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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2003-03-28
Aboard 'The Connie': A Photographer's Diary. Part 4
By Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, 2003
CNN Correspondent Frank Buckley, left, entertains the media corps during a meal.
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(Editors note: Justin Sullivan is a staff photographer for Getty Images based in San Francisco. He is currently on assignment aboard the U.S.S. Constellation in the Persian Gulf.)
Before I left to come to this little city at sea, I was trying to lose a little weight. No more beer, burritos, ice cream or any of those yummy In-N-Out burgers. Just good, healthy food. It was working; the weight was coming off.
When I learned I was being assigned to the Gulf, I promptly fell off the wagon. Beer for everyone! Since I usually don't eat much when traveling, I figured I could splurge a little before leaving and make up for it once I was underway on the ship. The last time I covered a conflict overseas, I returned home nearly 10 pounds lighter.
The first few days on the ship were pretty hectic -- lots of meetings and getting familiar with the new environment. It was hard enough getting used to the backward schedule of the ship, let alone getting into the hours of the Wardroom. I kept missing meals. This wasn't a big deal at the time since I was preoccupied with my new hobby of staring at planes.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, 2003
Our hero, the baker, makes cinnamon rolls for 5,000 people.
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As the days wore on, I found myself hungry all the time. Walking up and down the endless number of steep, metal ladders all day and night feels as if I am on a 90,000-ton floating Stairmaster. The calories must be burning off at a record pace. I should be right on track to losing those pounds that I gained prior to my arrival.
Once our schedules started to become routine, the embedded media started to eat as a group, when possible. We would file down to Wardroom 2 (where the officers and distinguished visitors eat) and stack our plates with mounds of mass-produced food. The line-up usually consists of some starchy carb dish, a meat product, some sort of gravy/sauce, more starchy carbs and colorful canned vegetables. You can also get fresh from the grill eggs to order, burgers, grilled cheese and "freedom" fries. On Fridays they have freshly made pizza and "near beer." Let the party begin. We're livin' the high life!
This was the beginning of my dietary downturn.
With the air war taking the back seat to the ground effort, many of us are left with little to do. Meals have now become a near hourly event as a means of killing time. If you run into someone in the passageway, a conversation will quickly lead to an invitation for a quick snack at Wardroom 1, which is open 23 hours a day. "Oh look, they're launching planes. You know what that means: Time to eat." Any excuse will do to get
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, 2003
USA Today reporter Cesar Soriano is a breast man...chicken breast that is.
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the gang together for bite to eat. Four or five meals a day has become commonplace. I'm starting to feel a little puffy. Too much chocolate soft-serve with chocolate syrup.
Our culinary romance has not been one without a few setbacks. Food consumption temporarily came to a grinding halt when CNN correspondent Frank Buckley found a one-inch worm of some sort in the ground beef during "Taco Tuesday." In a separate incident, ABC Radio's Jim Ryan discovered that the grilled chicken breast that he had been eating was close to raw. We've also been warned by reliable sources to avoid the barbecue beef cubes. Apparently bad things happen when you have that dish.
So much for my plans of coming home a few pounds lighter. Hey, cool, it's lunchtime.
Related Links:
Justin Sullivan's member page
Aboard 'The Connie': A Photographer's Diary. Part 1
Aboard 'The Connie': A Photographer's Diary. Part 2
Aboard 'The Connie': A Photographer's Diary. Part 3
Aboard The Bonhomme Richard: A Photographer's Diary. Part 5
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