Arizona (standard:science fiction, 11394 words)
Author: Dano	Added: Sep 14 2000	Views/Reads: 4585/2927	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Reminicent of the movie "The Final Countdown", this is how I would have written the story of a time traveler ending up in Hawaii on December 6, 1941.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

my head with the small pillow but found limited success in falling back 
to sleep.  Finally, I relented and decided to get some aspirin to dull 
the effects of last nights fun.  Im not a morning person, my eyes were 
cloudy and my vision blurred as I stumbled to the bathroom.  My first 
recollection that anything was ascrew was my missing shaving kit.  I 
stuck my head back into the bedroom to ask Amy where she had hid it.  
She wasn't there.  I couldn't believe she was up already, she had been 
pretty excited about getting to the beach but this was ridiculous.  I 
scrounged around in the darkened room until I found a pair of pants and 
a shirt, then stepped outside and into.....................another 
world. 

The two men continued their argument in the street next to an ancient
truck, the 15 story hotel across the street had disappeared,  an old 
Packard coughed its way down the street, the unpaved street.  The first 
thought was, "where the hell am I?"  Panic started to set in, my mind 
spun with the confusion my eyes and ears were feeding it.  Everything 
was wrong.  I wandered barefoot into the street, their were more palm 
trees, less people, fewer buildings, and many more old cars than the 
Waikiki I left when I walked into my room last night.  At first it 
looked like a fantastic dream.  It was as if I had stepped into an old 
Humphry Bogart movie.  Then, as I began to feel the sand between my 
toes, smell the fragrance of the flowers, and the warmth of the sun, I 
realized that this wasnt a dream.  The senses I was feeling were real.  
I was really here...where ever that was.  Fear and panic started to 
invade my amazement.  I started walking down the street and then as 
less and less made sense, I began running, barefoot through a town I 
did not know.  Nothing made sense, nothing was right.  It was as if I 
had woken in a Hawaiian sound stage set to the forties.  The people, 
the cars, all new to me but old relics in every standard.  A news stand 
at the corner, a perfect 1940 Ford coupe, a copy of The Saturday 
Evening Post tossed aside in a bush, all impossible to understand. 

I ran in a shocked and delirious amazement for nearly an hour before I
somehow found myself again outside my Hotel.  It was a dream, it was 
all a dream, or a hallucination.  If I just got back in bed, it would 
all make sense to me when I finally woke up.  Surely Amy would be back 
in the room now, I raced down the walk to my bungalow and flung open 
the door only to find it empty.  I was more confused and disoriented 
than ever.  I opened the blinds and sat on the bed, deciding to relax 
and take stock of the situation.  Inside my room, the floor was still 
scattered with many of my clothes and luggage.  Had Amy left me in the 
middle of the night?  I reached inside my shorts from last night and 
found my wallet.  The credit cards and money appeared untouched.  
Inside my luggage was my return airline ticket, on the night stand were 
my sunglasses and watch.  The room, except for a missing girlfriend, 
appeared much as it did the night before.  Outside my window, was a 
much different story.  Still in a confused state of shock, I decided to 
take a shower, put on some new clothes, and see if my mind would clear 
enough to explain to me what I was seeing.  Their is almost always a 
logical explanation to everything, I was hoping one would pop up for 
this nightmare. 

After my shower, I dressed in a plain white shirt and pair of dark blue
Dockers and out of habit strapped on a watch,  I thought I had better 
dress as incospiusouly as possible for the moment.  My walk was much 
calmer and more informative than the wild eyed panicked run of only an 
hour or so ago.  Hungry, I walked into a restaurant for breakfast.  I 
sat at the counter and ordered eggs and hash browns.  The "restaurant" 
was exactly what I would have imagined it to be.  It was really more 
like a roadside diner.  The scattered tables had red checkered table 
clothes which matched the soiled drapes...exactly.  The seats at the 
counter had a view of the Coca Cola dispenser, various collections of 
glasses and silverware, and the same order window to the kitchen that 
must have been standard architecture on every diner built between 1930 
and 1960.  The only thing setting this diner apart from ones found in 
Norman Rockwell paintings, was the Polynisian cook and waitress.  My 
head still ached from the evenings drinking and the attack on my eyes 
by the surreal scenes of a Hawaii I had only known from old pictures. 

"You look like hell buddy" the waitress said, "are you all right?"  I
told her I wasn't feeling well, and asked what day it was.  "Saturday, 
the sixth of December, how many days have you been drunk?" she replied. 
"So then tomorrow is Pearl Harbor Day?" I inquired. "What day?" "Pearl 
Harbor Day" "You mean somebody has set aside a whole day for those 
obnoxious bunch of hooligans out there?" she said with a loud laugh. 

The panic began to return, I tried to suppress it, to control it. "Is
this really 1941" I asked.  The waitress only laughed again and walked 
away to help other customers. "Yep, its '41 alright" said the older 
Hawaiian man next to me.  "Time goes by so quickly, I remember back 
when I was about your age, working on the docks in San Fran'.  That 
would have been in the mid-twenties or so.  My friends and 
I.......................................................................
" the man droned on as I got lost again in my foggy head.  How could it 
be 1941, what did I drink last night.  Waves of both disbelief and panic
 ran through my mind as I tried to conceive the impossible.  Was I reall
y in 1941?  Could I have somehow gone back in time or was this just the 
most real dream I had ever known.  Was I drugged last night, is this an 
hallucination?  Don't panic I kept telling myself, try to act normal, pl
ay along with the dream.  All of this will make sense soon. "I said, The
 Japs, do you think their gonna hit Manila" the old man nudged me back i
nto his conversation. I looked at him with stark realization and a gloss
y stare on my face as I thought of the consequences of the coming events
 and said "Their going to attack Pearl tomorrow, they are going to sink 
our fleet to the bottom of harbor tomorrow morning".  The old man laughe
d, stood, and patted me on the back as he walked away, I could hear him 
laughingly mocking me as he walked out of the restaurant. "Attack Hawaii
, that will be the day......" 


