Eight Days: PF Changs

"Did you hear about PF Changs?" 

"No?"

"Data breach. Just heard about it on the news. I'm telling you only because I know you go there sometimes..."

I haven't been to PF Chang's since the last time I was in Tampa. That's May of 2012. Brandon's graduation from UT. Mongolian Beef. Lettuce Wraps. Crispy Green Beans. Dumplings. We started visiting PF Chang's accidentally as a marker. Big transitions. First here in Rochester, then Florida. This last visit in 2014 (just in time for a data breach) to mark his transition back to the sea. 

Malware can invade a POS (Point of Sale) system (aka Windows, Linux, doesn't matter) when they swipe your card. Cash from now on! Except that the Bank has just sent a letter informing us that they may or may not allow us to use our ATM cards in foreign cities (you know, like Boston) or countries if they don't deem it as safe. They didn't specify just who makes that decision, when or why. Begs the question of why they can't find a better, more customer friendly way to handle it. 

It could create a host of new issues for traveling - and as I'm in worry mode anyway I might as well worry about that. What's the back up plan? So I get a couple of delicious little Mom moments to savor. An American Express card first. That's an easy one. An extra sweat shirt. What? I can do that. You know as well as I do I'm going to find that hidden in a drawer somewhere six months from now anyway. 

And a Visa. Credit lines that will be there if he needs them. The payoff for keeping all these things in line for so long. Now because I have a brain that just CAN'T let things go, I asked myself...

"Self,  we have a whole fleet of Merchant Marines. How do they get paid while their at sea?
Or do they? A season is anywhere from 120 - 240 days.
Who pays their bills while their gone?"

I'm sure now there is, a system that is, but it's not on the list of things I can know about ahead of time. 

                          Let go. Let go. Let go. 

                                 Distracted by what I did find, which helps. 

So the Merchant Marines came first. 1775 to be exact. (www.usmm.org)  Before the Navy, the Army, the Marines and certainly the Air Force.

"On June 12, 1775, a party of Maine mariners, armed with pitchforks and axes, inspired by the news of the recent victory at Lexington, Massachusetts, used an unarmed lumber schooner to surprise and capture a fully armed British warship, HMS Margaretta, off the coast of Machias, Maine. The men used the captured guns and ammunition from the ship to bring in additional British ships as prizes. American privateers soon disrupted British shipping all along the Atlantic coast."

From it's humble beginnings, now there are two types of Merchant Mariners. Those associated with the US Navy who work on non-military vessels that provide logistical support. In WWII, 1 in 26 Mariners died trying to ensure that the US Military had food, arms, supplies and logistical support. That's a greater percentage of war-related deaths than all of the other US Service branches. Talk about unsung heroes. 

And then there are those who serve aboard commercial or private vessels. These vessels come under the auspices of the US Coast Guard, sort of. The ships are owned by private corporations. The crews are organized military style within the Mariners Unions but get paid by those private concerns. But, like any other sea going vessel under a US flag their behavior is governed by the US Coast Guard. 

I just want to point out here that I am now using terms like Mariners and vessels and ships. BOATS are not what powers goods and services around the globe.

I had no idea. D Day was made possible by a civilian mariner fleet we rarely hear about. They don't receive pensions or recognition or protection from the American government. They don't get parades or wear medals on their uniforms. They can't be honored or buried as part of the civilian effort in wartime - but they are responsible for ensuring that the American economic systems stays afloat and that our military can function. 

So much for a data breach. I'll just add it to the list of things that happen so that I can learn how little I knew when I started these posts. Here I was, sure I thought this was about me and my avocados. Did I tell you that this all started because he was looking for a cheap way to travel? Sometimes you can book passage on a commercial ship...