THE
PAPER IN THE SAFE
Author Unknown
What was it that made this Captain so different?
Once upon a
time there was a famous Coast Guard Sea Captain. This Commanding Officer, one
of the “Old Sea Dogs,” was very successful at what he did. For years his steady
hand guided many different Coast Guard Cutters all over the world on every
mission imaginable. Never did stormy seas or pirates get the best of him. He
was ever admired by his crew and fellow CO’s.
However, there
was one thing different about this Captain. Every morning he went through a
strange ritual. He would lock himself in his cabin and open a small safe. In
the safe was an envelope with a piece of paper inside. He would stare at the
paper for a minute, replace the paper back in the safe and then lock it back
up. Afterwards he would go about his daily duties. No one would have ever known
about this ritual except that his Cabin Boy told the story innumerable times.
For years this
went on, and his crew became very curious. Was it a treasure map? Was it a
letter from a long lost love? Everyone speculated about the contents of the
strange envelope.
One day the
captain died at sea and at his behest he was buried at sea. After the
ceremonies the Executive Officer led the entire crew into the Captain’s Cabin.
In their presence he opened the safe, retrieved the envelope, opened it and.………
The Exec
turned pale and showed the paper to the others. Four words were on the paper,
two words on each of on two lines:
PORT
LEFT
STARBOARD
RIGHT