How to make good grades

When I was in high school, I never made good grades. I seldom listened to the teachers because I spent my time daydreaming. As a result, I was just a C student. When I graduated from high school, I joined the United States Navy. I was sent to boot camp at Bainbridge, Maryland. After boot camp, I was assigned to electrician mate school at Great Lakes, Illinois.

The Navy had a masterful way to encourage you to make good grades. There were 36 students in the class. Our instructors told us that when we graduated, there would be 36 assignments posted on the bulletin board. The top student in the class would have first choice of an assignment. Second-place would have second choice, third-place would have third choice and down the line. The bottom two students would get the worst assignments. The two worst assignments would be in Iceland.

I was determined to get a good assignment so I started studying late into the night. I was making straight A’s but I was spending all my time studying. I had a girlfriend in town that I wanted to see but I couldn’t; I was studying. I went to my instructor with my problem. He said,” Billy, if you want to make good grades, listen to every word I say in class and understand it; if you don’t understand, raise your hand and ask me to explain it again. If you still don’t understand, I will stay after class and explain it to you again.”

I continued to make straight A’s just by listening in class. I stopped studying; I didn’t need to- I’d learned it in class. Then a strange thing happened- the other students were asking me to help them with their homework. That had never happened to me.

Graduation day came and we were so excited. There were 36 assignments posted on the bulletin board. I finished number two in the class with a 93 average. A kid from Charleston, South Carolina beat me with a 93.2 average. We were looking at the bulletin board and there were a number of good assignments but only one stood out. It was a refrigeration ship home ported in San Francisco. I was sure that number one would choose that ship. I asked him, “Are you going to San Fracisco?” He said, “No, I’m from Charleston, South Carolina and there are three ships listed there. I’m going home.” I couldn’t wait to sign up for San Francisco.

I flew to San Francisco and reported to Treasure Island for my assignment. I said, “I’m here for the USS Merapi AF 38.” The petty officer in charge told me that there was no such ship stationed in San Francisco. After a lot of searching, the petty officer told me that my ship was actually home ported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I went nuts. All my life, I had dreamed of going to Hawaii. The petty officer then told me that they had found my ship in Australia. Australia? You mean I’ll be able to see kangaroos and all those crazy things in Australia?

A couple of days later, I flew to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. I checked into the barracks and the next morning, I went to the office for my flight to Australia. The petty officer in charge told me that my ship was in Australia two months previously. At that time, it was tied up down the street in Hawaii at one of the Navy piers. He drove me down in his car and there was my ship, USS Merapi AF 38, my home for the next two years.

Billy Davis is a U.S. Navy Veteran and retired from the U.S. Air Force. He is a former band director that worked in both Floyd and Murray County. He resides in Calhoun with his wife, where he enjoys writing “Ramblin with Uncle Billy” and traveling.