Setting: Anchored off the coast of France.

Liberty expired at midnight on the last night and I was walking with a cutie when she told me it was 2355 and I was about a mile from the landing. I bid my farewells and sprinted toward the pier. I thought I would make it, but as I rounded the last corner I saw the liberty boat pulling away. Panic set in and I wondered what was going to happen if I missed ship's movement. Looking out over the calm water at the ship I thought about swimming, but the JAWS tune slowly entered my brain and I gave up that idea. I started looking for an alternate way out to the ship. I saw a couple standing on a yacht and asked them if they could take me out to my ship. They said they were only yacht sitting for the night but knew of a different way. They walked me around to the beach and woke up an elderly man who had a peddle boat for rent. I rented a peddle boat and paid the couple to bring it back. As we set out toward the ship through the break water waves I could hear the ship souning "Security Alert". As we got closer, I stood up and yelled, "don't shoot, it's Nusbaum." The only thing I heard was laughter. When I got to the ship, I climbed the acom ladder and requested permission to come aboard. Everyone was still laughing, but I had to turn over my ID card. As we were standing there and I was telling my story, we heard the chains on the acom ladder, we looked over and a FN (name escapes me) was climbing up soaking wet. He still had his cowboy hat on! He looked at me and said, "damn Nusbaum, you passed me right up." Needless to say, we both went to XOI, and were awarded EMI. Those were the good ole days.