The Fleet Is In
The USS Wasp passing the Statue of Liberty earlier today. We’ll spare you the obvious joke about our being down by the piers if you need us.
in other news
It’s Fleet Week
One problem with announcing Fleet Week is that it’s nearly impossible to say “Welcome, sailors” without sounding at least a bit like Mae West. So far today, only a New York Sun editorial made it work, by going off on a ridiculous tangent about Iraq and how, despite “a variety of views about the war,” we’re not going to call the guests babykillers. (Um, yes. Agreed.) Well, the boysships are coming in right about now. Starting tomorrow, there’ll be the usual assortment of slightly quaint official events (a Navy band at the Times Square recruitment station! Camouflage face-painting in Riverside Park!) and the less official, though no less sanctified, nighttime revelry. Mostly, though, we were intrigued by the bizarre names of the ships set to arrive here, which just reminded us how little we know of the naval life. On parade today will be the USS Wasp, the USS Winston Churchill (we hope the Royal Navy has an HMS Dwight Eisenhower), and the USS Hue City. We hope that last one gets along with the USS Wasp.
Navy Week Events Schedule [PDF]
Welcome, Sailors [NYS]
