RECENT STORIES

Castle View students join forces to save the earth ( Erin Feese/YourHub.com )
Castle Rock Rec Center celebrates 20 years ( Erin Feese/YourHub.com )
Town wins award for preserving Quarry Mesa ( Town of Castle Rock )
Get dirty, clean a creek - Winter Walk in Downtown ( Town of Castle Rock )
Sandstone releases first phase of homesteads ( Sandstone American Ranch )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Castle Rock \\ Stories \\ Creative Writing \\ Short Stories

Shipmate

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: Bob Rotruck on 12/23/2006

THE LANDLOCKED SAILOR
By Bob Rotruck, CWO3, USN (ret)
Castle Rock, Colorado

Shipmate
For those of you that have been in the military service, or you are a spouse of a current or former military person, you know the very deep meaning of the word "camaraderie." The dictionary defines it as: friendship, a feeling of close friendship and trust among a particular group of people. But to military folks, this meaning goes far beyond friendship and trust. Let me explain what being called Shipmate is all about. Other branches of the military have different names for it, but in Navy lingo, it is Shipmate.

As we mature into adulthood, we begin to establish relationships with people through school, neighbors, and mutual activities, such as golf or tennis or through our church or other social activities. These new found friendships can be for a fleeting period of time or can last a lifetime. In most cases, these new found friends are people that you would help out in time of need, such as offering transportation or bringing a meal if they are ill. But, when you call a person your shipmate, the depth of meaning far exceeds the rudimentary relationship of friend. I don't intend here to belittle the term friend, because it can have a very deep emotional attachment, but still, there is something stronger about the term Shipmate.

A shipmate is a person that you would do anything for, as long as it was not immoral or unlawful. This is a person that you would laugh with and cry with, hug to share their joy or ease their pain. This is a person that you would donate blood, donate an organ, or give them your last dime. This is a person that if their family needed help at home and your shipmate was ten thousand miles away from home, you would drop everything and go to their aid. This is a person that you can count on to do their job to the very best of their ability, whether they worked for you, with you, or you worked for them. This is a person that you would lay your life on the line for and never give it a second thought. I'm very proud to say that I have many shipmates and I know they share my deep sense of attachment to our relationship. To all of my shipmates and friends, I wish you only the very best. God bless America!

Fair winds and smooth seas!

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Bob Rotruck

Castle Rock , CO

Bob Rotruck has posted 60 stories and 2 comments since joining on 7/26/2006. Bob Rotruck 's average story rating is 4.89.

view profile » view other postings from Bob Rotruck »

SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY

digg	Google
del.icio.us	Yahoo!
reddit	newsvine

What is this?

STORY RSS FEEDS

All stories

All stories in Castle Rock

All stories by Bob Rotruck

WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?

Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

Loading Ad