If this is 1941, I thought, if it really is, I've got to warn the Navy
about tomorrow.  Don't I?  I stood and started to walk out "hey buddy, 
you gonna pay your bill?" asked the waitress. I apologized and dropped 
a ten dollar bill on the counter, she picked it up and said "Wait a 
minute big spender, this isn't even a good counterfeit bill". 
"Counterfeit?, " I said. "That's what I said, its the worst one I've 
seen in years." As she further inspected the strange bill. "Its even 
dated 1992. Now, pay up and get out buddy".  It took a little wheeling 
and dealing, but I was able to "convince" her that I was with the 
federal government printing office and the money was a sample of what 
we thought the bills should look like.  I told her I had accidentally 
grabbed the wrong bills, that these were the samples we were taking out 
to local bankers for their opinion.  I don't believe she bought the 
half baked story, maybe she did, but she gladly traded my breakfast for 
the cheap digital watch I was wearing.  She had never seen anything 
like it.  I think she could tell that I was a man who was troubled and 
lost. 

Back in my room, I contemplated my next move.  I decided that since it
appeared I was here, in 1941, and for the moment it seemed as real as 
anything else,  I must try to accept it and deal with it as 
fact....even though I knew it couldn't be true.  I had a few problems 
to solve.  I didn't have any "real 1941" money.  If I continued to pass 
out the money from the 90's, I would soon end up in jail.  I needed to 
figure out how to get back, mentally and physically, to 1997 and my 
girlfriend.  And I needed to think about the events which would take 
place tomorrow morning.  What would I do, where would I hide, could I 
warn the Navy, did I want to change history. I solved the money problem 
by searching my belongings.  I had an old solar calculator that I used 
to balance my check book, I think I had paid $7.00 for it several years 
ago.  The pawn dealer down the street gave me $15.00 "real money" for 
it once I showed him how quickly it added and subtracted.  I made him 
promise to keep it to himself.  If he did for a month I told him, I 
would provide him with hundreds of "my new invention" to sell and we 
would be millionaires.  My 1941 room was suddenly a wonder of hi-tech 
gadgets, my scuba dive computer, my lap-top computer I had brought 
along to keep my journal, even my dive watch, scuba regulator, and 
under-water camera, while not considered hi-tech in the 90's, were 
examples of technologies that wouldn't be invented for 40 or 50 years.  
Heck, the Air Nike tennis shoes on my feet were marvels of technology 
that were far ahead of their time.  I had noticed several people 
looking at the "swish" down their sides. 

As far as getting back to my world, I hoped that would solve itself
tonight when I went to sleep.  But if it didn't, I had to consider if I 
should be a quite observer or a hero in the Pearl Harbor attack.  I 
strapped on my dive watch and left to wander the streets of Waikiki, I 
was lonely, scared, confused, amazed, and amused all in the same 
thought.  I needed to get back to my room to get my camera, some of the 
old cars, a hobby of mine, were absolutely beyond belief.  I stepped 
into a beachside bar to have a 10 cent beer, I just couldn't pass up 
the opportunity to drink so cheap, plus I thought the "hair of the dog" 
couldn't hurt my lingering hangover at this point.  The place was full 
of Navy personnel.  Sitting at a table next to me were several 
officers, one was an Admiral's aide judging from his gold rope hanging 
off his shoulder, like the one Tony Curtis had in the movie "Operation 
Petticoat".  They were relaxing, having a beer, talking about nurses 
and other men's wives. 

After a little thought, I wheeled my chair around and introduced myself
as a Pan Am Airlines representative from Seattle.  One of the men was 
from a small town in Washington and invited me to join them.  We spoke 
mainly about the weather at first and then I inquired about the latest 
news about the Japanese movements in the South Pacific. "Doesn't really 
concern us" said a Lieutenant, "they are just doing a little land 
grabbing". "So Hawaii is safe?" I asked The Admiral's aide sat up 
straight, "We don't believe the islands are vulnerable to attack nor do 
we believe the Japs are dumb enough to attack the US fleet." "Listen to 
the 'Admiral' talk like he knows" quipped one of the other men, the 
Aide just shot him a sneer. "What if, and this is purely hypothetical, 
what if the Japanese were planning a sneak attack on Pearl as we 
speak?" I said. "If, hypothetically speaking, you did have information 
regarding Jap plans, it would be your duty as a US citizen to report 
what you know, along with how you received this information, to the 
Navy at once." answered the Aide. "Yes, I suppose it would be my duty" 
I said thoughtfully.  I laughed it off with as a joke and changed the 
subject. 

I bought the Navy boys a few more beers and had a few more laughs.  I
told them a few jokes they had never heard, and a few they didn't 
understand.  They told me a few I hadn't heard and one or two that were 
so old I had to force a laugh.  When it came time for them to leave, I 
asked the Admiral's Aide, Bud,  to stay a moment. "What if I did know 
something, how would I go about telling somebody who would listen?" 
"Well, I guess you could start by telling me, if I thought it was worth 
while, I could surely get somebody to listen" Bud said. "Bud, do you 
believe that a man can travel through time?" Bud laughed, "Heck yes, 
why we have a bus that runs through my hometown that takes you to the 
moon and the year 2000 all on the same shot.  Just before I left, my 
wife and I saw the birth of Christ on our way back from dinner with 
Adam and Eve." "Bud, Im serious, what if you could look into the future 
or back at the past" Bud smile went away, "If you think either is 
possible, your well on your way to the nut house, or you just got out". 
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my dive watch, a Citizen analog 
with a digital readout.  "Bud, this watch won't be for sale for about 
50 years".  Bud examined the watch with great concentration.  "Bud, I 
know things about the future.  How many people know the Admirals 
schedule for the next 24 hours?" "Besides me and his secretary, maybe 
his wife". "Admiral Kimmel is attending a dinner party tonight thrown 
by  Admiral Leary and his wife.  Tomorrow he is playing golf with 
General Short".  I said with a smirk. "Who are you, really?" Bud 
inquired I looked at Bud with as serious a look as I could and replied, 
"My name is Mark Young, I will be born on the thirteenth of August, 
Nineteen Sixty Four." 

The look on Bud's face showed that he was very uncomfortable with this
conversation, he needed to get away from the crazy man in the bar.  He 
began thinking up an excuse to leave, to escape. "Look, I know what I'm 
telling you is impossible to understand, I don't even know how I got 
here, shit, when I went to sleep last night it was 1997, I woke up this 
morning in freekin '41.  But, I am here, like it or not, and I know 
historical information, from my time, about the Japanese that directly 
relates to our national security and the security of our fleet in the 
Hawaiian Islands!" 

Bud sat back in his chair trying to comprehend how a man from the future
could be sitting in a beach bar on Oahu.  A man who claimed to have 
information about the future, information which could be vital to 
national security.  Information which if correct, could make him a 
hero.  Of course, this man wasn't from the future, but what if he was a 
spy with information about Japanese plans and movements.  He would 
proceed carefully and see what the man knew, then turn him over to 
Military Intelligence for interrogation.  He could still be a hero. 

