Getting Along

In my last article “Hopes and Dreams”, I said I would work with ALL the Representatives of ALL the Districts, but specifically 3 and 4. This brings up the question:

How do you know you will get along with them?

I served in the US Navy for 9 years. Three of those years were spent submerged in Submarines. I was not permanent “ship’s company”. I was a “rider”. I was on board the boat (both Diesel and Nuclear) for 3 or more months at a time. Ship’s company didn’t much care for me, because when I came on-board it usually meant they were going to be going on an extended deployment; away from their family and friends – off the face of the earth entirely. I represented real bad news. Not only that, but I was going to sleep in one of their beds, eat their food, and breath their air. I was a necessary evil.

I walked into that environment and thrived. I made good friends with whom I have stayed in contact with over the years. Later in life several of them were even room-mates of mine, when we were not forced to be (known to sub sailors in the extreme as Hot-racking).

But more importantly – every mission we went on was successful. We worked as a team, some of the best teams I have ever worked on, because our lives depended on it. When confronted with “issues” that seemed at face value to be HUGE; we worked through them and created memories that have lasted a lifetime. I’m pretty sure with that back-ground; I can do the same for Poway.