IdeaJones

Tag: history

  • Imperium Neptuni Regis… The Shellback

    Imperium Neptuni Regis… The Shellback

    Neptune and Naked Women

    Imperium Neptuni Regis: The Ancient Order of the Deep

    Another certificate from WWII, again from the USS General Harry Taylor (for more about that ship, see the post on The Domain of the Golden Dragon). Here, the certificate a sailor got when he became a “shellback,” a sailor who had crossed the equator. Before that, he would have been a “tadpole.”

    The tradition, in addition to boosting morale, may have also indicated to other sailors that this one could handle long sea voyages. That’s something you need to know during times of war, when voyages can end up being far longer and more dangerous than expected. There can be an initiation ceremony to go with the certificate, although not always. Conditions didn’t always permit it. Some of the ceremonies described sound like the more benign college fraternity hazing rituals, with tests of strength or endurance, and a fair amount of rough-housing.

    Note the women on the certificate. This being WWII, women served primarily in medical services, administration or training. They weren’t part of the ship’s regular crew. These young guys could go a long time without seeing many women, or any. So no wonder the certificate features lots of naked women. The mermaids in the upper corners you would expect to find in a certificate featuring Neptune, but unlike the Golden Dragon certificate, there are also human women swimming around naked (how are they breathing?), including two who are about to get in trouble with an octopus and a crab.

    I could chalk up the representation of naked women to the era, but let’s face it, what else does a young, straight, healthy guy dream of? Well yes, food… the only thing that would make this a more complete fantasy would be if the women were naked and holding trays of steaks and baked potatoes.

    The sailor who earned this (whose name has been removed for the post) was a big fan of steak and potatoes. He had his problems with women.

     

  • WWII… Domain of the Golden Dragon

    WWII… Domain of the Golden Dragon

    By virtue of the power of The Golden Dragon…

    The Domain of the Golden Dragon

    This is a certificate awarded during WWII (the recipient’s name has been removed for this picture). Certificates were awarded to Navy sailors who crossed the International Date Line aboard ship. The recipient of this certificate earned both this one and the Imperium Neptuni Regis (more about that in another post).

    With so much activity during WWII, there probably wasn’t much of an award ceremony. There are some interesting things to note here, though…

    The date is listed as “Censored,” and only the longitude is filled in. This is common for WWII paperwork. Security was a serious consideration (still is), and if the enemy knew where ships had been and were, they could guess where they were headed.

    The ship given is the U.S.S. Harry Taylor. The Harry Taylor was a General G.O. Squier Class Transport, or troop carrier that was used in WWII from 1944 to 1946.  Thousands of soldiers slept in its bunks and walked its decks en route to battle or coming home. After that, it transported all sorts of people, including refugees. It made over 30 trips ferrying refugees to their new homes, then was used to track missiles. Now? It’s part of an artificial reef helping to protect marine life.

    The sailor who earned this certificate? He survived WWII, although many of his friends did not. He got married, had kids, tried to work though the problems he carried with him, some of them due to his wartime experiences. Is there more to that story? Of course. But for now, he rests, under the protection of the Golden Dragon.

    Here’s a link to the remembrances of a soldier transported on the Harry Taylor during WWII: https://www.guideposts.org/how-we-help/military-outreach/the-uss-general-harry-taylor-the-answer-to-a-soldiers-prayer

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  • A Piece of Peace

    Peace Square Tie Dye IdeaJonesHi — I guess it’s current events that have me working on peace symbols. Here are some events from 1966:

    • Sniper atop the tower at the University of Texas kills 12 and wounds 31.
    • Riots in Watts, Cleveland and Atlanta
    • Civil rights marcher James Meredith shot.

    Sound familiar? Here’s the good news — while it feels as though current events are unique, each generation laments how the world it going to ruin. We remember the past through filters of our own youth. Looking back, we’re always younger, probably fitter, definitely less aware of mortality. I told Mark the other day that what I really want is to move to Santa Cruz circa 1966. He said that Santa Cruz might be doable, but 1966 wasn’t. Would I really want to return the world to 1966, with the same social problems we have now but less progress on them?

    With pollution but less being done about it? People I have come to care about shoved back into their closets, or kicked off the bus? No, of course not.

    The world is always what we make of it. ItPeace Neon Peace IdeaJones’s as good as we decide to be. Which means there’s hope. So I keep making peace symbols and giving my pennies to charities helping people and pets in need, and hoping.

    Look at Opening Doors, a small charity helping refugees resettle in the Sacramento area. Just as we’re hearing a lot about how we should just boot anyone who comes here back, there are people helping those who have fled violence and hunger to start over in America.

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ” That’s from our Declaration of Independence. We’ve spent all the time since trying to decide who is included in “all.” Does it mean dark people? Women?

    Like the Biblical commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” it’s hardly ambiguous, yet we argue over the meaning. Both are ideals to strive towards, and imperfect human beings fall short of them, but they give us a goal. Like the idea of peace. We may never achieve perfect peace. We’re not even sure what it would look like if we did. But it gives us something to reach for, a destination to head toward. It gives us hope.

    I hope that for today at least you are at peace.

    By the way, these designs are available on jewelry at Zazzle.com, and on bags, clothing, and more at our Redbubble shop, where a portion of each sale goes to charities helping people or pets in need.