"So tell me what you know, if it sounds plausible, I'll set up a meeting
with my boss, Admiral Kimmell, and you can tell him directly." "I know 
everything.  I know when, where, and how the Japanese will attack the 
United States." I started to wonder, really wonder, for the first time 
if I should be fooling with history. "Well then, when and where do you 
believe we will be attacked.  You said the information you knew 
directly related to the Fleet here in Pearl." inquired Bud. "Something 
else has just occurred to me," I said, thinking aloud as I tried to 
reason through the implications of changing historical fact.  "If I was 
to have been aboard the Titanic, and able to prevent the sinking, I 
would have greatly changed history." "You would have saved a great many 
lives, just as you may be able to save many lives by disclosing the 
Japanese plans to me." Bud said convincingly as he could. "But,' I 
continued, ' if I had saved the Titanic, history may not have changed 
for the better.  What year were you born Bud?" "1917". he said with a 
quizzical look, "Why?" "The Titanic sank in what, 1912?   What if one 
of the men who died aboard Titanic, didn't die because I saved the 
ship.  Then he met your father in 1915, they got into a fight, and your 
father died?  You wouldn't be here today talking to me, right?". 

Bud, I could tell, was having a problem seeing the big picture.  I also
had to consider my own mortality in this matter, If I was really in 
1941....a fact that still was too unreal to be true, and if I could 
stop the attack on Pearl tomorrow, what would become of me.  If the US 
Navy in Pearl Harbor was alerted to the attack, they could sail the 
Fleet out to sea and attack the Imperial Navy before they could launch 
their planes.  The greatest surprise attack in history would then be 
the US attack on the Japanese fleet.  If we defeated the Japanese now, 
the war in the Pacific could quickly end, and efforts to beat the 
Germans in Europe would be greatly enhanced. 

While that seemed all fine and dandy, I reminded myself that my parents
had met in Fort Lewis, Washington in the late 40's.  My Father was in 
the Army preparing to go to the Korean War, a backlash of World War II. 
 If the war in the Pacific was greatly altered, the Korean War may 
never breakout, and my Father may never end up in Fort Lewis or meet my 
Mother.  By disclosing information I knew about Pearl Harbor, and 
altering history, I could cease to exist.  I was starting to get a 
headache again. 

"Where are the Japanese going to strike." pushed Bud, "What are their
plans, what is their strength?" I didn't really care for the tone his 
questioning had taken.  Suddenly I felt like a prisoner under 
interrogation.  "Heck," I lied badly, "I don't really know anything, 
its all just speculation." Bud yelled at the bartender for two more 
beers and excused himself to go to the head, but in a mirror across the 
bar from me I caught him stepping outside and looking up and down the 
street.  I figured he was trying to leave.  Until I figured out some 
things, it was probably best we don't talk anymore anyway. Bud 
returned, he sat down with his beer and made small talk, but kept 
looking at the door.  Without his noticing, I could see the mirror over 
his right shoulder and the door to the street in its reflection.  His 
eyes lightened a bit and in the mirror I could see two Navy Shore 
Patrol officers.  The started our way with a menacing look about them.  
I decided it was time to depart this fine establishment and get back to 
my room.  I had a feeling the Navy was about to offer me free 
accommodations in the local Brig. 

Without a word, I leap from my chair and over the railing to the beach
below.  Shouts to stop were followed by the sharp report a service .45 
firing a warning shot.  Another single bullet whipped by me as I ducked 
between two shacks and headed back into the jungle of hotels, 
restaurants, and houses that lay just off the beach.  I jumped a fence 
and ducked past a really cool 1938 Cord roadster, then down an alley in 
a wild run that left me only a block from my hotel.  Soon I was inside, 
out of breath, but apparently safe for the moment.  The sight of my 
belongings reminded me that I really belonged on vacation, next to Amy, 
in my own world.  I belonged 56 year away.  This wasn't turning out to 
be the vacation my travel agent had promised, and it wasn't the break 
my boss told me I needed.  Go to Hawaii he said, see the sights, lay on 
the beach, relax!  Now I was hunted as a spy, lost in a place that 
seemed to be 1941, and if it wasn't, was losing my mind. 

Mentally I was exausted.  The world outside my room was too much to
comprehend.  Somehow, I fell  asleep while resting from my escape.  I 
woke up with a start and immediately looked for Amy.  The room was the 
same as I had left it before falling asleep.  Night had fallen.  I 
peeked out the window, hoping to see a band of tourist, a towering 
hotel, a woman talking on a cell phone, some indication that I had 
returned to my own world.  The world I saw, was still 1941.  In the 
mist of my disappointment though, I couldn't help admiring the 39 
Cadillac convertible across the street.  Now if I could only figure out 
how to get back to the right time while sitting in that bad boy! 

Sailors and civilians alike filled the street outside my hotel.  On
occasion, a the Shore Patrol or a Police Officer wandered by.  Their 
seemed to be more than before out in the street, looking for a Japanese 
spy no doubt.  The sleep had cleared my mind a bit.  I tried to 
remember how many men would die in the morning.  Two thousand Americans 
soldiers and sailors.  The debate I struggled with concerning the 
change in history required a decision, and now.  I had a duty to my 
country, I had a moral obligation to history, and to my family.  Or did 
I?  The scene outside my window was 1941.  My mind was beginning to 
accept that fact.  But it wasn't rational.  It was impossible to 
believe that I could really travel through time, I had always thought 
it would be cool, I loved the Back to the Future trilogy, but that was 
always just Hollywood, wasn't it? 

The rational side of my mind kicked in.  This wasn't reality.  I wasn't
sure what to call it, but is certainly wasn't real.  At least I hoped I 
wasn't really wanted for espionage in 1941.  Now that I decided that 
for the moment I was witness to an incredible fantasy, I need to decide 
whether to find a safe place to watch a great historical event take 
place, or see if I could convince somebody to warn the Navy and avert 
the attack.  I could take the easy way out, stay in hiding and watch 
the attack from the hills above Pearl, and don't chance changing 
history...just in case I was wrong.  But, that wasn't really my style.  
I decided to try one more time to try to make contact with someone who 
could at least get the Navy to go on alert.  But who, and how? 

