I have always thought of Christmas as being my favorite time of year...the presents, time with family, fake trees in your living room. I am always in the best of spirits during the holidays, but all of the cheer and excitement that accompanies Santa's season has been trumped by a recently discovered guilty pleasure. Fleet week. Instead of a jolly old man in a big red suit, I get dress blues pressed to perfection. Instead of a beard to decorate a face, I get high and tights all over the place. And instead of a sleigh parked on the roof, I get a gigantic ship docked at pier 88. The only similarity between the two times of year is how I run around in a frenzy, in such a state of jubilation, that I am screaming or passing out all over the place.
Fleet week is that time of year from the Wednesday before Memorial Day until the Wednesday after, where there are members of the United States Marine Corp, Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force docked at Pier 88 and spending the entire week on the island. They have performances, boat tours, and presentations. But the best part is the fact that this city is swarming with men in uniform, and you really do feel like a kid in a candy store. I don't know why I have such a fascination with military men. I attribute it to my grandfather being a Marine, and my dad making sure that we were raised knowing a lot about it. I certainly have a great respect for anyone who is willing to make that commitment. I decided to go exploring with a single girlfriend of mine, and we did well. Met some coast guard gentlemen the first night and Marines the second. They all have strict curfews, and are the greatest of gentlemen, so it was quite an enjoyable evening. We just let them tell their stories, tried on their hats and told them how proud we were of them. What a great experience!
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