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I'm going to attempt to tell this story. Please, anyone who remembers it better, let me know.
As the CGN-9 pulled out of Valejo Shipyard, you could see the mud swirl and the whle river looked like a big mud pie. All of us were expecting that big sucking noise, the kind that happens when you step in the mud so deep it tries to pull you back in foot and all. Finally, we were turned and pushed as far as needed by the huge tugs. It was a heck of a day because NOBODY knew if the shakedown was going to work. Would the reactors go down? Would the freshwater washdown once again fry the 32 and 33 radars? Nobody knew. It was exciting however to be moving and watching the "Tall Dark Stranger" again sail. I remember watching the scenery as we left Vallejo. I was amidship, main deck where the aft reactor was set in and the crew's lounge was.