I stuffed my camera, computer, and wallet into a bag and crawled out the
back window to the alley.  By sticking to the shadows I was soon out of 
the beach area and into the business district, if that's what you 
called it.  I grabbed the first cab I saw, a 36' Chevy, well rusted but 
all original, and ordered the driver to take me to Pearl City.  The cab 
fare was almost fifty cents.  The driver let me off on a side street 
near the main gate to the Naval Base, it was a quarter to 9:00 P.M.  
The lights of the Pearl Harbor Naval Station blazed against the night 
sky.  It made me wonder why the Japanese didn't decide to strike at 
night when the American forces were asleep.  The clock was ticking, yet 
I still had no plan.  The shadow of an old truck parked across the 
street from the main gate gave me a secure hiding place to sit down and 
think.  I watched a variety of vehicles coming and going from the base, 
mainly sailors leaving to hit the bars.  A large truck slowed to turn 
into the base and I saw an opportunity, I sprinted across the street, 
obscured from the guards by the truck,  and jumped into the back.  The 
Navy truck was simply waved through.  Once inside the base, I jumped 
out of the truck as it made its way between two warehouses and again 
found refuge in the shadows.  So far so good, but I still had no plan.  
A large building at the end of the warehouse turned out to be the motor 
pool.  Deserted at this hour, I was able to find a pair of Navy 
coveralls, now at least I felt I could move around the base undetected. 


Twice during my walk around the base I drew unwanted attention.  The
first was at 9::00 P.M. when my watch beeped signaling the hour as I 
walked by a group of sailors.  The second was when I paused on a corner 
to get my bearings and saw a bunch of men staring at me.  I was 
carrying my computer, and camera in an Adidas sports bag.  These guys 
had never seen a printed sports bag, or even nylon for that matter.  
After turning the bag inside out and shutting off my watch beep, I 
continued around the base.  It was only minutes later when another 
opportunity presented itself. 

I had sat down where I could see the moonlit harbor, the beauty was
astonishing.  I tried to remember which ships were located where on the 
morning of December the seventh.  I could see the Arizona, the Utah, 
and many other hulking, unidentified shadows.  Suddenly, their was a 
officer standing next to me lighting up a cigar.  "Don't you wish you 
could have seen this place before the Navy screwed it all up?" he said. 
"Maybe someday, we wont need a Navy at all" I replied.  The man wore a 
Captains insignia.  "Is one of those ships yours?" He laughed, "No, my 
ship is a desk over at operations, I'm in charge of fuel and oil 
shipments". "That's going to be a huge job after the attack."  I nearly 
gasped, I couldn't believe I had slipped like that.  My mistake was 
probably going to land me in jail.  I looked into his eyes for 
indication of surprise and found none.  My first thought was escape, 
but I waited to see his reaction. "When do you think they are going to 
hit us?" he said calmly. "You think Hawaii is a target of the 
Japanese?" I asked. "They are marching through the Pacific.  They took 
the Solomons, the Marianas, their on their way to California, and were 
the only thing in the way.  Yep, their going to hit Hawaii, its only a 
matter of time." 

"What if I told you we had about ten hours before the attack?" I said,
again looking for an indication to make a run for it. "Sunday morning?  
Its pretty quite around here on Sundays.  No, the situation's not 
right.  If they were going to invade the islands, they wouldn't want to 
do it when the battle wagons were in.  They would wait until things 
were quiet and then try to get a foothold on the beach before the big 
ships could get back to help." "Didn't the Carriers sail out the other 
day?" "Yeah, the Enterprise left last week to take planes to Wake 
Island, Lexington took some up to Midway yesterday, and the Saratoga is 
heading for San Diego, I think for upkeep and repairs" said the desk 
Captain. "What if, and this is only a 'what if'," I said, cautiously 
remembering my experience earlier today, "What if the Japanese did 
surprise us with an air attack tomorrow and sank the entire fleet at 
anchor?  And what if they didn't invade?" "That would be a hell of a 
blow to us, but why not invade while they are at it?" he said 
thoughtfully.  I let him ponder that thought with out an answer.  This 
man was a thinker, not a typical Navy type.  He appeared to be in his 
mid-forties and slightly balding.  His look was far away as he puffed 
on his cigar and looked across the water, it was as if he was looking 
somewhere beyond the horizon. "What did you do before the Navy?". "I've 
always been a part of the Navy, Navel personnel, Navy brat, but I don't 
think I have ever really been in the Navy." He could tell he lost me.  
"I joined the Navy a million years ago.  I have always been passed over 
for my own command because I have never been a true Navy man." "So why 
don't you quit, get out?" I inquired. "Oh, its not so bad, a few more 
years and I retire, I can move home to Missouri and spend my days 
fishing and telling lies.  He thought for another moment, "That's if we 
survive the next few months." 

Their was a sense of trust in this man who's name I didn't even know. 
"How would you like to know the future of Hawaii"? I asked. "Like the 
air attack in the morning your visioning?" "Like the air attack in the 
morning that's GOING to happen!" I was dead serious. "And just how do 
you happen to know what the brass doesn't?" "Lets just say, I have a 
unique way of looking into the future." I said. "I can tell you what 
happens before, during, and after the attack.  I can give you number of 
planes, the location of the Japanese Carriers, which ships sink, how 
many men die, and quote Roosevelt's speech to Congress when he declares 
war on Japan Monday morning!" "You have this 'unique' ability, and your 
a mechanic in the Navy?" questioned the Captain. "Im not in the Navy, 
Captain.  In fact, I sneaked on the base." "And why, I should ask, did 
you trespass on base, impersonate yourself as Navy personnel, and then 
tell an officer the entire story?" He said with a slight chuckle. "So 
maybe I could get someone to listen to me." Snubbing out his cigar he 
rubbed his chin, he looked at me long and hard and said, "Why don't we 
go over to my office and chat a little about the Japanese?" 

