24. New York, New York!

Readers who have been following my blog posts will be aware by now of my deep love of the sea and of all things associated with it. Walking solo beside the ocean provides many benefits and now that I have reached my “twilight” years perhaps the greatest benefit for me comes from the many happy memories which it can trigger. Foremost among these would be those I have of working as a very young crew member on Dutch-flagged ships, sailing all around the world.

I would like, therefore, to share with you a story about my first visit to America, many, many years ago. It’s a tale about friendships and fun and some truly unforgettable days. The setting is New York city, when our ship was in port to load cargo. I was only 19 years old, and eager and open to all the world had to offer.

On this particular voyage, my closest friend was Hans, the baker. Hans and his boss, the chief cook, along with the second cook and the cook’s mate, all worked in the galley, the ship’s kitchen, located on the main deck in the centre of the ship. I often stopped to talk with them when I was on my way from one part of the ship to another.

Fortuitously for me, Hans kept a daybook in which he recorded everything that happened to him during his numerous voyages, both on and off the ship. He later gave me a copy (which I still have!) of what he’d recorded during that visit to New York in 1955. Some of what follows is based on what he had recorded.

In Hans’s daybook I was referred to as “Assie”, an abbreviation of the Dutch word “Assistent”, because I was the “Assistent-Hofmeester”. The Hofmeester was in charge of the Indonesian crew members (stewards, cooks, laundrymen etc.) and I was his assistant. The nickname, “Assie”, sounded fair enough in the Dutch language, but, as you can imagine, it was not very flattering in English.

On the second day after our ship’s arrival in New York, most of the non-essential crew were offered a trip, by bus, to an evening performance in the famous Radio City Music Hall, at the shipping company’s expense. The show, entitled “Flying Colors – Ravel’s Bolero”, featured a ballet company, which included the famous Rockettes. It was an amazing experience for the simple seafarers that we were. I had never seen anything like it! We also saw the movie “Love me or Leave me”, starring Doris Day, and it was well after midnight when our bus arrived back at our ship.

Two days later the ship’s Second Officer informed us that a party had been organised to take place on the ship that evening, and that some local girls had been invited to attend it. He had asked the kitchen staff if they would take care of the food (mainly sandwiches) and he asked me if I would look after the bar.

We all dressed in our best uniforms to welcome the girls, who I think may have been associated with a church or youth group. I have no idea why they, or their church, thought that it would be a good idea for them to visit us. Something like that would never be possible today, for a whole variety of reasons.

Nonetheless, I thought the young ladies who arrived looked very “American” and very pretty. In his daybook, the baker recorded some of their names – Joyce, June, Barbara and Patty. The “Hofmeester” later told us that the girl he had sat next to was the daughter of the President of TWA, a very large airline operating at that time, but he may have been boasting! It was basically a party for the ship’s officers only and the captain himself was present throughout the evening.

It turned out to be quite a busy night for me and I was lucky that my friend, the baker, was there to help me. As the evening developed, Hans brought out his accordion and I had my guitar and, with the music we provided, the party really came to life. Hans and I played the polonaise and the girls introduced us to a “ping pong ball” dance, something new to all of us. In my excitement I drank a little too much, having never tasted whisky before, and I paid for it the following morning. (I also dropped some whisky on the Captain!)

One of the girls, Joyce, talked to me for a long time and asked me many questions about my life. She was curious as to why I was called “Assie” and seemed to accept my explanation that it was not a derogatory term in Dutch. We got on very well and I liked her. The baker also enjoyed himself and later told me that he had instantly fallen in love with June, who was a very beautiful girl. For us all it was truly a magical night and at the end of the evening the girls were “properly” escorted home. I must confess however that I can’t recall very much about the later part of that memorable evening.

From the time of our arrival in New Orleans a few weeks earlier, we had been introduced to American country music and the so-called “honky tonk” style. Songs by Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Jo Stafford and others were very popular at the time and I loved listening to them.  The combination of steel guitar and fiddle, supported by other instruments, produced an easy-to-listen-to sound and that, combined with the simple sentimental lyrics, completely sucked us in. We did a lot of singing when we were in New York!

The day after the party the second officer informed us that the girls had invited us to the Seaman’s Club that evening. Sadly, I had to stay on board because the hofmeester himself wanted to go. Most of the officers did attend but the Captain also stayed on board.  From all accounts, those who went had another great evening.

The next day our ship departed for its long voyage to the Middle East. It goes without saying that I will never forget my first visit to New York.

Even today, whenever I hear Willie Nelson singing on TV, I smile and think back to those happy days 68 years ago.

O.P.

P.S. Next Sunday we’ll publish the final post for this year. It’s a story about a cruise to Indonesia and of climbing Mount Bromo.