By Susanna Ray
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Of all the last-minute shoppers filling the malls Sunday, Capt. Douglas Dupouy probably had a better reason than most for his procrastinated purchasing.
He’s been stuck on a floating city off the coast of southern California for a month, leading a crew of 3,000 as they trained in preparation for deployment to the Persian Gulf next summer.
Dupouy is the commanding officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln, an Everett-based nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The Lincoln made it home Saturday morning, just in time for Christmas but not allowing the sailors much time for leisurely gift-buying excursions.
Still, fresh from the shops Sunday evening, Dupouy said he felt prepared.
"I did some e-mail shopping" from the ship, he said, keeping mum on what he bought as his wife and 12-year-old son listened in on the telephone conversation.
But you can’t just lock the door on a warship, turn on a timer light and head out for Christmas dinner.
So Ruthe and John Haberle of Marysville decided to bring some holiday cheer for those left behind to guard the fort. Naval Station Everett is home to the carrier, three destroyers and three frigates, although not all of them are in port right now.
Ruthe Haberle, paying no mind to her injured foot in a cast, baked 13 dozen cookies after church Sunday and dropped them off at Naval Station Everett with her husband "so that when they’re on duty they can have a little comfort food."
The Haberles know a thing or two about holidays in the military — John was in the Army for 28 years, and when he retired from that branch of the service, he worked as a civilian for the Navy.
Everett families have traditionally been very enthusiastic about sharing the holidays with their military neighbors, said base Chaplain Michael Colson. Last year, more than 300 locals called to ask about having a sailor over for dinner.
But the Adopt-A-Sailor program was nearly canceled this year because most of the sailors "really don’t enjoy going over to strangers’ homes," Colson said.
"They do one of three things," he said. "First is get as far away from the base as they can, especially the ones that live on the ships. Second, a lot of them share apartments in the area and congregate over there, hanging out and cooking and that sort of thing. Another thing is that all the sailors who live in the barracks will get together and cook. So if you go over there on Christmas, you’ll smell lots of turkeys cooking in those big kitchens.
"And of course a lot of them try to get home."
But this year, a group of Texans saved the day for local families anxious to be hospitable.
About 100 Texas reservists were called up for duty and are here for the holidays, Colson said. "They’re just the opposite. They love going to people’s homes."
So Colson was able to hook up more than 20 of them with local families from last year’s list.
Less than a quarter of the Lincoln’s crew will have to work over the holidays, Dupouy said.
They’ll have a big Christmas meal on board, he said, but Dupouy won’t be there to bless it.
"I served Thanksgiving meal to the crew, but this one I’m spending with my own family," he said.
So will they be allowed to blast Christmas carols from the loudspeakers while he’s away?
"If they’d like to, they can do that."
The huge ship is strangely unlit for the holiday season, however. Dupouy said there wasn’t enough time to string up the traditional Christmas lights from the mast this year because "it was pretty rushed getting in," and safety concerns made them decide to keep the huge "72" dark for the time being.
You can call Herald Writer Susanna Ray at 425-339-3439
or send e-mail to ray@heraldnet.com.
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