He introduced himself as Captain Tod Berg USN as we walked to his
office.  He still had made no threats or gave no indication to make me 
believe he was going to turn me in.  Either he was interested in what I 
had to say or he felt sorry for the poor mentally disturbed mechanic he 
had met near the docks.  When we got to his office, he invited me to 
sit down and offered me a cup of coffee.  Then with a big writing pad, 
he started taking notes about the "attack".  From my memory, I tried to 
give him every detail I had learned the day before, fifty six years 
from now, at the Arizona Memorial.  Between that and the books I had 
read on the subject, I had become quite knowledgable on the events of 
December 7, 1941.  By now, the Imperial Fleet had sailed to within 300 
miles of Hawaii.  At Dawn they would be 220 miles to the north.   
Shortly after dawn, the USS Ward would attack a enemy mini-submarine 
trying to sneak into the harbor. About 20 minutes before the first wave 
of fighters hit Pearl, a single Japanese plane would fly over and radio 
back to the fleet, "all is quiet".  Radar would report a large 'blip' 
on their screens, but it would be mistaken as a  incoming flight of US 
bombers. At  7:49 A.M., the first wave of the attack, fighters/bombers, 
would sweep down on our air fields at Hickham Field and Ford Island, 
rendering any chance of defense, harmless.  The torpedo bombers would 
follow and havoc would follow.  Our response would be minimal.  Less 
than ten percent of the fleets guns would fire a shot, and only a 
handful of planes would make it into the air during the attack.  I gave 
him casualty numbers, sunken ships, and Roosevelt's "day from infamy" 
quote he used during the speech to Congress.  Captain Berg wrote as 
fast as he could. 

A radio on the table behind the Captain quietly played Hawaiian music. 
Something bothered me about that, I tried to remember its significance. 
 "Oh shit", I exclaimed.  "That's KGMB your listening to, isn't it." 
"Yeah, its the only station on the island". "And it usually isn't on 
all night?" I asked. "No, they usually end broadcasting around nine". 
"But, tonight it will play all night long". "And how do you know that" 
asked the Captain. "Because, thier is a flight of B-17's coming in from 
the mainland.  The Navy pays KGMB to play all night long so the 
incoming flights can follow thier signal". I answered. "So what's your 
point," Berg pressed. "The Japanese also used the signal from KGMB to 
find their way to Pearl", I said "You keep using the past tense to 
describe the attack, you claim to know casualty numbers and even the 
content of a Presidential speech that hasn't yet been written, how do 
you explain that" the Captain asked. "You don't want to know," I 
replied. "I HAVE to know!!!" yelled the Captain, "I have a sworn duty 
to defend my nation, I may not be the Navy's role model but I am one 
hell of an American!" His veins were bulging on his neck.  My first 
instinct was to make a run for it before he had a chance to call for 
the Shore Patrol, but I remembered that this was only a dream, I hoped, 
and I had, after all, decided to "go for it". "Captain, I have an even 
more incredible story to tell you."  I told him everything that had 
happened to this point.  I showed him the my watch but kept the camera 
and lap-top computer in the bag.  I pulled out my wallet and showed my 
drivers license and a $20.00 bill printed in 1995.  He had a thousand 
questions but I tried to contain my answers to the pending attack.  
Besides, I didn't know who won the 1942 World Series or even if it was 
played. "Don't get me wrong" started the Captain,  "But your story is 
just too wild to believe, although, your description of the events, the 
details, certainly makes me wonder."   I glanced at my watch.  It was 
now after midnight.  Fatigue was beginning to wear on me.  All I wanted 
was a nice air conditioned room, my girlfriend next to me, and all the 
conviences of the 90's. 

Captain Berg asked me to wait in his office while he walked over to
Operations to check on the readiness status of the fleet.  I laid down 
on his hard military couch and quickly fell asleep.  I was woken by the 
sound of footsteps in the outer office, lots of footsteps.  My only 
avenue for escape was a window behind the Captain's desk. The door 
flung open and I was suddenly surrounded by six armed Marines.  I 
didn't struggle or speak as they escorted me out of the office and down 
the street to the Operations building.  The first person I saw when 
they pushed me through the door was Captain Berg, standing next to my 
old buddy Bud, the Admiral's Aide from this afternoon.  "Thanks 
Asshole" I said to the Captain. He ignored the comment and stepped 
aside, an older man, dressed like he was going out to work in the 
garden stepped forward and extended his hand. "Son, I'm Admiral 
Kimmell, the Captain and my Aide were just telling me some amazing 
stories, shall we find a quiet place to talk and you can tell me some 
more?" 

According to my watch, it was now 1:26 A.M.  The Admiral asked his Aide
to get us a couple of cups of coffee.  "God the Navy drinks a lot of 
coffee" I thought.  I went through everything I had told the Captain.  
I told him about waking up in 1941, I summarized the attack, and I told 
him how he would become the scape goat for the Navy afterwards. "So you 
have the whole attack figured out" said the Admiral as if I was making 
it up. "No Admiral," I said, probably with a cocky smile. "You have the 
whole attack figured out." "Just what do you mean by that boy." He 
asked, just short of loosing his patience. "Sir, you showed the 
Japanese how to attack Pearl Harbor two years ago." "What in the hell 
are you talking about?" the Admiral lost his patience "According to 
history, Admiral Yamamoto was a guest of the Navy two years ago.  He 
observed war games that simulated an air attack of Pearl" I said with a 
chuckle.  "His attack will closely mimic that excercise. The Admiral's 
face began turning red with anger. "That is absoulutly the most 
far-fetched................holy smokes."  He suddenly became quite.  
"Oh God.  Bud", he said to his aide, "get someone to get the visitors 
list from that Japanese visit."  The Admiral stood and walked around 
the table rubbing his chin.  "Son, your story is absoulutly 
proposterous.   But unfortunately, because of some reports we received 
regarding Japanese Fleet movements that we cant explain, I decided to 
get out of bed in the middle of the night and come down here myself." 
The Admiral took a long sip of coffee and frowned into the cup.  "How 
do I know that your not a Japanese spy like Bud here tells me.  How do 
I know your not trying to get me to move the fleet out of here so the 
Japanese can invade?" "Sir, Im not asking you to move the fleet.  I am 
providing you with historical facts from 1997.  All that I am 
suggesting is that you fire up the boilers in the Fleet so they are 
ready to answer an emergency sortie in a few hours, man the deck guns 
at dawn, and put your pilots in their planes.  Whatever else you do is 
up to you.  I have already told you about the mini-sub attack at dawn, 
the radar report you will receive, and the Japanese recon plane that 
will fly overhead in a few hours.  If these events don't happen, you 
will know I am full of shit.  But when they do, you had better grab 
your ass and hang on tight." The Admiral didn't care for my use of 
expluratives.  "Oh", I remembered, "by the way, if you send ships to 
sea, watch out, thier is at least three mini subs waiting outside the 
channel". "And how many planes did you say" asked a calmer Admiral. "A 
hundred and eighty three in the first wave." 

