Visiting Long Island

One of the guys on the ship with me was Bob Urso.  I don’t think he was in the weapons dept, but somehow, we became friends.  Bob’s family lived on Long Island

and he asked me to come home with him and meet his family.  I took him up on his offer, and it became a regular thing.  About every third week we would drive to Long Island.

Bob's family was true NY Italians.  They called tomato sauce, gravy. They had antipasto a lot and drank beer with their meals. Most of this was new to me but I quickly adjusted.  

Now, for the last 2 years, I had been around only sailors, and they can be by nature a crusty lot, language-wise. There was a lot of the F- word used, the S- word and Damn was very common.  On one of my first visits to Bob’s house, we had finished dinner and were arranging where I was going to bed down...

Quick side note, relevant to this story: In the navy, you were issued a bag to keep your bathroom gear. It was commonly called a “douche” kit.  I had never heard that word before, and I just accepted that as the proper name for that item. I did not know that "douche" has another meaning.  (If you don’t know what it is, by all means Google it.)

In front of Bob’s mom and dad, I told Bob I needed his car keys to go out the car to get my “douche” kit.  His mom’s mouth fell open, and his dad started giggling. 

Later, during that visit, Bob explained to me what “douche” meant. I don’t think I have ever been so embarrassed in my life. I later apologized to Mrs. Urso for the incorrect use of that word.