Douglas Sea Devil

USS LST-666
1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4835-5858-5
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 295 Seiten

This is a fictional story of USS LST-666 during the Korean War. (The original 666 was broken up after WW2.) Because of her hull number, she is named Sea Devil that mysteriously appear on the scene at Koashiung, Taiwan, at our story beginning. With a crew of upset non-active duty reservists, she sailed across the Pacific from Astoria, Oregon, to Yokosuka, Japan. After dry docking to clean her hull, she sailed to this Taiwanese port and anchored. A Philly pissed off sailor, Abner Luxor, appears who is believed to be an expert on Landing Craft operations. He proves that he is, to the mortification of two Chief Petty Officers.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Douglas, Mark

Leseproben

ONE === IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL BUT HUMID MORNING THAT AUGUST 20, 1950, when trouble rose with the sun. Mister Abner Luxor looked around the freshly painted showroom with pride, rocking back and forth in his Wellington half-boots, one hand folded behind his back, the other holding his favorite cigar, a West (by god) Virginia Cheroot, and a pleased smile on his smoothly shaved face. A gentleman and businessman, Mister Luxor wore custom 3-piece suits always with snap brim sportster hats, a small feather or leaf in the band; he usually wore a white carnation in his coat button hole. His clothing, of course, came from Royster’s Men’s Emporium in downtown Philadelphia. When his hat sat on a shelf in his office, his trimmed, brown naturally wavy hair improved his looks. Green eyes, at 5 foot 10 inch height, a University of Pennsylvania class ring (‘48) on his right hand, a Wharton pin (’50) centered on his Pennsylvania State University school tie, and a small dab of Old Spice aftershave lotion completed his personal ensemble. When he was thinking deeply, or angered, his left eye closed to a slit as his right eye bulged wide open. Regrettably, when he was excited, his body was inclined to form huge amounts of noxious gas. His four-room apartment home was in ‘The’ Abington Hall Apartments. It was tastefully decorated for a bachelor of some means. Abner’s living room, bedroom, office, and kitchen-dinette did justice to his tastes. World War Two Navy life gave him an appreciation of showers. The bathtub was only used by some of his lady friends. He entertained a variety of ladies and gentlemen of similar tastes. His liquor and wine cabinets held excellent beverages that accompanied bridge, poker, old maid, and canasta card games, backgammon, and monopoly. Abner had no use for chess, checkers, or chinese checkers—all the rage since the end of World War Two. A great new Philco AM/FM radio with a 78/45/33 RPM phonograph let him enjoy serious music and sports, especially football. A powerful scientific ten inch slide rule was front and center on his desk, next to the electric Royal typewriter. He had dithered between K&E and Picket slide rules, finally settling on a Picket, an absolutely marvelous tool. He found it precisely the means that statistically pointed the way to his new business venture after careful comparisons of the several automotive opportunities. The rehabilitated auto showroom presented three glistening 1950 models of Studebakers that just begged for customers to drive them away. Abner Luxor, a World War Two Navy veteran, 28 years old, was a chunky young man who bought the empty, ghostly, dusty, cobweb-laden former Franklin Motors property at 6870 Essington Avenue on Automobile Row, for a song. Abner Luxor, a Doctoral Candidate in Marketing and Sales, after careful consideration, had selected the Studebaker firm based on their long business operation—more than 100 years old. Many of the covered wagons in late 1840’s and 1850’s, that started West from Independence, Missouri, across the Great Plains to Oregon or California had been manufactured by Studebaker wheelwrights who also designed and manufactured narrow canal boats. He wondered how many people knew that. He had asked the Studebaker people for a pictorial history of the Company. So far, they had not responded to that request. Abner’s new enterprise consisted of the three-position Showroom. a 20-slot New and Used Car Lot where no used Studebaker would ever be permitted (old Studebakers traded in on a new model were immediately sold to another used car dealer who dealt with all automotive products.) A gleaming five-bay Garage equipped with latest tire alignment, tire balancing, headlight adjustment, and two cable lifts, next to a Studebaker Parts Room rounded out his Plant. Moreover, the entire plant was centrally heated and air-conditioned, completing the picture. Staffing his department managers had been the critical point on his list of what to do right. He personally wrote the job descriptions, their measures of success, and pay scales: General Manager (Miss Angela ‘Angie’ Holz, a graduate of Philadelphia City College in Business Administration); Sales (Mr. Edwin Winthrop, 15 years auto sales experience); Garage (Mr. Jesus del Corona, ex-Technical Sergeant of Army Motor