16 it was my intention to get off in houston and work my way back to oklahoma. but the boat owners liked the way i worked so well that they hired me to stay on. my job was oiling, making about $72 per month with room and board. almost right away, i got an infection in the groin from my jeans chafing me when i would run up and down the ship’s stairs. in baltimore, i was put ashore. while i was in the hospital ... well ... the boat moved on. i wrote to mama. she wrote back and said thomas was in norfolk, virginia. when i got out of the hospital, i went to norfolk and got a job on a dredge with thomas. my job was running the launch. later i got a job on the ‘jefferson’ as a craneman. its destination was weeks island, louisiana. 16 the boat owners liked the way i worked so much that they hired me to stay on.