"I'm so disappointed."

Wednesday, August 26, 1992

     I just called the ombudsman tape. The ship is pulling into Key West today. Hopefully Guy will be able to call tonight or tomorrow. They're going to be on call for any help that's needed because of the hurricane. I don't know what kind of help they'd be as much problems as they've had. If they're not needed they'll leave there on the 31st & be back on the 4th instead of getting back here on the 31st. I'm so disappointed. We were down to five days & now it's back up to nine. The only good thing about that is more time to clean.

     Guy called at 9:50 & we talked about 30 minutes. A lot of that time was spent with me trying to find the code no. for the VISA card. I couldn't find it. He's supposed to call me back tomorrow afternoon. If I can't find it I'll have to go to the credit union & see if they'll tell me what it is. He said he only has $12 left & he wants to go eat out and needs to buy some soap. I guess he found a machine that takes VISA.

     They made it through the hurricane ok but he said everybody got sick so I guess it really rocked them around. He said it doesn't look like much damage there on base.

     He had some kinda good news & some bad news. Depending on what kind of help is needed in FL & LA they may have to stay down there another 3–6 weeks! I got so upset & started crying. I told him I didn't think I could make it for 6 more weeks. He said it probably wouldn't be that long but it was a possibility. The kinda good news was that they may decommission the ship next year. With all the problems they've had they probably should. He said he'd have to go to another ship if they did but he wouldn't have to stay on it for two years, just til his time is up.

     He didn't really have any other news. They haven't gotten any more mail. We probably won't talk long when he calls tomorrow. I told him I was planning to go to Amber Richardson's shower with Gayle & he asked when would be a good time to call. I said 4:00. He's still on 12 hr watches 7–7 & he said he's on days but he'd try to call from the ship or get 30 minutes off to go to the pay phone. He said it was by the base fire station. He also said they'll be changing piers to refuel so if he can't call then he'll call late at night again. I asked if he was going to try calling Jeff & Molly while he was there & he said he'd forgotten they were there. I was going to give him their number but he didn't have a pen with him. (They were in the Empty Arms group) If they're still there maybe they'll invite him over for supper.

     I got a bad paper cut on my left ring finger. I was eating my usual bedtime snack of Cheerios & thought one fell in the floor. I looked but didn't see it so I was feeling between layers in the stack of magazines & papers in the floor & one of them got me. It really throbbed for awhile. I put some Neosporin & a band-aid on it after running cold water on it awhile. It's kinda under the nail. I really hate paper cuts.

     Ez. did something new today. In the bathtub, she put her face in the water. She did it 4–5 times. I told her to blow while she did it to make bubbles but she didn't understand. It's still amazing to me how fast she changes. Guy will probably be able to tell the difference more than me since he's been away so long.