"I cant believe Im listening to you boy" the Admiral shook his head. 
"Bud," said the Admiral, "order the Fleet to general quarters, cut in 
every boiler on all operational ships, I want emergency steam available 
in three hours.  Get the Army Air Corp. Operations shack at both 
Hickham and Ford Island on the phone.  Call my staff, and wake up that 
pedder-ass General Short.  I want them in my office in 15 minutes, and 
get someone to make some fresh coffee, this crap tastes like it was 
made in January."  Bud hurried out of the office and the Admiral turned 
to me.  "So what do I do with you?  If your wrong, I have just woke up 
fifteen thousand men in the middle of the night and been made to look 
like a fool.  If your right, we need to decide whether your a Japanese 
spy, or a great prophet.  Do we parade you down Main Street USA or burn 
you at the stake?" "How about neither, why don't you take the credit 
for saving the day.  You can buy me a beer when its all over." "If your 
right, I will buy you a few hundred beers.  Until then, I need to keep 
you under wraps, just in case." "Great, I save the day and you lock me 
up?" "Were not going to lock you up just yet son, you've got a few 
gadgets in that funny looking bag we took from you.  Your going to have 
to explain some of those things to us."  I had forgotten that my bag 
was missing. 

The Admiral left the room and a two technicians entered carrying my bag.
 They were nice enough but when I started to explain the computer, 
which they had discovered how to turn on, they got were quickly lost.  
I impressed them the most with the word processing program because I 
think they best understood it.  I started to pull up a jet fighter 
simulation game to really wow them but thought better of it.  I tried 
to explain how the computer worked in the most simple terms, because I 
didnt really understand.  They kept asking questions about how the 
memory stored information when the power was off, I didnt know.  They 
were interested in my watch, and couldnt believe that the credit card 
in my wallet was a form of money.  My camera was ho-hum to them until I 
turned it on and showed them the auto zoom feature, which was "really 
kean" according to the younger of the two as he looked through the 
camera zooming in and out, over and over.  When I told them I was beat, 
they kindly showed me to a room guarded by a huge Marine.  I asked for 
the computer back but they kept it on the promise that they wouldn't 
take it apart....yet.  I laid on the bed but my mind began spinning.  
Outside I could hear hundreds of men and vehicles moving about.  Sleep 
had come easy the two times earlier today but now I couldn't sleep even 
if I wanted.  The waiting was murder. 

ABOARD USS OKLAHOMA 

Executive officer, Commander J. L. Kenworthy had been summoned to the
bridge and was a little more than upset about having been disturbed at 
this hour.  "What's going on?" he asked the Officer of the Deck. 
"Messengers from Fleet are hand delivering orders to all ships", said 
the OOD, hoping the orders were important enough to justify waking the 
senior officer.  The envelope was sealed and had the usual Navy warning 
about not opening them without authorization. "Well let's see what's so 
important they couldn't wait till morning". said the XO.  Kenworthy 
opened the envelope and read the contents, once, and then again.  "Ed", 
he said to the OOD, he had never used the Lieutents first name before, 
"this is an emergency sortie order, they want us to sea in three 
hours". "Im not sure that's possible sir". said the OOD. "They didn't 
ask if it was possible Ed."  In a very quiet, calm, but efficent 
manner, Commander Kenworthy said, "Ed, pass the word, I want General 
Quarters-Battle Stations, in ten minutes, don't sound the GQ alarm, 
pass the word.  Load everything bigger than a pea shooter.  Send 
somebody ashore for the skipper. And get the chief engineer on the 
horn.  Cut in all boilers, I need emergency steam in two and a half 
hours.  I don't care how he does it, burn toilet paper if it will get 
the job done, but the Oklahoma is going to sea in a hundred and eighty 
minutes.  The XO turned away to leave the bridge, he stopped at the 
door and said, "When they ask, tell the crew this is not another 
drill". 

About an hour before dawn, their was a light knock on the door.  Admiral
Kimmell walked in.  "Mind if I sit down for a minute son."  He looked 
tired, defeated, and worried.  He looked like I felt. "I've got no 
where to go sir", I said "How is it again that you know so much about 
something that happened fifty years before your time?" "The attack on 
Pearl Harbor was one of the greatest defeats in American History.  
Their are a hundred movies and books about it.  Kids learning about the 
attack in school.  I guess it has always been a special interest of 
mine. "Tell me again, which battle wagons get it bad?" 

"Arizona, Nevada, Utah, California, West Virginia, I think.  Im having a
hard time remembering much right now." I said in my exaustion. The 
Admiral shook his head in disbelief.  "And you said I end up the scape 
goat for the whole mess?" . "The post attack investigation finds that 
you and General Short were adequately warned of a pending attack." 
"Their has been no warning of attack, only warnings of possible 
sabotage.  An attack would surely be aimed at the Philippines or Wake 
Island."  the Admiral said becoming more defensive, maybe not towards 
me, but of himself, no doubt. "Admiral, just as the attack starts, a 
Western Union courier will arrive at your quarters to deliver a warning 
of impending attack from CinCUS". "It can't be true". said the 
Admiral".  Even Yamamoto wouldn't dare risk sailing his fleet through 
open waters to within 300 miles of Hawaii.  How would they get that 
close undetected?" I said quietly, "History shows, that the Navy 
thought the Army was flying patrols in that area, the Army thought the 
Navy was flying those patrols." The Admiral walked to the door and 
whispered something to an officer standing outside who quickly 
departed. "I've got to tell you son, I mean Mr. Young.   Between you 
and I, I believe we can travel through time.  I think time is like a 
river on which we are floating.  If you could stop on the bank, you 
could stop the world and watch time go by you.  If we could go up or 
down stream, you could see into the future or the past."  He rubbed his 
chin.  "But don't tell anybody, they already think Im half crazy around 
here." he laughed. The officer reappeared, his face was blank.  "Sir" 
he reported nervously, "the Army Air Corps said we are flying the 
Sector 19 patrols this week." "God have mercy." the Admiral put his 
face in his hands.  "What have we done?" 

ABOARD USS OKLAHOMA 

"Sir", said Seaman Second class Metivier, . "Chief Hardy reports
adaquate steam to manuver, but not much else." Executive Officer 
Kenworthy rubbed his chin.  "Seaman, you pass the word to Chief Hardy 
that he has done a superior job getting up steam.  You further tell him 
that he and his fireman will be recommended for medals as soon as 
possible, but you let him know I need flank steam in fourty-five 
minutes, and I don't care how he does it".  The seaman saluted and left 
the bridge.  "OOD, any word from the Skipper?" "No sir, not yet", 
answered the OOD.  Kenworthy had just finished a walk around the big 
ship.  Guns were manned, tugs stood ready to push the big ship into the 
channel, the Oklahoma was as ready for battle as she could be, except 
for power to her propellers.  Kenworthy knew that it usually took over 
24 hours to bring the 'Oakey' to steam.  If they had manuvering power 
now, the Chief and his men really did deserve medals. 

