A GIANT of a man...in all senses of the word

We went on a cruise right after Thanksgiving and stopped in the ports of Jamaica, Caymen Island, and Cozumel, Mexico. We enjoy sailing the high seas, and let me tell you, that ship was rocking this time as we went through some heavy storms. The result was the cancellation of top deck, outdoor movie viewing, dance parties at night, and our last shore excursion. But overall, the trip was fun and we were able to relax for a few days.

 I WALKED ON A BEACH and SWAM IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA. I got my fix! I will make it through winter, now.

This cruise was completely different from the spring break cruise, where preteens ran wild.
There were few children on board and lots of senior citizens. We met some very interesting and friendly people. Like most passengers on board, I was unaware that that we walked among greatness, a true American hero.

He stood 7 feet tall, had a commanding presence, and after Googling him, I learned he has a host of aliases and occupations:

Chicago Slim, (his handle as a blue's guitarist and co-leader of a Chicago's Blues Band.)

 Right Reverened Dr. D. (his DJ handle) He was a Blues music radio announcer for years.

An All Star, All state American Prep basketball player in high school. What do you expect at 7 ft tall?

His other moniker is "The Bone Doc."

When he walked into the ship's comedy club, it was obvious he was a dignitary and received VIP treatment. He and his wife sat in front of us. I overheard his conversation with the comedy club manager. "Yeah, every now and then, I just have to get away and relax. You can't do what I do everyday of the week."

When we went to our cabin, I was amazed to see his picture flashed across the television on CNN.

Dr. Daniel Ivankovich has been selected as one of CNN's Top 10 Heroes.

A remarkable orthopedic surgeon, who operates out of three Chicago clinics, has served more than 100,000 uninsured or under insured patients since 2010 through his non-profits. He treats patients regardless of their ability to pay. He performs 5-7 surgeries a day. He IS a hero.

He was born in Croatia; his family defected to Chicago in 1965 when he was two years old. You can read more about him at the link below, and also discover who the other 9 CNN Heroes are, and how to vote for them.

I lifted this photo from his Face book page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ivankovich


http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/10/08/cnn-heroes-how-to-vote.cnn
 

All kinds of blues

 

Sailing-sailing over the ocean blue...

Spring break finally arrived. This winter was brutal and seemed never-ending. The thought of taking a cruise to the tropics in spring kept me working all winter, otherwise I'd have hibernated.

 

We left New Orleans and headed out to sea in a thunderstorm. The weather cleared as we reached the Gulf of Mexico, and by the time we arrived at our first port, Costa Maya, Mexico we were ready for the beach. How disappointing for us (and many others) to discover a rocky beach which was not accessible. Most people returned to the ship right away.

 

Our next port, Mahogany Bay in Roatan, Honduras was a glimpse of paradise on earth. The flora and fauna were incredibly beautiful, the water as turquoise as the top stripe on my sun dress.

 

Sunshine was the elixir that I needed to recoup from winter weather. I absorbed it through my skin. It warmed my body, heart and soul. 

 

 

Although, I am back in town, a little piece of my heart is right there on that beach. After this port of call we swam in the Caribbean Sea in Cozumel, Mexico. I walked the beach. SIGH

 

Come back again for more photos. We were so fortunate to have arrived in New Orleans a day early. We unexpectedly discovered the largest three day jazz festival in the nation going on in the French Quarter and along the River Walk. I will post pictures of some of the scenery around New Orleans on my next post.

 

I am too blessed to be stressed. I returned to a slew of mail. The best: a check and contributor's copy of  the June issue of Good Old Days Magazine in which my story, Grandma's Machines is published, along with a photo of me at age three.

 

I also received a check from Sasee Magazine for my story, We Do, about Bill and me still saying, "I do," to each other after all these years. "Do you have a pain in your knee?"  "I do!"

 

Last but not least, I did the happy dance when I opened a large envelope and discovered a check and award certificate from Missouri Writer's Guild. My story, In Preparation for the Big Dump, took third place in the Humor Category at the 2014 conference.

 

Chicken Soup is looking for stories about miracles/angels. So is Whispering Angel Books, and Not Your Mother's Books is seeking immediate stories for their "in the work place" anthology.

~Write on~

His gal pal sweetie has a deep voice

Okay, so it has taken me a while to get over my vacation embarrassment, but now I can talk about it.

We found a wheeled carry on suitcase with dozens of compartments that matched our luggage. It was on sale for $20.00. We couldn't pass it up. We packed incidentals, medications, and personal care items in it. Bill loaded all of the luggage in the car.

"Did we miss anything?" he asked.

"No, I double checked. We're good to go. Did you program Chatty Cathy (GPS)?"

"Yep. Let's hit the road."

We were two and half hours down the highway when I wondered if I brought my good watch to match my good jewelry for elegant dining night on the cruise. I reached back and unzipped my suitcase, reached into the zipper bag for my fabric jewelry case and my heart thumped. I felt around frantically like a new mama looking for a dropped pacifier in the dark. I unlatched my seat belt and climbed over the seat and began rummaging.

"What are you doing? No seat belt!"

"No jewelry! No kidding! I mean NO jewelry. It's not here! I must have left it at home."

"Do you want me to turn around? Can you make do?"

