Always Ready: Poems from a Life in the U.S. Coast Guard

Benjamin B. White was pursuing a career in baseball when a worn-out shoulder diverted his life's course. After an enlistment in the U.S. Army, White ended up as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Now, in snarky dispatches filled with insight and humor, he reveals what he learned along the way!

Established in 1790 as the Revenue Cutter Service, the modern Coast Guard is the maritime security, search-and-rescue, and law-enforcement service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Its motto is "Semper Paratus"-"Always Ready!"

Retired from uniformed service, White now teaches human resources, business administration, and college success courses from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"Veterans and military families of all eras and branches will delight in White's sharp wit and storytelling. His stories of adventures and misadventures are sure to variously inspire laughter, reflection, and patriotic pride," writes the publisher. "After all, who doesn't love a good sea story?"

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"SKI BOAT"

I worked for a guy
I would work for
Anytime, anywhere ...
And he told me
It was possible
To ski behind
A 44-foot Motor Lifeboat
Though he stopped short
Before telling me
How he knew that.