I felt relieved when my twenty-first birthday arrived. Until then, I could not take a date to what passed for a night club in Key West without fear of being refused admission. All civilian booze emporiums were off limits to military personnel who had not yet reached twenty one.
Because I was then the engineering officer in USS EAGLE 19 the young lady I dated the week before no doubt assumed that I was older. I suspected that she was not likely to be enthused about knowing the true nature of our age difference. On that occasion I took her to the Officer’s Club on the Naval Operating Base; there the under twenty-one ban did not exist. Thus on my birthday I had no reason to be concerned about taking the same date to one of the night spots in town.
A huge, seemingly no-nonsense, women of considerable girth guarded the entrance. She let my date walk by, but asked for my identification. Since I was then twenty one I smiled as I produced my I.D. card. With a quick glance the huge bouncer boomed, “Just made it! Didn’t you baby boy?”
My date turned around and asked suspiciously, “Why did she say that?”
I grabbed the card from the laughing behemoth and quickly led the young lady away as I explained, “You didn’t see what she did. She pushed me against the door jam with her big belly, but I managed to squeeze by.”
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Copyright © 2005 (text only) by Louis D. Chirillo