Yes Man

11/1/10

A simple question was the origin of a 5,000 mile trip. "Would you like to go on a sea trial?" Sea trials mean spending time on operational submarines, under the water, instead of crawling around the hulls in dry-dock like gulls on a beached whale. Or the placidly tethered beasts held captive to the pier by a few ropes, like a circus elephant. This time on a free-range boat, a ship of war manned by technicians that are at the top their field.

"When", I asked

"Don't know" was my boss's reply.

The queries "where", "which boat", and "to do what" received the same response. That is an awful lot of uncertainty when a young family is involved. I conferred with the top expert on my young family, Wifey. I expressed a lot of reservations. She said it was a rare opportunity, which it was. I didn't say I really wanted to go, but she knew. It would mean more effort for her to lose my help at home, but she would never admit that. Too sweet, too selfless. How could I say no? In almost 10 years as an engineer, I've been like an architect who always lived in a tent, or a saddle maker who's never been on a horse. I returned to work the following day, I said "yes".