostly tea or colored water. No ''rush to the room'' and the ''long time'' that turns out to be five minutes. No dirty feeling or smell of cheap perfume and the fear of ''Hoof and Mouth disease, Bubonic Plague or crotch crickets'' and God knows what else..... If you are military and you have been overseas you know exactly what I am talking about …...
At this time I will say this. I will not go into detail as to my encounter with miss Katy O'neal but I will say the following.......... In that small flat I found a little bit of heaven. I found a lady that was very warm and willing and more than a little experienced. I found a lady that showed me what to do and when. How to do and why. In your life you have this happen to you once or twice maybe. This was my ''once''...
Sometime later that evening Katy woke me with a cup in her hand. She was wearing my ''Dress Canvas''.. The jumper was too big and the pants were held up by the belt from her dressing gown. She had my hat on at a '' seaman's rake'' and she looked wonderful. If you were in the Navy and you have seen a beautiful lady in your ''Dress Canvas'' you know exactly what I mean..... She said the cup contained a 'raw egg, salt and pepper and some cream on top'. I was instructed to ''drink it right down'' and it would ''restore me''. She was right. Of course, when you are nineteen/twenty years old, a fresh breath of air and a ''ciggie'' will restore you also …...
Another episode followed and again she woke me about ten thirty pm. ''Time for you to go back to your ship my southern gentleman''...
At the start of our encounter I had ''hidden''' my wallet in my left shoe. As I got dressed I really wanted to check and see if the money was still in there but I did not dare do that where she could see me. I stuffed the wallet in my jumper pocket and poured myself in my uniform.
In the taxi she asked me for my ''Dixie cup'' hat. I asked why in the world she would want a sailors hat and she said that she was sure that she would never see me again and she wanted something personal to remember me by. When I use to hit the beach overseas I would usually carry an extra hat in my ''P'' coat inside pocket. A sailor hat is made so you can fold it three times and wrap a handkerchief around it and it will stay clean and ready for use. I found that on more than one occasion this was handy to have and good for ''barter'' sometimes. I reached for the one in my ''P'' coat pocket and she said NO....... she wanted the one on my head........... What the heck. I handed her the ''Dixie cup'' and unrolled my spare.
At the pier I kissed her goodby and watched as the taxi crossed the pier and disappear into the night. I knew I would never, ever see her again as we sailed the next morning. I climbed the gangway with great effort and reached for my wallet. In a Navy wallet you have two special compartments. One holds your I.D. Card and the other holds your ''liberty card'' Between these two compartments was a lock of red hair tied with a green ribbon with two words written on it. ''Katy, Scotland''..... All my money was still there . I went down to the number 1 mess hall for coffee and maybe a snack. Some of the guys were there and everyone asked where the ''heck''' I had been. They were worried about me. No one had seen me or knew where I was. I just smiled at the guys and told them that I had been ''conversing'' with the locals and spreading good will.
For a long time I could press my jumper to my face and swear that I could smell the ''musk'' of Katy on the uniform.
I carried that lock of hair for a long time. Sometimes on a long ''mid watch'' I would take it out and do a ''remember'' trip to fill the time. A couple of my close friends saw it in time and asked about it. I would just smile and say it was from a friend in Scotland because I knew they would not believe the truth in the matter.
When I asked my first wife Linda to marry me I tossed the ''lock'' into the wake of the Norton and I have regretted it ever since then.
I am now close to seventy years old and I would suppose Katy O'neal is over 80 if she still lives. Somehow I feel she is still alive and maybe just maybe she is sitting in an old age home knitting and somewhere deep inside her ''knitting bag'' is a grubby old sailors hat with CECIL C.R. stenciled inside the brim. Like so many people and places you visit in the Navy, you never see them again but Ms Katy O'neal still walks thru my mind sometimes like so many other experiences I had serving this great nation in the U.S. Navy …
Seajay the sailor man ….
ps.... In retrospect now, I would not be surprised if the truth of the matter could be that Ms Katy O'neal possibly had a duffel bag full of Sailor hats, Marine helmets, Army garrison hats and a few Coast guard life preservers and probably two or three Air force flight helmets but it dont matter. She was a Page In My life that I shall never forget..