| GENE SLOVERS US NAVY PAGES |
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| GENE SLOVER THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN IN JAPAN. AT THE TIME THE JAPANESE DID NOT HAVE ANY COLOR FILM SO THE ORIGINAL PICTURE WAS BLACK AND WHITE. THE JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHER WHO TOOK AND COLORED THE PICTURE KEPT ASKING ME WHAT COLOR MY HAIR WAS AND I KEPT TELLING HIM THAT IS WAS A VERY DARK RED. WHEN I WENT BACK TO GET THE PICTURE FEW DAYS LATER HE EXPLAINED TO ME THAT MOST JAPANESE WERE COLORBLIND AND THAT HE COULD NOT TELL WHAT COLOR MY HAIR WAS. HE KEPT APOLOGIZING FOR GETTING THE COLOR WRONG AND WAS MORE THAN WILLING TO TRY TO CORRECT IT. HE COULD SEE ALL OF THE OTHER COLORS WHEN HE LOOKED AT ME. HE JUST COULD NOT SEE THE HAIR COLOR OR TINT. I TOLD HIM THE PICTURE WAS FINE AS WE WERE GETTING UNDERWAY THE NEXT MORNING AND I MIGHT NOT BE BACK. THE HEAD OF THE CROW ON THE RATING BADGE IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK TOWARD YOUR BODY. THE REASON IT DOES NOT IS THAT THE PICTURE IS TAKEN RIGHT AFTER THE USN HAD EVERYONE PUT THEIR RATE BADGE ON THE LEFT ARM BUT THE RATING BADGE IN THE PICTURE IS FOR THE RIGHT ARM. SOME RATINGS IN THE NAVY WERE RIGHT ARM RATED AND OTHERS WERE LEFT ARM RATED. THE NAVY DID AWAY WITH THE RIGHT ARM RATINGS AND FROM THEN ON EVERYONE WORE THEIR RATING BADGES ON THEIR LEFT ARM AS IN THE PICTURE. IF YOU WERE RIGHT ARM RATED THEN YOU WERE ALSO CALLED A LINE PETTY OFFICER WHICH PUT YOU IN A LITTLE DIFFERENT CLASS AND ESTABLISHED THE PECKING ORDER. THE INSIGNIA HAS A RANGEFINDER WHICH DESIGNATES ME AS A FIRE CONTROLMAN. IN THE EARLY 1950'S THE FIRE CONTROL RATING WAS CHANGED TO FIRE CONTROL TECHNICIAN. THE FIRE CONRTOL TECHNICIAN RATING BADGE HAD A DIRECTOR ON IT WITH A RECTANGULAR ANTENNA ON TOP OF THE DIRECTOR. |
| COLORBLIND: TO BE COLORBLIND DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU SEE ONLY BLACK AND WHITE AND SHADES OF GREY. NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE OR TELL THE DIFERENCE BETWEEN THE LIGHTER SHADES OR HUE OF ANY COLOR IS BEING COLOR BLIND. ASK ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN TESTED FOR THEIR ABILITY TO SEE ALL OF THE COLORS AND THEIR HUES. WHEN PEOPLE GO TO THE ART MUSEUM AND LOOK AT THE PAINTINGS THEY SEE THE SAME PAINTING BUT MANY WILL SEE EACH PAINTING DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE THE SEE THE COLORS AND HUES OF THE PAINTING DIFFERENTLY. THIS IS ONE OF THE ATTRACTIONS OF THE ART MUSEUM AND THERE ARE ALWAYS DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HOW EACH ONE SEES THE PAINTING. THIS FAILURE OF EVERYONE TO SEE ALL OF THE COLORS ALIKE IS WHY AND HOW CAMOUGLAGE PAINTING OF SHIPS WORKS AND WHY CAMOUGLAGE CLOTHING WORKS. ITS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT BECAUSE A LARGE MAJORITY OF VIEWERS WILL NOT SEE SOME OR ALL OF THE COLORS AND THEIR EYES MISINTERPERT WHAT THEY ARE SEEING. |