The Ordinary Fashion That We Know

From the Log . . .

We went into one of the Mexican markets and even that is a transformation. My memory of Mexican markets is of an open stall, where meat is covered with flies and you have to brush the flies away before you can see exactly what kind of meat you are getting. Even then, you are not at all certain. As you go into the markets, at the present time, they look very much as they would in San Diego. They have a refrigerated cabinet with the meat enclosed in glass and out in the ordinary fashion that we know in the United States . . .

I suspect that as we go further down the coast away from San Diego that more primitive conditions will exist.

______________________________

Our perceptions are always colored by our experiences.

1953 was the start of my grandfather's second attempt to circumnavigate. The first took him as far as Pitcairn. So when he says in his journal "My Memory of Mexican Markets", perhaps he is speaking of that earlier attempt.

I transcribe the journal a few pages at a time, then post a section at a time, trying now to set the size of the post so that a particular event is described.

But I know what the next event is, and it also deals with some reflection on this being a different trip, years after the first. Times had changed, and there is the coloring of the experiences which lead up to the present.

The first trip was with my Grandmother, my mother and her sister around 1937. My mother has the actual logs (not journal) from that trip. I have the scrapbook with photos from the Galapagos, and other ports of call between there and Pitcairn - I'll be writing about that in a future post.

This second trip, which results in a circumnavigation, is a different set of circumstances, and World War II had some bearing on things.

One of the most significant things is that Grandfather had divorced my Grandmother, and married Marilyn about a year prior to the start of this trip. Marilyn was his Secretary in his medical practice.

So with a young bride as his companion, the transformation of the Mexican Markets must have been a quite a relief.

As I recall, my Grandmother was one who would say exactly what was on her mind. Marilyn was quite a bit more reserved.

My grandfather, on the other hand, loved the sailor's life. Captain of his ship, 'skipper' to Marilyn. He embodied the confidence of one who knows what he, his ship, and his crew are capable of, and acted in a fashion that instilled in his shipmates an admiration for his qualities.

He was often described as 'charismatic'.

The Captain, in the ordinary fashion that we know, is the leader that everyone looks to for the answers to every question afloat.

It is interesting to note how this journal was recorded. Dach Hall, a young Australian, signed on as crew when they reached Australia. In a letter to my mother in 2001, he mentions that:

"I can recall that Skipper, when we were at sea without being disturbed, would go down to his cabin, armed with the Ship's Log, The Visitor's Book and any other pamphlets, photos or letters/notes etc... He would spend the better part of 3 hours dictating the 'log' on a wire tape, which Marilyn later sat down in the Cabin with the recorder and type up the 'log' - original and about six or eight carbon copies."

As I transcribe the 'log', I don't edit it, or correct misspellings. I reproduce it exactly as Marilyn typed it up.

This dictation and typing was the ordinary fashion that Marilyn experienced in 'Dr. Holcomb's medical practice'.

I marvel at what it must have been like for her at sea, listening to a wire recorder and typing the journal with a mass of carbon copies. The young wife of a Surgeon, following in the footsteps of a previous wife, at least part way around the world.

In close relationships, there is an honesty that is fundamental to such a journey.

It is fascinating to me, as I attempt to avoid the coloring of my own experiences, and perceive the log as it was written. To follow along and try to understand the journey on a path I've never taken.

To witness the honesty of a first hand account, without judgement.

For this is not the ordinary fashion that we know.