See the World by James Melita

First Place, Adult Fiction

The only remarkable thing about Hayward Cedar is how unremarkable he is. At 5’ 4” and a lean 120 pounds, his hair color could be best described as beige. He was kept back a year in grammar school because “ I don't do book learnin' good," which was fine with him. Wasn't good at sports, didn't talk much, or attract any kind of romantic attention. He definitely fell into the below average category. He did have one great talent though, he could take a hit. Growing up on the farm, he had been kicked by cows and horses, hit by falling hay bales, smacked around by all sorts of farm equipment and never seemed to get hurt. He would get up and laugh saying “Woo, that was a good one!" While shaking it off.

Being the youngest of three children, his father would often explain that there wasn't much he could do for him when he became a man. He always ended those talks with “You're going to have to find your own way in this world.” In his senior year his sister got pregnant and moved to another county with her boyfriend. His older brother announced that he met a woman who had two kids and they were going to get married that fall. That is when his father took him aside and explained that he was giving the house and farm to the older brother as a wedding gift. He would be living with them because he was alone since his wife died  and needed to be taken care of, and there wouldn't be enough room for all of them in the small farm house. Hayward took a minute to let it sink in. His eyes got watery. He turned away and wiped his nose on his sleeve and blurted out “I guess that means I'm a man now!” His father pursed his lips, slowly nodded and walked out of the room.

No one knows why this small-town boy from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, who couldn't swim, chose to join the Navy. The biggest body of water he had seen up to that point was a creek on the neighbor’s property. He just told everyone “I'm sick of workin' the dirt. I’m gonna see the world!”  In January of his senior year of high school, with a small suitcase he packed the night before, he left the house before anyone was up. Walked down to the train station and took a train to Oklahoma City. He was going to the recruiting office and joining the Navy that day.

The recruiting Petty Officer took one look at Hayward and already knew the kid’s whole story. He had seen it too many times. In the middle of the interview Petty Officer Beaudry looked at Hayward, shook his head as he put his pen down, and explained. “Listen son, first of all there is no bus coming by today to bring you to boot camp. Second, it is in your best interest to finish High School before enlisting. Let me walk you through the steps.” Together they made a plan for him to do all of the preliminary testing and paperwork so he could enlist right after graduating.

Now Hayward thought he might learn a trade while in the Navy. After he signed the commitment papers, he found out that his test scores were too low to go to any specialized training. He was to be deployed directly to a ship right out of boot camp. He didn't seem to mind. He said “Heck, I ain't the studyin’ type and now I get to see the world faster.” Being a farm boy from Oklahoma was never something he could shake. That coupled with his name, Hayward Cedar, he became known by a fitting nickname, “Hayseed.” He laughed the first time he was called that and never objected to the name. It made him feel accepted.

Since “Hayseed” didn't have any specialized training, he was a deck hand. Assigned to mostly janitorial and maintenance duties. It wasn't much different from his chores on the farm, just not as dusty. His ability to take a hit became evident on the ship. Falling off a ladder to lower deck,  getting broadsided by a load swinging from a crane, getting hit by a big metal door as it swung open. They all got followed by “Woo, that was a good one!” On boxing match night he never got knocked down and it was always a draw because his opponents would get tired from hitting him and when they were exhausted, he would pummel them with all the force his puny frame could muster.

Two weeks before his 19th birthday, the ship pulled into Yokosuka Japan home of a U.S Naval Base and the notorious area right outside of the base gates known as the Honch. It has any kind of entertainment a sailor might want and some they shouldn't want.  His shipmates had a plan to mess with “Hayseed" on his birthday. They got all the necessary permissions and it was all set. They would take him to a Sumo wrestler show and persuade him to get in the ring.

“Hayseed” was pretty liquored up when they started to dare him to fight the Sumo. When the bet became 2 months pay, he slammed down another Sake screaming “You're on!” as he thumped his chest. The ceremonial pageantry had ended. “Hayseed” had sobered up enough to understand how bad this looked. His buddies bet him to fight this giant, over 6’ and probably triple his 120 lbs. With over two month’s pay on the line he couldn't back down now. The ref signaled the start. He froze as his opponent snorted and charged like a bull! He was sent flying! 

Everything after that was a blur until the next day when he woke up in the hospital. Feeling groggy from the drinking and whatever pain killers they had administered he whispered, “Woo, that was a good one!” It was at that point he realized he was  unable to move, he started calling out for help. Finally a Corpsman followed by a Doctor came into the room. “Doc I can't move. Am I alright?” 

The Doctor pulled up the chart on the computer. His eyes went back and forth between the screen and Hayward. He dismissed the Corpsman, pulled up a stool to sit next to his patient. “You took a pretty bad hit last night. The report says you injured your back when you landed on the back of a chair." Hayward responded, “Well you can fix me up so I can be on the ship when it leaves next week, right?” The Doctor went back to the computer and read more of the chart. “We’ve got you strapped to the bed right now to prevent more damage. When the swelling goes down we will do some imaging in preparation to send you state side for surgery and rehab. Once that is complete you can go back to Oklahoma."

Hayward felt the tears well up in his eyes and his lips tighten. “But I was supposed to see the world."