Paul's Home!

Yesterday I had the distinct honor to accompany my friend Mary Abigail to her husband's homecoming. It was so sweet. We got to the submarine pier at Pearl Harbor at about 5PM, and waited for the sub to pull into the harbor and dock itself at the pier. That process alone takes forever, but the Navy MWR (Moral, Welfare, and Recreation Department) had icecream cake, sub sandwiches (Oh, the dry humor of the Navy...), cheerleaders, small U.S. flags, and a band! What a showing! Of course, they do all of this to keep the families entertained while they are waiting for the real show: the submarine.

Once the ship was docked, one lady goes up to the plank to receive the "First Kiss". Her husband/boyfriend is the first to get off of the boat which, as you might imagine, is a very big deal. (She has won this honor through a raffle held by the boat's "wives' group" I say "wives" because there are only men on the boat. One of the last bastions of institutionalized maleness in our world.) After that, the rest of the guys get off the boat, including Paul, who looked great. I was so happy to be the official photographer for the event, and I'd like to think I did a pretty good job.

Here's what didn't happen: announcements. For anyone that has ever been around the military, you know that at times like these, people like to talk about how momentous the occasion is, or how successful the deployment was, or something. They do not do that in the Coast Guard, but I always thought that is because their deployments are so short. There is no shortage of pomp or circumstance in other areas of Coast Guard life.

So, yesterday, I was fully expecting to hear some words spoken by the captain of the boat, or at least something NBA-esque like, "And now, serving as the operations officer for USS Chicago, Lieutenant Paul Reinhardt!!!!!" At which point, we would all scream, wave our U.S. flags, and Mary Abigail would go running down the red carpet to greet him. No such luck. It's probably just as well because I might have gotten so into the event that I would have forgotten to take pictures...

Welcome Home, PAUL!