"Is that what he said?" asked Chief Hardy again. "Yes sir, the XO's
exact words were 'I dont care how he does it'". repeated Seaman 
Metivier. "Then if it's steam he wants, it's steam the man is going to 
have.  That, or a hole in the bottom of this harbor about the size of 
Oklahoma when the boilers blow".  The Seaman didn't want to know 
whether the Chief meant Oklahoma, the ship or the state, nor did he 
care to know how the Chief planned on getting thousands of gallons of 
water boiling in fourty-five minutes.  He had overheard the terms 
alcohol and aircraft fuel being used among the crew in the boiler room. 
 He just sat in the corner, out of the way and prayed he would get to 
run another message....soon. 

An Ensign burst into the room, "Admiral Kimmell, The Officer of the Day
sends his respects and requests that you join him in Op's.  A Japanese 
mini-sub was just spotted outside the entrance to the harbor, the Ward 
is shelling it." 

Without an invite, I followed the Admiral.  Staying close behind a Fleet
Commander had it's advantages.  I passed security without a challenge.  
We rushed from the room and out into a very busy dawn street.  
Operations was just across the street.  I paused I climbed the two 
steps to the Op's building where I could see the Harbor.  Most of the 
Battle Ships were either gone or being towed out to sea by tugs.  The 
USS Oklahoma was towing the Arizona out, black heavy smoke poured out 
of the stacks of both ships.  The harbors channels were full of 
warships of every description. I found a place in the corner of 
Operations room to observe and listen.  The room was almost too noisy 
to hear any one voice because all were talking at the same time.  Some 
shouted into phones or radios, others barked orders at messengers who 
ran in and out of the room constantly.  A General pointed to me and 
yelled "get that enlisted man out of here".  I was still wearing the 
stolen overalls.  Admiral Kimmell turned to the General and made some 
comment, the General gave me a dirty glare but held up his hand to 
signal the Marine at the door to leave me be.  A few minutes later, the 
Admiral walked over and said "Opana Radar Station is reporting a large 
number of aircraft approaching from the Northeast.  The Op's Officer 
decided they were the B-17's due from the mainland, we set him 
straight.  By God son, you were right!" "I noticed you sortied the 
fleet." "I sent most of the fleet south.  We have scrambled every 
available fighter to defend the island, and sent a task force out to 
engage the Jap Fleet.  Is their anything else I should be doing?" "Not 
that I know of sir.  In the original attack, we were caught with our 
pants down and took it in the shorts.  At least that won't be the case 
this time." 

The next hours were filled with a flurry of reports.  The Japanese
fighters were ambushed just off the coast of Oahu by only fifty of our 
fighters.  Diving out of the sun, the US planes decimated many of the 
Japanese in the first strike, they turned back after a short dog fight 
without a single plane getting to Pearl.  A Navy PBY located the 
Japanese fleet near where I had indicated.  A flight of torpedo bombers 
scrambled to attack them as our fighters landed to refuel and chase the 
bombers to provide air cover.  The USS Utah took a torpedo hit only 
thirty miles from Pearl, destroyers depth charged the submarine and 
believed they sunk it, Utah was limping back to Pearl.  A second flight 
of Japanese fighters escorting their torpedo bombers was detected by 
radar after they slipped past our out bound fighters.  Air Raid sirens 
blew warnings only a few minutes later. 

The drone of aircraft echoed against the hills.  Men ran, shouting and
pointing towards the on-coming enemy.  One flight of the invaders 
circled in from the east.  Anti-aircraft began pounding away.  The 
Japanese, without the advantage of surprise were blasted from the sky.  
A few bombs dropped on Ford Island doing little damage.  A lucky 
torpedo bomber made it to a submarine tender which exploded with a huge 
blast, lifting its bow out of the water.  The bomber appeared undamaged 
by the anti-aircraft flack but never pulled up from his attack dive and 
flew into a supply building near the dry docks.  A second wave of 
Japanese circled in over Honolulu.  As they flew south along the beach 
line they were caught by a placement of anti-aircraft guns near the 
harbor enterance.  One plane's wing seemed to simply fall off as he 
tumbled into the channel.  They turned east and flew right at us across 
the channel making for a group of small transports and other vessels, 
the only thing left in the harbor.  The lead plane took a direct hit 
and tumbled into a building only a block from where I stood.  The other 
three remaining planes dropped their torpedos and flew just feet over 
the top of our building, seemingly oblivious to the men in the street 
shooting at them with small arms.  The pilot of one plane seemed to 
make eye contact with me as he flew past.  The blast of the exploding 
torpedos on the transport ships was deafening.  Fire and smoke billowed 
from the harbor, but nothing like the news reels I remember seeing 
about the original attack.  Just as soon as it had started, the planes 
were gone and the attack was over.  Men ran down the street with 
firefighting equipment.  A truck filled with casualties rumbled past me 
towards the base hospital. I felt helpless just watching. 

In the confusion, I was forgotten.  I walked back across the street to
the VIP housing and found my room.  With a little searching, I was able 
to find my computer in a room down the hall.  I sat down and began 
typing everything I had witnessed, trying not to leave out a single 
detail.  After about an hour, my large Marine guard burst into the 
room. "He's in here!" he shouted down the hall.  "Sir, back away from 
the table and follow me." he said, I noticed his hand resting on his 
holstered pistol.  I was escorted back down the hall and into my room 
where the door was locked.  I sat in my room for hours, outside the 
room I could hear the sounds of fire trucks and ambulances rushing to 
and from the damaged areas of the base. 

