Packing the seabag

Seabag: noun, a cylindrical drawstring bag used by sailors to hold their clothing and other gear

That definition is for the non-sailors in the group. Pictures will help. Alas, I am treating you all like civilians. In the military we say cilivilians. Pronounced silly-vilians. I think everyone gets the picture. We have all seen the movies with airport, bus, or train terminal scene. There is always a sailor with a seabag in the background. Most often he gets killed as collateral damage.

So yes, the seabag carries a our clothing and other items and no, it is not the most efficient means of transporting equipment. But, there is the right way, wrong way, and the Navy way.

A seabag is much more than a bag with a more crap in it. It is a transition. Packing one's seabag means it is time to go. And the places that seabags are taken do not include your family. No one packs their seabag to go to "The Cape", a weekend getaway to Santa Barbara, or to meet up with some "high school buddies" in Vegas. It is the Navy's version of a business trip. A trip in which we usually visit distant countries that are very hot, loaded with natural resources, and populated by little people with brown eyes and dark hair. Bit of gallows humor.

For me packing the seabag is therapeutic. It means putting everything you know and care about you behind, getting your mind focused around the task that lies in front of you, and getting on with it.

My seabags are packed. My mind is focused. I am ready. Let's get it on!

Love to all......

Fran