NEPTUNE DAY

And that's how it's done.

Moment of truth.

Nickelodeon Slime anyone?

Neptune Day celebrates the crossing of the equator at sea,

It is a big deal with a bbq and an initiation ceremony

Shellbacks, polywags, dead fish, hair shaving, and slime

A day of no class, it was obviously a good time

We were uncertain what would happen on Neptune Day

The staff was ambiguous with very little to say

We would apparently know what to do when the time came

And sure enough early in the morning we knew things weren’t the same

Unlike NELP when I was woken up with Amelia’s Waltz and a glass of OJ,

On SAS the crew decided to wake us up in a most original way

Whistles, banging, and chanting could be heard down the hall,

Growing ever closer, a line of crew members were right outside our wall

We had crossed the equator, it was time to get out of our beds

And run upstairs where we would be reborn and could shave our heads

Us polywags were ready to be made shellbacks and listened carefully to the rule

Of how we would be converted by completing rituals around the pool

Fish guts and slime were poured on our heads first

We were then cleansed in the pool to ensure we weren’t cursed

Next up included kissing a very dead fish

There was no alternative way to grant our wish

Fish kisses aside, we honored King Neptune and his Wife,

By kissing their rings and offering prayers of long life

Then Sir Don knighted us with a sword and made it very real,

“I now pronounce you a shellback” he said, while we had to kneel

To acknowledge this crossing and sign of rebirth

Many boys and GIRLS shaved their heads to prove their worth

Shout out to Laura Budde, a fellow Michigan Wolverine

Who shaved her head and to me this is how she’ll always be seen

The day will end with a huge outdoor bbq,

I am now lucky to say I am part of an elite few

Who are true voyagers and friends of the sea

A shellback I will die and most happily!