|
retired Navy guys sitting around drinking San Miguel
Beer and watching the world pass up and down National
Highway. Welcome to Pirates Cove Bar and Kitchenette! After a
couple of cold beers and a little feeling out of
each other, the owner of Pirates Cove, Arch
Bishop made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. For
$100.00 per month we could convert a ‘short
time’ room that wasn’t being used into Pirates
Cove Tattoo. All we had to do was talk to his
wife Mila for final approval. After meeting Mila
that evening we knew we had found a home.
The first couple of months in the PI
(Philippine Islands) was a little strange. In
addition to the culture shock, we also had to
deal with the fact that the U.S. was keeping
ships out of port for political reasons,
(teaching the Philippine government a lesson for
something or another). Needless to say, there
wasn’t much money in town with no ships in port
so we got to know all the bars and those that
worked in them quite well. With no customers
there wasn’t much need to be in the shop all the
time. When the Navy finally brought the ships
back in all that changed. Suddenly we had fists
full of pesos and what was probably the busiest
shop in the world at that time. I’ve worked
military shops since I started tattooing in 1978
so I knew what it was like to tattoo 12 hours
non stop. The PI however, was unlike anything
I’d seen in California or Hawaii. 18 -20 hour
days wasn’t unusual. When the ships came in it
was pure madness, Marti Gras 24 hours a day for
5-10 days. Up to 12,000 thirsty, horny,
testosterone fueled Sailors and Marines in port
lookin’ for a good time and a cold beer. Subic
Bay was the place where they could quench their
thirsts. Service to the Fleet was the order of
the day and everybody did what they could to
make the guys from the Seventh Fleet happy in
Olongapo City.
During the five years I spent in the
Philippines I made a lot of friends and made
myself a home there. The Filipino people are
among the warmest people I have ever met. Were
it not for the eruption of Mt. Pinitubo in 1991
and the subsequent pullout of the U.S. military,
I’d probably still be there. |
|
