Around the World in 128 days -Tokyo Tomorrow - Today Another Sea Day
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Travel Day 55 - February 27, 2024 - 7,139 Steps
Pretty sky this morning to the northwest.
It's taken a while with my change in breakfast to 3 scoops on baked beans placed over scrambled eggs. we reached the point this morning that when I walked up she I didn't even have to say anything, she just dished it up. I don't know if that is good because she remembers without me asking or bad because I am so predictable.
Not just rough, little wild out there this morning.
Sometimes my photos of Kim doing her morning Coffee with Kimberly interviews are blurry and sometimes they are really sharp.
The ship's First Officer, who was her guest, was a very personable chap.
A tale of what occurred shortly after his promotion.
Presentation on the China Excursions in couple of weeks. It sounded like we are on the two best excursion in Beijing. Linda did a good job picking them.
A word of warning about the Forbidden City for those with mobility issues.
Between the temperature and the wind, the wind chill is 38°, no wonder it feels so cold outside.
My "prize" for finishing in last place in the Creative Writing class contest in the "Feelings'" category, continuing that streak I also finished tied for last in the other category which to write a "Humorous" story. The winners were picked by the class members. Actually, I was a big winner because Linda was VERY excited about my chocolate prize. Sometimes you can win while losing.
My two entries are below for anyone who likes reading bad writing.
Feelings
We were crossing the Amazon bar today and I was so excited to finally see the River I had long dreamed about. But our writing class was scheduled during that time. I felt so frustrated and torn. So why choose to attend class instead of experiencing the joy of watching and photographing the crossing? And that evening when I saw photos others had posted of the crossing I felt so jealous.
When we visited that small island with all the happy smiling locals living their simple life, why was I thinking whether we would be able to take the Guam excursion we were waited listed on instead of sharing their joy of Life.
As I tossed my hand line into the brown waters of the Amazon fishing for those razor sharp toothed flesh eaters, I thought about how we all have our place in the cycle of life. Just why was I feeling so frustrated with my life and why wasn’t I enjoying the Amazon more?
The answer came as we crossed back over the bar while I once again sat in class missing that awesome sight. In the words of a famous singer-songwriter “It was my own Damn fault.”
Humor
(A parody of a scientific article, trying for something you might read in the Onion.)
Another banana series article, this one concerning
the Bananus Flatulii, a mutation of the common wild banana. When banana
plantations popped up in tropical regions the range of the traditional wild
banana was suddenly reduced to such a small area, it was facing the prospect of
extinction. We think of evolution taking thousands to millions of years, but in
extreme cases nature can evolve in mere decades.
The Bananus Flatulii is a case in point. With it’s natural habitat shrinking ever smaller by the year as the more developed world’s ravenous appetite for bananas strained even the largest plantation’s ability to meet demand, the Bananus Flatulii reacted in a most curious way. In its native habitat the common way the plant spread was by way of simian behavior. That is, monkeys ate the fruit and when moving throughout their natural range, defecated both spreading and fertilizing the seeds at the same time. Faced with extinction, the Bananus Flatulii developed the tasteless and odorless chemical isoputridene. When gut bacteria attack isoputridene the stench of the resulting defecant was so overwhelming the monkeys had to travel far away from the troop to defecate, broadening the wild banana’s range and ensuring its survival.
The Cruise is Over - May 11, 2024 - 5,904 Steps It was over months ago we walked out to this same spot shortly after we boarded the ship. Then it was a glorious and joyous afternoon, today it was a glorious but sad morning. Instead of watching to see if could recognize our luggage being loaded aboard the Zuiderdam, it was watching to see if we could spot it being off loaded. The lineup of trucks bringing provisions for the next sailing that would be leaving a few hours. Trucks were lined up in the far distance awaiting their turn to unload. Port Everglades is a very busy cruise ship terminal. There was a staggering amount of food to be loaded onto the ship. A pallet of apples. A last look at the old home place that served us so well for the past mounts. Literally shutting the door on one of the most awesome adventures we have ever been on. But the fall of next year we will be opening the door on an another one. We patiently waited for our group, Gray 1, to be called. The lu...
The weather has continued to not be the nicest, though it didn't get cold enough last night to unhook the water. That has meant most of our time has been spent inside the coach with the majority of outside time involving trips into Livingston to do some shopping. It's hard to believe the woman I married, the one who only went buying and never shopping, could in her dotage look at shopping as exercise. Who says you can't teach an old grizzly new tricks. Next thing you know I'll be calling her, Linda the frisky circus bear. In my dreams, in my dreams. I think that Linda may have finally crossed one of life's great divides and is now truly living the Life we talk about. Note she is sweeping, but that was all that took place, except for just a minor bit of dusting. Today there was no making sure every last tiny nook was clean, not now, probably not ever again. Nor was everything picked up and put away, leaving every flat surface exposed and appearing to be unuse...
This morning found Linda and I in St David’s Park, Hobart, Tasmania, reading and listening, laughing and crying. It was not something we anticipated experiencing when we planned our trip. Three days before we were to leave for Australia we received word that our son had suddenly died. As we thought about his unexpected death, our plans, and discussed the trip with our daughters, we realized that if Rich would have had any say, he would have told us to go. To experience Life, to not mourn his life, but to celebrate it. As we sat on the park bench we had with us what was being read at the service being held at the same time in Carmichael, California. Most of it we had written over the past few days, we had the songs that were being played, and we had each other. If you want to know where our son is now, listen to Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum, here is a link to a Youtube video of it. The following was part of Rich’s celebration of Life service. Richard Alan Klyne A...
Your stories are the best in my book. Thanks Bob. Shari
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