St. Augustine Portable Scallop Factory

[oneighty]

The portable scallop factory stinks really bad.It stinks way worse than rotten herring crab bait and surly you know how bad that can stink. And the whole scallop before the edible portion is removed is a sight bad enough to make a maggot puke. I bet if you could see the mess that is the living scallop you would never ever be moved to eat one.

The trawler I am striking on is tied up near the scallop factory. I am alone on the boat. The Captain and the other striker took off for home for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Captain he left me with no money and very little food. I am pissed off and as soon as they return I am gone. I will jump ship. But I did promise to look after his boat. And so I must.

There are local girls working in the scallop factory. One girl in particular comes out to smoke a cigarette at the edge of the dock. She attracts quite a crowd of strikers from the other trawlers. In fact they sort of wait in line to flirt with her. She is coy though. Just teasing. I can tell she is having fun flirting.

Twenty-four hours a day the factory is processing scallops. Twenty-four hours a day the stench fills the air. The girl smokes and flirts. The strikers wait in line for their turn to flirt. And twenty-four hours a day I wait for the return of my Captain oh my Captain, son-of-bitch. Each day I get more hungry, more angry. Maybe I will sell his boat if he does not soon return. Boat ought to be worth eighty five thousand dollars US. I will take ten thousand dollars US.

But there is some amusement.

To be continued.

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[JitterbugPerfume]

1. what is

a striker

[oneighty]

2. What is a striker?

A striker is many things at different times. A seventy-two foot trawler requires two strikers most of the time. The strikers do not draw a salary. They do not get a wage. When they venture forth to the sea and the catch is slim or none he will return to shore about as poor as he was when he left. The strikers and Captain work for a share of the catch. The Captain runs the boat the strikers work the rigging and the deck. They cull the catch ice the shrimp they cook and keep the boat clean neat and seaworthy.

Sometimes it is like this:

The doors are digging
The nets are spreading
The V-12 is hammering down.
The Striker is sleeping
The Captain is weeping
For nowhere is a shrimp to be found.

Some times it is like this. The Captain has gone off and left me to watch his boat. Soon if he do not get it out to sea and make a strike the bankers are gonna be looking for him.

Or maybe I will sell his boat. Hahahaha

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