Sunset and clouds turn the purple-blue sky to an empty blackness, save a lone cluster of stars. Sea waters reflect then magnify the blackness till there is no sky, no water, no horizon. Just KoKoLeoKo adrift in a universe of sparkling starlight, her rudder swirling the Milkyway. I look to shore and blackness is interrupted by winking coastal lights some 20 miles distant. Not much different than the lights on base.
Buoys occasionally wink red, green, and soft white lights, inviting all to their timeless vigil.
Memories of a time on a lonely fence line, black sky and earth, existing only to the sentry standing quiet duty like a Minuteman statute. Time standing still . . . Always looking, always waiting, always prepared for the worst. Never a clue, nor warning as to what the night will bring. Love it . . .