Re: “Dark & Stormy, Aug. 22
It was the spring of 1953. (My ROTC battalion flew) to Newport News, boarded an army ship from WWII – about 200 of us from my college and several others. After four miserable, storm-tossed days, with all of us seasick, we docked in Hamilton Harbor, Bermuda at noon.
The moment our feet hit land we were ready to party. First stop, a bar on the harbor. The special: “Dark & Stormys,” $1.25 each. After three or more, several of us headed back to the ship to shower so as to be ready to hit the bars later that evening.
A buddy of mine, quiet fellow, had drunk about five or six of this elixir, known in Bermuda as the D&S. As we walked back to the ship, he slightly ahead of me, I watched in amusement as he walked off the end of the pier and into the drink, missing the gangway by several feet. No harm done, we threw him a life ring, hauled him out, put him in the saltwater shower and he was good as new by our evening foray.
Went back to Bermuda in the late ’60s. For some reason D&S’s never tasted the same, so this weekend, not having had one since then, I must try one again. Will let you know about the event, as it will be my 75th birthday.
-David Nilges, Centennial
