Page 4. 
THE BLUE BONNET 
If U.S.S. Houston— 7-9-38— 900. 
SOLILOQUY ON SILOS 
Furnished by 
Seaman Explaning Overleave 
Headed “Soliloquy on Silos” the 
following was printed in “The Observ- 
er”, ship’s paper of the U. S. S. 
Lexington, with an editor’s note that 
the statement was turned in by a sea- 
man to explain why he was overleave 
and that names and dates are changed 
for obvious reasons. Except for these 
deviations, the statement is presented 
as it was submitted: 
“U. S. S. Long, 
September 20 1937. 
From: R. E. Wilson, S2c, US Navy. 
To : Commanding Officer. 
Via : Division Officer 1st Division. 
Subject: Overleave, Reason for. 
“On Sept. 7, 1937, I left the ship on 
ten days leave at my brother’s farm 
in Cobblerock, Ark. 
“On Sept. 10 my brother’s barn 
burned down, all except the brick silo 
which was damaged at the top by the 
bolt of lighting which started the 
fire. 
“On Sept. 11 he decided to repair 
the silo right away because he had to 
get his corn in. I was going to help 
him. 
“I rigged a barrel hoist to the top 
of the silo so that the necessary bricks 
could be hoisted to the top of the silo 
where the repair work was going on. 
Then we hauled up several hundred 
brick. This later turned out to be too 
many bricks. 
“After my brother got all the brick 
work repaired there was still a lot 
of brick at the top of the silo on a 
working platform we had built. I 
said I would take it all down below. 
So I climbed down the ladder and 
hauled the barrel all the way up. 
Then I secured the line with sort of 
a slip knot so I could undo it easier 
later. 
“Then I climbed back up the ladder 
and piled bricks into the barrel until 
it was full. 
“I climbed back down the ladder. 
Then I untied the line to let the 
brick down. However, I found the 
barrel heavier than I was and when 
the barrel started down, I started 
up. I thought of letting go, but by 
that time I was so far up I thought it 
would be safer to hang on. 
“Half-way up, the barrel hit me on 
the shoulder pretty hard but I still 
hung on. 
* 
“I was going pretty fast at the top 
and bumped my head. My fingers also 
got pinched in the pulley block. How- 
ever, at the same time the barrel hit 
the ground and the bottom fell out of 
it letting all the brick out. 
“I was heavier than the barrel and 
started down again. I got burnt on 
the leg by the other rope as I went 
down until I met the barrel again 
which went by faster than before and 
took the skin off my shins. 
“I guess I landed pretty hard on 
the pile of bricks because at that time 
I lost my presence of mind and let 
go of the line and the barrel came 
down and hit me squarely on the head. 
“The doctor wouldn’t let me start 
back to the ship until Sept. 16, which 
made me two days overleave, which I 
don’t think is too much under the 
circumstances”. 
ANSWERS TO 
NAUTICAL QUESTION AIRE 
1. The narrow fore-and-aft strakes 
inside of a boat, secured to the frames, 
on which the thwarts rest. 
2. The curve of the gunwale which 
shows the difference of height above 
the water at stem and stern over that 
amidships. 
3. A piece of gear used as a pre- 
venter. 
4. Any temporary rig, usually re- 
ferring to a make-shift rig to serve 
the immediate purpose. 
5. Run the buoy down. 
6. The buoy is visible above water. 
7. Refers to a sailing vessel luff- 
ing up dead in the wind, usually indi- 
cates out of control. 
8. Said of a vessel when a sea 
washes over from astern. 
9. To pretend. 
10. One who is habitually evasive 
and indirect in making replies. 
V 
Y@GD 
0 
SL 
That Irish pota- 
toes are native to 
South America ? 
That the average 
American eats his 
weight in meat each 
year ? 
That there are fifty-five different 
ratings in the U. S. Navy? 
That the first vessel to fly the Stars 
and Stripes was the 18 gun schooner 
Ranger, whose captain was John Paul 
Jones ? 
The origins of much of nautical 
vernacular are so ancient that many 
terms of the sea have been used so 
long inland that most regard them 
as a part of local speech. ‘Cut a dido’ 
refers to the British H.M.S. Dido, 
which, before coming to anchor, would 
make a few extra turns around the 
fleet to show off. ‘Douse the Glim’ is 
a reference to the practice of lower- 
ing the lantern into an empty pail 
so it could not be seen. ‘Hard up,’ 
Figure head,’ and greenhorn’ are also 
from the sea. 
NOT BAD, HEH ! 
Two stuttering blacksmiths had 
finished heating a piece of pig iron, 
and one placed it upon the anvil with 
a pair of tongs. 
“H-h-h-h-hhit it,” he stuttered to 
his helper. 
“Wh- wh-wh- where ?” asked the 
other. 
“Aw-h-h-h-hell, we’ll have to heat 
it again.” 
Last night I held a little hand, 
So dainty and so neat, 
I thought my heart would surely burst, 
So wildly did it beat; 
No other hand that I held so tight, 
Could greater happiness bring, 
Than the hand I held last night- 
’Twas four aces and a king. 
“What do you take for your insom- 
nia ? ” 
“A glass of wine at regular inter- 
vals”. 
“Does that make you sleep?” 
“No, but it makes me satisfied to 
stay awake”. 
