Yeah, you’d have to be kind of a fool to believe the hcg diet could help you lose a pound of fat a day, but I recently learned that rookie Navy boys in World War Two came close. At least some of them did. This past weekend we had a Cub Scouts outing, what we affectionately refer to as “camping on the boat.”

In fact, a crusty old WW2 sailor explained that our floating hotel was actually a ship, and he took the distinction between boat and ship very seriously. Since he lived and worked on the ship for its 4 plus years of active service back in the 40s, I really want to show the proper respect. So, forgive me when I slip and say we slept on the boat. I’m only human.

The ship in question was the U.S.S. Massachusetts, nicknamed “Big Mamie.” Decommissioned more than 50 years ago and slated for the scarp heap at some point in the 60s, Big Mamie’s crew was able to save her and get her a permanent dock in Fall River, MA. Now, gazillions of people, many of them scouting groups, visit the ship annually. Some of them even end up spending the night. Who would’ve thunk?

The place is called Battleship Cove, and in addition to Big Mamie, there are some other vessels and exhibits. We checked out a destroyer, a couple PT boats, a submarine, and a Russian vessel comparable to a destroyer. And in the gift shop they make bitchin’ cool custom dog tags.