My Big Sleep Walk

 

I am reading another UNCLE JOHN’S BATHROOM ALMANAC.  The section I am in now tells of many sleepwalkers who found themselves in strange places or doing something strange.

Which reminds of my sleep walk in the barracks of NAS Lakehurst, NJ.

The morning before I was a transient in the Charleston Naval Yards in South Carolina.  I had been waiting on orders for about 30 days.  Probably, about noon I was paged and I reported where I was suppose to and the yeoman gave me my order to the ship USS J.K. TAUSSIG Lakehurst, New Jersey.  He also gave me a bus ticket from the Philadelphia Bus Station to the Naval Station at Lakehurst, N.J.  He told he have prepaid tickets from the airport to the bus station.  He said that would have to come out of my own pocket.  I only had about $5.  I told the yeoman that he just shrugged.

I had to report to the service who would get me to the Charleston airport.

I had to rush to the barracks, get my stuff in my duffle bag, which I did.

In a commercial airline I was taken to the Philadelphia Airport.

Outside I found a driver with a sign saying to the Philly Bus Station.  I think the fare was ten dollars.  I told him I only had $5.  I suppose, being in uniform  he felt for me.  He told me to get in.

On the bus I enjoyed the ride of old buildings and homes through New Jersey.

I got out of the bus at the guardhouse at the gate.  It was almost dark.

I walked in and at a counter I gave a Chief Petty Officer my orders.  He looked at the orders up and down and kind of smirked.  He nudge the duty officer who was turned the other way looking at paper work on his desk.  He looked at the orders and looked at me.

One of the men, I forgo which one, said, “I hate to tell you this, but we are about 14 miles from the ocean.  There is no ship here.  This is an aviation base.”

“Well shit”  I thought.

They called whoever and could not come up with a solution.  They told the duty driver to take me to the barracks and let the day people tomorrow figure it out.

The duty driver carried me to the barracks to a huge dark room of full of bunks.  I found one unattended and did not find cloths hanging on them, or sheets.   I suppose they   issued me a  sheet and pillow, I don’t remember that was a problem.

I was exhausted.  I fell asleep almost immediately. 

Then about 1 a.m. I dreamed I was back at the Charleston Naval Yards Barracks and outside in the dark dodging bombs and machine guns.

I actually was out in the dark running when I saw two men coming in.  I ran up to them and told them to run, “The Russians are attacking!”

They looked surprised, then curious about me.  They convinced me I was having a bad dream, to go back to bed.

Which I did, almost.  I got my bunk in the pitch dark and had no idea where it was.

I slept on a bare mattress through the night.   At 6 a.m. I think they turned on the barracks lights and I found my stuff.

That morning in the chow hall I saw the two men I warned sitting two tales over looking at me.  When we jumped our scraps in the garbage can I told them my side of the story.  No problem.

Several months later I rode to North Carolina, with the same two.  I was on my way home to get my car and drive it back.

Incidentally, I drove back all night long.  I was to report the next day so I fell asleep in my bunk.  And woke up a few hours later, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

I heard of people getting medical discharges from the Armed Services for sleep walking.