Blog: Line Snapping Fun - 2017-06-05
Line Snapping Fun June 5, 2017,
I was just leaving the most forward room on the Apollo, the foc'sle, when I heard the commotion. The most forward cabin was the Deck Force's storage room, called the Bosun's Locker, where we stored all of the paint and ropes we used when working on the ship. Being a Deckhand, I started my day preparing paint, paintbrushes and rollers for a day's painting and ended the day cleaning brushes and rollers, all in the Bosun's Locker. Being the most forward part of the ship, it was away from seniors, officers and every other pest. It was a peaceful, safe place for the Deckhands.
When I came running out, Rudy Savage had our Captain, Norman Starkey pinned down, with one hand on his neck choking him and was lifting his arm to strike the him, when Pat McCullough grabbed his arm. The Captain's face was turning red with his eyes starting to bulge but with Rudy's size and strength, he couldn't get away. Rudy Savage, Bob Dilts and I used to lift weights daily together at every lunch break and Rudy was strong as hell, so Pat had to hang his entire body weight on Rudy's one arm to keep him from swinging. Pat managed to break up the potential punch-up, even though Rudy could bench press over 300 lbs. Rudy also weighed over 300 lbs.
Rudy was a great guy, as was Dilts, and they looked after me like a little brother. I think I was 18 at the time (it was late 1971) and could only bench press 180 lbs but I still loved to work out with these 2. Rudy and Dilts were over 6 feet tall and both were very big men. I looked up to these 2 as one would with older brothers. They were kind-hearted men.