I left off the About me story (see: What’s This Guy Doing Here?) adrift in the Pacific off the coast of Hawaii.

That seemed ok, it must have been obvious that I was saved somehow and the saving part wasn’t important to that Blogging 101 assignment. But, was certainly important to me. So here’s the rest of the story.

Just as I was wondering what I was doing in that predicament I looked up toward the Gridley to see if I was making any progress. What I saw was my friend and shipmate Andy Mott charging down the port side, coiling line (rope to you non-nautical readers) as fast as he could. I started swimming harder, keeping my eye on Andy – something they train you to do as a rescue swimmer. He slid down the port side ladder onto the fantail and raced aft. As he skidded to a stop just short of the stern, he wound up and heaved the bitter end (the loose end) of that line for all he was worth. It uncoiled in slow motion, Andy leaned out, extending his right arm…

Straight and true, every inch of it extended, the end of that line dropped about five feet in front of me. I lunged, grabbed it, and let Andy reel me in. Saved!

EPILOGUE

You’d think I’d have stayed in touch with the man who saved my life but no, such is youth, the military, life, that you loose touch with even the important people in your life. This WordPress Blogging University assignment was to write a post to your dream audience. I wasn’t sure what audience that was at first. I thought of a lot of different audiences that I had had in mind for different postings over the years. But it seemed fitting that this should be for an audience I literally owe my life to – and yes, I do know that there are many more of you out there – so Andy Mott, if you stumble across this, let me know. Or at least know that I’ve never forgotten.