It was around 5:00 P.M. when Admiral Kimmell entered the room with
grocerey sack containing two beers.  He opened both and offered me one. 
"The Navy and the United States of America owe you a great deal of 
gratitude son, er, Mr. Young." "You've paid in full sir." I said 
hoisting the cold beer.  "But you still suffered casualties and 
damage." "Yeah, we lost a few small ships, the last report showed 
twenty six dead and about a hundred wounded.  The Japanese are in bad 
shape.  Our torpedo bombers sunk two of their flat tops, another was on 
fire and dead in the water.  We hit a couple of their cruisers and our 
fleet is closing in on the damaged ships to finish them off.  If thier 
fleet stays with the crippled ships, its gonna be one hell of a battle. 
 Its a far cry from what your history books said."  The Admiral was 
fulling conceeding to the fact that I was a refugee from the future.  
"So what comes next Mr. History?" "I dont know Admiral". I said 
followed by a long pull on my beer.  "We have changed history as I knew 
it.  I can't tell you how things will progress from here forward". 
"Perhaps we should have considered that before acting." said the 
Admiral. "I thought about that, I've spent the last two days trying to 
guess or second guess what my actions would change.  If we had chosen 
not to act on the pending attack, my information about the future would 
have been correct.  I could have given you details on everything from 
battles to heros to the exact day the war would end.  But now, whats my 
history is being rewriten as we speak.  All we could have done, for 
instance, was stand by with the knowledge that the famous battle at 
Midway was going to happen, but if we acted on that knowledge,  we 
would be in the same boat we are now.  We need to go forward with the 
knowledge that we did the best we could." The Admiral stood and walked 
around the room, "I guess your right.  If the we hadn't of acted, we 
would have been sitting ducks.  Since we did, we banged up the Jap's 
pretty good." 

We sat around for another hour talking about the future.  I didnt want
to be too specific.  Nobody, I decided, needs to know too much about 
the future.  I told him about rock and roll, the computer age, we 
talked about airplanes that could fly four hundred people from Los 
Angeles to Honolulu in four hours, and that someday man would walk on 
the moon.  He asked if this was the last war we would have to fight, I 
told him, much to his dismay, that war, poverty, and hunger were still 
big problems in the 90's.  He asked about the modern Navy, I told him 
of ships and submarines that never needed to be refueled.  Just one 
modern submarine, if resupplied with modern weapons, could defeat the 
WWII Japanese in a few weeks and then end the war in Europe in a few 
more weeks.  I told him of single bombs, powerful enough to kill every 
living thing in the State of Hawaii. "State of Hawaii???" he asked.  I 
had to fessed up about the future statehood of the islands which he 
found very interesting.  Then the Admiral asked in what year he died, 
he recanted before I could reply, but I told him that I didnt know.  
Which was true. The Admiral looked at his watch and stood up.  "I've 
got to attend to my command.  Did I tell you the Japanese Ambassador in 
Washington DC declared war about thirty minutes after the attack 
began?" "They meant to declare thirty minutes before the attack, they 
had problems getting the message from Toyko decoded.  I always wondered 
if our intelligence guys decoded it first." I said quoting history. The 
Admiral put his finger up to his lips, "Shhhhhhh, your not supposed to 
know we have broken the Japanese codes."  He chuckled, "I guess we had 
better spend some time debreifing you, and then we need to decide what 
to do with you.  Im not sure what the President is going to say when I 
tell him how I knew about an attack nobody else did." "Your on your own 
on that sir, you cannot tell anybody that a banker from the ninties 
dropped by to tell you the Japanese were planning an attack.  The glory 
is yours, and how you knew about the attack is up to you also." The 
Admiral laughed and walked out of the room.  The Admirals Aide Bud, 
stuck his head in a moment later and said, "Sir, the Admiral has 
ordered me to take you out to the best steak in town, if you will 
accept my appoligies for yesterday at the bar?" "I accept your apoligy, 
and dinner sounds good on two conditions, one you quit calling me sir.  
And two, lose the attitude, I'm just a regular dude.  Theirs no need to 
impress me with your 'Hoo Waa' temperment." Bud laughed and said "I 
will lose the attitude if you will tell me what a 'Hoo Waa' is." 

After a big dinner we returned to the base.  I was escorted back to my
room and after a quick shower crawled into bed.  A good nights sleep 
would feel great.  Bud had agreed to take me on a tour of the base in 
the morning to survey the damage.  The technicians looking at my 
computer wanted to talk some more, probably a lot more. 

I woke fairly early the next morning judging from the light coming in
through the curtains.  It took me a moment to realize where I was.  
Then it struck me, I was back in the Seven Seas Hotel.  Amy rustled in 
bed next to me.  I lay there for a second, trying to decide if I had 
just experianced time travel, or just a drunken dream.  I jumped out of 
bed a little quick, my head was pounding with a hangover.  Out my 
window was a stream of tourist heading for the beach.  The Waikiki 
Hilton stood blocking the view to the ocean and a man was arguing with 
the meter maid over a parking ticket she was writing for his new 
Mustang convertable.  I sat down on the edge of the bed with my head in 
my hands, it had all been a dream, the most incredible, believeable 
dream of my life. Amy sat up in bed, her eyes were the same dreamy eyes 
I had gazed into the night I first kissed her.  Her hair was soft and 
it felt like heaven when I gave her a big hug. "I had the most 
incredible dream, it was so real." I said as I hugged her. "What was it 
about, better not tell me it was that girl in the bar." she poked me in 
the ribs. "No, It was the most real dream I have ever experianced, I 
woke up back in 1941, I convinced the Navy the Japanese were about to 
attack and saved the fleet.  The Arizona didn't sink, and we pounded 
the tar out of the Imperial Navy." "Wow" said Amy, "you really did get 
smashed last night.  How's your head?" "I guess it was the power of 
suggestion." I said turning down the asprin she was offering.  "Our 
visit to the Arizona memorial yesterday was pretty awesome." "What 
memorial?" she said. "The Arizona, how much did you have to drink last 
night?" I said mockingly. "What are you talking about?" "The USS 
Arizona, maybe you've heard of it." "Mark, your being wierd again." Her 
joke wasn't funny. "Im not being wierd, your being obnoxious." I 
grabbed her by the arms and looked into her eyes. "Tell me we were at 
the Arizona Memorial yesterday, and be serious, I had a really weird 
dream last night." Amy took a moment to straighten up, a sure sign that 
she was going to be truthful. "We spent the whole day snorkling at 
Hanama Bay, see the sunburn that your squeezing?" gesturing to my hands 
on her arms,   "We were never aboard any ship." Then a chill ran up my 
spine.  "Amy, please be very serious, have you ever heard of the USS 
Arizona?" She looked at me with a straight, serious look, "Of course I 
have Mark, you insisted we tour the Arizona last March in San Diego.  
You wanted to see her because your Dad was shipped home from the Korean 
War aboard her." 

15 


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