Pools); and Used Cars (Mr. Alvin Baker, automotive pricing expert) were carefully selected—mostly from other auto dealers and specifically instructed how to conduct business—according to Abner Luxor. This was a key part of his doctoral thesis on his road to a PhD, focusing on Marketing and Sales: selection of the correct management personnel. Of course, there were additional personnel, such as mechanics, secretaries, typing and accounting clerks, and janitors—inside and out. Just as important, Abner insisted that Al Baker hire and train superior Wash Boys on the New and Used Car lot. Particularly, the new Studebakers fronting on Essington. Those would be washed or polished as needed, then started and warmed up every morning. It simply wouldn’t do for a prospective customer to walk away because the cold engine failed to start he or she was checking out. The Outside Janitorial crew kept the grounds picked up and swept daily. The dinky lawn in front of the show case windows was groomed weekly. Abner was determined to be the most successful Automobile dealer in Pennsylvania. Abner had Angela arrange for flowers, shrubbery and potted trees to be scattered around the showroom, as well as in front of the showroom facing Essington, to add warmth to the decor. He was admiring the total effect n the showroom when the hot August sun rose above the building across the street. An intense white beam struck his plate glass windows facing Essington Avenue, exposing dust and smeared handprints on the glass. Mr. Luxor frowned also noting none of the potted plants showed through those windows. “Angela,” he said, looking down above the top of her head, and pointed with his cigar toward the showroom windows. “Those windows are disgusting, get those janitors out here to clean and polish them right away.” He continued, pointing here and there, “and for goodness sakes, move some of those plants in front of them so people outside can see them.” Angela sighed, nodded, and walked down the hall to the janitors hole in the wall. That’s Stella’s job! Two elderly negros, John and Charlie, were cleaning crockery and ashtrays in the deep sink. “Mr. Luxor is concerned the big windows are dirty and need to be polished. You’d better get right on it.” John nodded without a word, grabbed a bucket and began filling it with soap and hot water. Charley pulled fresh rags from a bag. The biggest single remodeling expense had been the new neon signs in blue and green colors. Similar blue and green paint colors embraced the entire facility. White spotlights on fifteen-foot tall poles focused on and highlighted the front row of eight new Studebakers in the Car Lot at night. Luxor Studebaker Automobiles, Inc., (he was the only stockholder) had signed a contract with the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper to run a half-page advertisement right below Prince Valiant in the Puck Comics section every weekend. He believed that most families in his target income bracket read the Sunday funnies before the news. In formulating his marketing and business plans, Abner decided not to get involved with auto loans and insurance policies. Instead, his Sales staff would assist customers in completing applications and contracts; they went so far as driving them to a bank or loan or auto insurance company of their choice. This reduced administrative expenses considerably. He continued to rock back and forth as he puffed on another Wheeling Cheroot, the third cigar of the day. He had another thought. How could I have overlooked this advertising opportunity? “Angie,” he said, “would you try to locate any of those anti-aircraft searchlights. Depending on costs, two of them would be nice, waving their beams around at night.” She smiled, thought it was an interesting idea. Nodding, she left for her office to investigate that possibility. In six months. If everything went as planned, he would begin negotiations with Nash to become one of their franchised dealers, to join with his Studebaker franchise—perhaps even Willy’s Jeep later on. Not Henry J. Kaiser’s brand new Kaiser Frasier cars, though. It was a great sunshiny, warm early August morning. The Cheroot was specially tasty today. A slight breeze out of the West forewarned of rain by nightfall. He watched absentmindedly as a Western Union delivery boy in his brown uniform wheeled his bicycle up to his office side door and got off, carefully lifting the rear tire while dropping its support stand under it before he walked into the office. A moment later, the delivery boy was back out, kicked the stand back up and peddled away down the street. I wonder what Studebaker has their knickers in an uproar about this time—so important that Corporation had a telegram delivered to his office. A door slammed open and high-heeled patent leather pumps clicked fast and furious, nylons whisking sweetly. “Mr. Luxor, Mr. Luxor!” shouted Stella Adams, his private secretary. “You better read this telegram right now!” as she breathlessly ran up to him. He looked at her, smiling, his teeth showing, with raised eyebrows, and reached for the telegram that she read, as he puffed on his Cheroot. He read it and exploded, his Cheroot flying...