It was strange to open the old sailor's sea chest of my late father. He was a sailor all his life. He never went ashore. Once a sailor, always a sailor. The old sailor's sea chest did not content much of value.But the walls of the chest might tell stories of great interest to most of us who are interesting in the life and work of sailors. When I opened the chest I was remined that" ..Old sailors never die - they just fade away .." The old uniform of the captain and a coin from Thailand and some old papers were all I found.
I do not know if sailors make use of chests any more? But the sailor's sea chest has got a song written by Brian Mullen:" The Sailor's Sea Chest Song ".
The content of the song is about the lover of the wife of a sailor.The lover was put in a chest and was sold in China for tea. The moral of the song is that you should never hide in a sea chest because you might get sold for tea.
"...Oh where now will I run to and where now will I hide
get in my chest that lies at the bed side.." and so the lover did and he was sent to China and sold for tea and he made a good supply for the whole ship company.
