I suppose it's because I have so much time on my hands these days, that all these memories come flooding back to me.

I have been wondering for a long time, how to figure some little things out, and as yet have not come up with any answers. For example, why do the media insist on giving out the ages of people, when they write their news reports? For example they write things like...... a 24 year old witness said he saw the accident happen. So, why is it important that the witness, who saw the incident, is 24 years old? Does that make any difference to the story, or does it put the witness’s story in any doubt? Would it make any difference if the witness was 54 for example?

Another thing that has always puzzled me is, you know when the TV show host introduces the contestants to the show, why does he ask what they do for a living? Will it make any difference to the outcome of the show, or will it make any difference to the answers the contestant gives? So why do they ask that question, it normally comes right after the host has asked the contestant their age, which brings me back to the first question.

I was at a reunion recently, which is unusual for me, as I am not a good mixer with people these days, and haven’t been for quite some time now, but I went along anyway, as I was curious to meet some of my old ship mates from 30 odd years ago.

I found myself being asked, when I met some of them “ what do you do for a living” or, “what did you do before you retired”. This confused me in a way, as I thought, what has that got to do with the here and now, 30 or so years since I last saw them?

Was it because they wanted to place me in a pigeon hole, befitting my status in society, so that they could feel superior to me? Or would it make them feel threatened if I had said I was a Iawyer or surgeon, or air line pilot. One thing I do know is, that when I told them that I had spent 14 years as a welder, that seemed to end their curiosity straight away, and any interest they had in me disappeared, and they would wander away and continue to mingle.

I sometimes wondered that if they knew that I earned more back in the 1980s than they did at present, if that would have answered their question to their satisfaction! Mind you, it would have been hard for those type of people to put us in little boxes, according to our class, trade or profession, when we were all wearing evening suits.

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t go out much these days, due to the difficulty I have with being amongst a crowd of people, but then again, I suppose it’s the type of people I find myself with, that makes the difference. It was an honour to be part of the crew of such a prestigious ship, but that was a long time ago, and within myself I don’t believe I have changed that much over the years. Or maybe it’s just my attitude that has changed as I got older!

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