How to make the Chief Engineer squirm

While I was a deck ape my first cruise I went mess cooking, which is pretty good duty if you can get it...

Anyway, I was washing vegetables because we had just got a load from Japan, and everything from Japan needs to be washed good because they use human manure...No cows, except Kobe Beef...

Anyway the New Chief Engineer, heard the water running and looked in and told me to stop what I was doing, I was on report for using water. I tried to explain to him what and why I was using water to clean the veggies.

As soon as he was gone I headed for my division officer and told him what had just happened...He called the chief, the captain and the XO and we had an impromtu Captains Mast right then and there. He instructed me to bring up a case of unwashed vegetables, so I did.

The chief explained to the XO why he wrote me up...In my defense, all I had to do was hold up a celery bunch covered in its human manure mud and say. Sir, I will stop using water to wash this stuff, but this is what it is going to look like down on the serving line...Case dismissed...

The Chief Engineer, the first night he showed up for his fresh donuts, he was politely told sorry chief, you have been black listed for writing Hall (me) up...

The next day he looked me up, apologized and said he was just doing his job, yata yata...Thats what I mean about getting away with murder....imagine, a Chief apologizing to me, a lowly seamen apprectice...He got his donuts the next morning he was on watch...