L il Tug By Phyllis A. Evans
Once upon a time, a little tugboat was docked at Pier 3. His name was L il Tug. L il Tug was different from the other tugboats. He was dark green with white polka dots. Well, they weren t exactly white polka-dots. They were white spots where the paint had peeled away. L il Tug floated with a limp because he had been in an accident many years ago.
Therefore, he was never chosen to guide the aircraft carriers or submarines into the dry-docks and piers. So, L il Tug sat at Pier 3, day after day, slowly fading away. It was like he was forgotten or so he felt.
However, that didn t discourage L il Tug from trying. Every night, he would loosen the ropes that tied him to the pier and practice maneuvering techniques with his lights off. He was afraid that if someone saw him, they would tie the ropes tighter so that he wouldn t be able to get loose. Night after night, day after day, L il Tug practiced his maneuvers in the dark. He would float around the buoys and slowly move them. Then just before dawn, he would move the buoys back in place.
One particular morning, the dock master noticed that L il Tugs ropes were not secured. L il Tug, you could ve floated out into the James River and been lost before the salvage yard showed up to get you! After the dock master left, L il Tug sighed. He knew if he went to the salvage yard, he would never come back. He also knew that he was worth more than scrap material and one day he would be a guide.
So, that night, L il Tug floated over to the Enterprise aircraft carrier. He slowly leaned against the hull of the Enterprise and gently tried his maneuvering techniques beside the big ship. He did one maneuver after another until it was almost dawn. Then he floated back to his pier.
L il Tug was so engaged that he didn t notice Captain Ambrose watching him do his maneuvers. You see, Captain Ambrose, the dock master, had been watching L il Tug each night. Capt. Ambrose was so impressed that the little tugboat practiced even though he was going to the salvage yard.
The day finally came when the Enterprise had to move to Dry Dock 11. All the other tugboats gathered and waited to be chosen by Capt. Ambrose to be a guide. L il Tug stayed at Pier 3 and watched the other tugboats. Then something amazing happened. Capt. Ambrose called out L il Tug s name. He said that L il Tug had more heart and determination than any other tugboat he had ever seen.
L il Tug, with his limp and dark green hull with white polkadots, proudly led the other tugboats that day. The moral of this story is simply; always do your best even when no one else is around. You never know who may be watching!
Phyllis A. Evans Phyllis A. Evans works as a nuclear engineer for Newport News Shipbuilding. Phyllis is a dedicated learner who has four college degrees. She graduated from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of Arts degree for Commercial Art, and she later received her Master of Business Administration degree from Hampton University while working full time as an Illustrator for NNS. Phyllis went back to school to pursue additional degrees in Environmental Engineering from Old Dominion University. During that time, she was inducted into two academic Honor Societies, Tau Beta Phi Engineering Honor Society and Golden Key International Honor Society. She is not only passionate about furthering her own education, but the education of others as well. She volunteers as a tutor in addition to volunteering with a number of charities. She also participates in STEM-based organizations, like Girls with Engineering Minds in Shipbuilding (GEMS). Even though most of her work involves math and science, Phyllis likes to express her creative side in her spare time by writing children s books she wrote her first novelette at age 12. Phyllis and her husband, Robert, who also works at Newport News Shipbuilding, have two kids and live in Williamsburg, VA.