Ship Happens!

A Tiger Cruise Tale Is A Personal Blend Of My Past Relationship With My Two Children-When They Were Younger And Living At Home-And A High Sea Adventure As A Civilian On A U.S. Navy Supply Ship. Following My Son'S Eight-Month Deployment To The Persian Gulf When The Iraqi War Broke Out In 2003 My Daughter And I Were Invited To Spend Six Nights On A Navy Warship Sailing From Pearl Harbor To Bremerton Naval Base Washington. It Was A Fascinating Journey Filled With Military Awe And Family Bounding. According To A Navy Librarian The Tiger Cruise Program May Have Been Established In The 1970S As Operation Tiger. It Allowed Sailors To Bring Their Young Children Called Tigers For A Short Trip At Sea. The Definition Of Tiger Evidently Evolved To Include Adults; However My Original Invitation To The Cruise Excluded Spouses. Apparently The Navy Didn'T Want Any Hanky-Panky At Sea. But I Was Not A Spouse And I Looked Forward To The Adventure With My Own Two Tigers At Sea. The Trip Was More Than A Joyride. It Had Purpose-Threefold. I Wanted To Honor My Son Tim For Enlisting In The U.S. Navy Following The Terrorist Attack On 9/11; To Provide A Opportunity For My Twenty-Five Year Old Daughter To See What Living Was Like On A Military Warship; And For Her To Serve With Me As Family Ambassadors When Her Brother Greeted His Wife And First Child Who Was Born While Tim Was At Sea.