About the scariest moment in my life was becoming a Shellback on the ENTERPRISE. Halfway through the torture, we were led to a hangar bay flight elevator on our hands and knees. The elevator started to rise to the flight deck where dozens of sailors awaited us, beating the deck with those goddamned "shillelaghs" - and this is back in the days where they were actual sections of canvas-covered firehose, not those wimpy foam rubber jokes they use today. Really got my ass beat that day. The final insult to injury - we had to wear a pair of skivvies outside our dungarees while this transition occurred, and when were were done, I went to the very end of the flight deck bow, tore those skivvies off, threw them off the ship, and the wind whipped them right back into my face! Something I can never forget for at least the next three lifetimes.
