Larry Hendricks
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This book depicts the life of a young man as a merchant seaman. It recalls his turbulent life on the high seas that included several fights- and seeing the murder of his best friend. Read the shocking aftermath of that murder.He tells of the many interesting countries that he visited, and what it was like interacting with the people. Larry also writes about the many women that he met and his relationships with them.He talks about his involvement with drugs and gambling, and the wonderful times during Mardi Gras in Rio de Janeiro. The book also talks about how he and others survived the many devastating storms at sea, and why he could not return home when he was told about the death of his first young wife.
Larry Hendricks was born in St.Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. He came to New York at an early age with his parents. His schooling was in New York, however, it was soon interrupted at an early age when he fathered a child. It was after the marriage that he entered the merchant marines. After he retired he worked in a bank in New York City for five years. And then , he returned to St. Thomas. After fourteen years in St. Thomas he left for San Diego where he has lived happily for the last nineteen years. He has remarried, and this is his first novel. After traveling for many years, and retireing, he feels like a citizen of the world and mankind his people.
We left Copenhagen and went to Kotka, a small town in Finland. When we arrived, it was to find a town completely covered with snow. It was a very quiet place with not much to do, or many things to see. No one wanted to go ashore, so I hired a taxi and decided to see what little there was. He took me to a spot that had a magnificent view. In spite of the cold weather, the reflection of the moonlight on the snowcapped mountains was a thing of beauty. I was so mesmerize with this picturesque mountain scenery, that I could hardly move. When I did, after what seem to be a very long time, we returned to the ship. At this time my only thought was to be alone, and retain this feeling of peace and tranquility.
A few days later, the same taxi driver took Sammy, a crewmember and I to a restaurant and bar.He said this was where the native people came for enjoyment. There were only a few people when we arrived, however, they drifted in slowly. The people seem to be very cold and unfriendly, and the whiskey was awful. After an hour, Sammy said," Larry, let's leave this dead ass place and go back to he ship. There's no reason for us to stay here. There isn't any dancing or laughter-it's like a cemetary here." As we were about to leave, I made eye contact with a woman at a nearby table. Her sign language said, meet me outside. I told Sammy and he said, be careful. Everyone seem to be watching you. I walked outside and stood next to the building. A few minutes later, the woman came out, and as she approached me, a man rushed through the door. He started saying things that I did not understand,but it was obvious that he was angry. The woman was afraid and ran back in the restaurant as he grabbed me by my coat collar. It happen so quickly that I took a few hits before self-preservation took over. I reached in my pocket and found my seaman's knife. That's when things changed. At this time I was like a crazy person, because I was attacked for no apparent reason. Suddenly I felt Sammy trying to pull me away saying," stop or you'll kill the man". When I did, my coat was bloody, and the man was holding his head and trying to get away. We walked away from the building and found a taxi that drove us back to the ship. Obviously, the woman never said anything when she went back in the bar, because no one ever came out during the fight.
Back on the ship we discarded my bloody clothes. I took a shower and went to sleep. However, the next day my problems would begin.
