Channel Fever is taking me away at last….

When I was a young Merchant Mariner the old timers broke me in, and taught me the language and ways of a Seamen. I spent the first several years with my ears open, and my mouth shut, as the old Salts tossed around strange terms and customs that were handed down to them from guys who sailed before them.

   One of the terms that I was clueless about was ” Channel Fever”. Channel Fever is the condition that takes over the mind and body of a sailor after a long voyage as the last few days of the trip approach. Seamen are known to stay awake all night, start laughing and smiling for no reason, and behave in an unpredictable manner once they allow themselves to begin thinking of all the wonderful things that await them ashore once the ship is all-fast at the dock.

   I was always a guy who got Channel-Fever bad towards the end of a voyage and I told myself once I didn’t come-under that strange spell anymore when approaching the end of a trip, that it was time to quit sailing. I made my last official voyage of any length 10 years ago and I distinctly recall that I still got Channel-Fever at the time, but it was beginning to wane.

   I write this post today, my 174th of this long miserable voyage that will go down in history as one of,  if not the worst season in Mariners history…..

    And alas it has come back…..Channel Fever that is. It started today as I began to realize that it will soon be over. No more runners on second and third with nobody out followed by the predictable choke with no runs scored. Less than two weeks of watching Jose Lopez pretend he is a slugger….No more Dave Sims dumb jokes, No more Drama…..No more discussions about Griffey, Eric Byrnes, Don Wakamatsu or how much potential Michael Saunders has!

   Yes I have Channel Fever and it didn’t come a moment to soon. Of course I hope Felix wins the Cy Young, and Ichiro gets 200 hits. But outside of that I’m so ready for football, Christmas, free evenings from my self-imposed prison watching FSN, and the slogan “Believe Big” to disappear from my mind. I have begun to pack my Seabag and am making big plans for the postseason that do not include the Mariners or Rick Rizz! Channel Fever is great, catch it if you can……http://jeffsmariners.com