Navy Stories 11 How The Enemy Was Created
October 15th, 2009 by Ben Moreno
’)In the last post I mentioned a character I call “The Enemy”. Well, I wanted to tell you guys the story of how it all happened.
The first few weeks on board the USS O Bannon I started doing the usual things people do when they meet new groups of people. I start talking to each person and find out who they are and all that. I had been getting to know many of the guys in my division and started to become kind of friends with this one guy (The Enemy).
It turned out he really liked a girl (The Enemy’s Girl) that was in our division. We would talk about it and joke around as all guys do until one day I said something wrong. It was one evening after work hours and we were all planning on what we were going to do that night. Well, earlier in that day I had spoken to the enemy’s girl and she ended up inviting me out to a bar that her and some friends were going to. For the record, I was not physically attracted to her much. I thought she was a cool person but did not have intentions on trying to get with her.
Words Are Powerful
While I was getting ready, the enemy came up to me and asked me what I was going to do that night. I said the following in a kind of chicken shit but joking manner. “I am going to be going out with your girl!” You know how sometimes you mean to say things as a joke, but it turns out to be NOT funny to the person at all? Well this was one of those times. I don’t know why I used those words but I did and it must have hurt the dude really bad.
He gave me a really sour look and I could tell that he was pissed. It was that moment that I knew he really cared for this girl. I tried to apologize but he would not accept it and from that moment forward he began to hate me. He started talking trash and treating me like crap. Since I was new he was able to get a lot of the other people against me also.
Not a great way to start off your tour on a Navy ship, let me tell you! As time went by, I kept trying to apologize and be cool with this guy. I figured since we have to work together it would be easier on the both of us if we got along. He just would not budge. He was really jealous and had this grudge against me.
Eventually he started dating the girl and they ended up becoming a couple. I tried talking to her to make him understand that I felt bad and that he didn’t need to hate me for it. She usually acted like she didn’t care and seemed to like the fact that we had drama because of her. They eventually got married and he moved to another ship that was in the same battle group.
The Creation Of The Enemy
I used to hear threats from other people that knew him sometimes. They would tell me that if he saw me he was going to kick my ass, etc. This is where I began to dislike him. I was tired of kissing this guys ass and if he was going to be making threats then I had a problem with that. This is how he became, “the enemy”.
I am sure by now you might be thinking, “Why didn’t you just let it go?” Well, all I can say is that when you are young, proud and in that type of competitive environment it is not easy to let things go. I always felt like I had something to prove. My friends are no help either because they were usually egging me on to fight him.
I occasionally saw him in local bars, clubs, etc. We would exchange some words and make threats but both of us always waited for the other person to make a move first. One time we did actually almost fight but he backed down. There was even a time when he came to my apartment!
One night we had a party and one of my roommates invited the enemy’s lady over and she brought him along. I was pretty drunk when they arrived and was blown away that he actually showed up to my apartment. I stepped to him and called him outside to fight but he didn’t want to. My roommates held me back and I kept talking trash. It was probably a good thing that we didn’t fight because I was pretty drunk and he was sober. Liquid courage can get your ass kicked sometimes.
So, eventually I calmed down and I sat down with him and talked things out. I explained to him that it was really shitty for him to treat me so bad all that time and make threats and get others to dislike me. I think we agreed to squash the drama but I got this feeling that he still didn’t care for me at all. So be it. I think that was the last time I saw him. I can’t remember talking to him again after that day.
What I learned
I learned a lot from that experience. I image what things would have been like if I never said those words. Or what would have happened if we fought, or what if I pursued that girl in the beginning, lol. It is crazy how life is like that. One small thing can change the whole course of your life. I learned to be more sensitive to others feelings be a little more careful about what I say.
I know some people might ask why I even cared so much about it, well I can’t help it. It is just how I am. I feel as though I can get along with anyone and if I feel their hatred towards me is unjust then I always try to fix things. It is such history now that if I ever saw him again I would probably just laugh and not say anything.
In the next episode I will introduce you to my best friend who I call E.