"With what? I have NO jewelry to go with any of my outfits. Stop at that outlet mall ahead and I'll just have to buy the basics, red, black, turquoise, and silver earrings and necklaces." I had received a sum of money from my students and coworkers, and I had planned to buy something special while out of the country on our cruise. I bought something special alright, replacement jewelry.

I was so upset with myself. But only half as upset as I was when we arrived at our first hotel. I unzipped the new suitcase, unloaded our personal care items and discovered that I had stashed my jewelry in a hidden compartment. That little four wheeled, multi-zippered bargain ended up costing $80 before it was all over.

That was MY boo-boo. Bill's was worse. Second day we were exhausted and couldn't wait to arrive at our hotel in New Orleans. Chatty Squeaky Cathy kept recalculating. I mentioned that the terrain seemed different, not swampy like before.

"She knows her stuff. She says we are half an hour from our destination. Relax; she's recalculated a new route, a shorter way, that's all."

"It isn't right. We should be going south toward sea level, not inland."

"Look!" He wagged his finger at the car dash. "It says we are only fifteen minutes from 112 Royal Street. Destination!"

"Pull over and check that GPS."

He was adamant. "See, right there, 112 Royal Street, Baton Rouge."

I should have shut my mouth and allowed him to pull up in front of someone's home in Baton Rouge. I started laughing.

"Me and my jewelry, and you and your Gal Pal Sweetie (GPS)."

After an hour of sporadic giggling through rush hour traffic, we finally arrived in New Orleans.

Last week hubby put the GPS on the dash when we went to visit the grandson at his lake property.

"Take interstate 55 south..." A baritone, male voice!

"What happened to Chatty Cathy?"

"Um, I can't understand her, even with my hearing aids in."

"Uh huh, and I have a bunch of duplicate jewelry."

Growing old together is an adventure.

Oh what a relief it was

We have several hummingbird feeders in the back yard because last year we had about eight of those little hummers zipping back and forth. This year we have had only one visitor who left for better sugar water.

 But in Honduras, we spotted what could be our little friend perched on a bush. It sat completely still for about five minutes, and then flew off to paradise. Bird of Paradise is a tropical flower.

Tropical mimosa tree blossoms are deep orangish-red, unlike our pink ones.

I am so grateful for my eyes and to be able to see these beautiful sights and colors. We had a terrible near-tragedy a couple years ago with our daughter-in-law. She almost lost complete vision due to a viral eye infection. She is having another problem. The surgeon seems to think that there is dust on the lens of her one and only good eye, so she will have another procedure this week to blow the dust off. Please keep her in your prayers that it is as simple as the doctor expects.

After we disembarked the cruise ship, we drove from New Orleans to Tunica, Mississippi, the Midwest's Gaming Capital. One of the casinos offered us free room and board and food for two nights. Free is never free. But that's our own fault.

As we pulled out of town, I shed a tear and then another. Not at losing fifty bucks in forty-eight hours and eating to excess, and not because vacaction was coming to a close. Numerous billboards loomed every quarter mile and advertised the many casinos, offers of senior buffets, upcoming giveaways and new and old performers. I shed a tear because I had something in my eye, a dab of mascara I presumed. It burned and made me squint my watering right eye closed. I tugged at it, covered it, put on my glasses, closed my left eye and tried to focus with my right. Then I cried out, "Oh no, I must be losing my vision. I can't see any of the  words or pictures on that billboard right there ahead of us, not one word!"

Bill, ever the calming presence, said, "Open your other eye."

Much to my relief, it was a blank billboard, all white space, no announcements, no pictures.

We laughed so hard I cried, and in so doing, washed away whatever was in my eye. What a relief!

Writers call outs here! If you are not familiar with Writer's Relief, check out several opportunities. Leave your comfort zone and approach writing in a new way. Try a flash piece or a poem. I heard that! Don't feed yourself those negative messages. Just because you never did, doesn't mean you never can. Lots of dates and different places to submit. Have fun.

Bottoms up!

Physically I am back from our cruise, but my mind lingers here in this tropical paradise where we saw gorgeous flowers, butterflies, birds, fish. Where lazy meant lounging on a beach, and my only worries were getting back to the ship on time. And you know me! If there is going to be an incident...

I bought a new swim suit for vacation, not necessarily because my other perfectly good one was a little snug. This purple and black one was on sale and looked cute. It is a one piece with a flouncy black skirt and blousy top. When I  jumped in the water the top billowed around my waist like an inflatable and I had to keep holding it down. I sat under this waterfall with my skirt tucked in because it also wanted to surface everytime I moved. Usually I am fighting gravity which is dragging everything down. This time things were springing up unexpectedly. So I decided to stay in one place and do water aerobics arm exercises. I kept my hands underwater, made fists and rapidly rolled my arms in a knick-knack-paddy-whack-give-a-dog-a-bone-fashion. I was meeting a lot of resistance in that water and could feel the burn in my biceps. When I shifted my body weight, my blousy top swelled and entrapped my arms. Trying not to look obvious, I stood straight up and my skirt flared to the surface and also became entangled. The underlining on the suit is flesh-tone lycra, and it looked like I was flashing when I tumbled face first glub-glub-glubbing and swallowing salt water. All I have to say is, "bottoms up" took on a whole new meaning.