Admiral Turner stood in his office in New York, pretending it was the bridge of a battleship. Dressed in full uniform studded with medals and ribbons, he glowered at his daughter, Joan, as he spoke in a voice that had sent many seamen trembling in terror.
But Joan was far from being an obedient crew member. She sat wearing a new outfit that had cost more than an enlisted man’s weekly salary, dangling her left leg over her shapely right knee. The admiral’s checkbook sat open on his desk. As her father ranted, Joan preoccupied herself by studying the polish on her fingernails.
“—the dance at the officers’ club tonight,” the admiral lectured. “You’re not getting any younger, and you might miss your chance to get married, settle down, have babies and do all the cooking and cleaning. What’s w
