What is the Last, Most Titillating Thing a Sailor Does at the End of his Tour?
A Story of Life at Sea
In the Navy we had a tradition at the end of each assignment. Because each sailor’s assignment was for 3–5 years, as one drew near to the end of his tour, his excitement grew.
When a sailor was completing his tour aboard a ship or a shore station, his status would become one of “getting short”.
A “Short-timer”
As a sailor neared becoming “short”, he would create a crude picture, a cartoon, often of a beautiful woman. The picture would cover an entire page, and he would draw lines across parts of the picture [the body], dividing it into 100 pieces, each similar in size.
As he looked at a beautiful woman whose body was divided into 100 pieces, the sailor would number each piece from 1 to 100.
That picture, properly drawn and divided, would become his Short-timer’s Calendar.
Short-timer’s Calendar
The “calendar” was unique to that sailor — one that he would mark every day as the dates passed.
On the 100th day before his departure, he would color the piece numbered 100 — maybe her nose or her foot — and the next day he would color the number 99, and so on.
He would count down the days until he would be reunited with his wife or girlfriend.
The short-timer’s calendar served as a boost to crew morale, as friends would forecast stories of his exploits on his first day at home. As the transfer date drew near, the level of the crew’s excitement was brought to a crescendo.
Nearing the End
In the final week, regardless of the ship’s operational tempo, the short-timer would be lauded wherever he went.
Some of his final duties were to check out with responsible crew members: he would verify that his records were complete, that his pay was accurate, that he retained no overdue library books.
On day zero, the sailor walked to the gangway as the ship announced his departure, which was followed by the crew’s applause.
It was small traditions like this that bound a crew like a family.
