Around the World

Jimmy literally traveled the world while in the Navy. At least while he was in the service, there was a humorous term (I forget what it was) to refer to those who hadn't crossed yet crossed the international date line aboard a ship, and a hazing ritual would ensue right after that first crossing.

With that many people packed in such close quarters, there were plenty of pranks that sealed the social bonds. (By the way, Jimmy was aboard the first Navy ship that carried both women and men, the SS Samuel Gompers.)

Among the anecdotes I remember him repeating the most, he said that falling asleep ahead of everyone else would pretty much set you up for all manner of jokes.

A very common one pushes the boundaries of my efforts to keep this blog rated PG-13: the bunkmates would dangle something in front of the face of the sleeping individual and take a Polaroid picture, then use the image to blackmail the prankee the next day.