When you travel by ship, you move into a new community. But there are two segments to the population, those on vacation and those who are working. They can take you around the world from the Midwest to Manila. The majority of the crew was from the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Ryan, a bartender from the Philippines, has been on the ship for almost ten months. He missed the birth of his son back in February, and has yet to hold him. He Face Times at night with his school teacher wife, and tries to get his son to react to his voice. He will be home for three months, and then be off again on another long cruise.
He lives outside of Manila, which he tries to avoid because of the traffic. He gives two thumbs up to the new president Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte has been accused of being a ruthless dictator. His campaign against drug gangs, includes police shooting dealers and users in the street. Ryan said those people would kill the police if they could. He said Duterte is rooting out corruption, and has reduced the time to get a business license from months to 72 hours. It’s all about what you can do for me.
Milt is a math teacher from Homer, Nebraska. He and his wife were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. He has Cochlear implants in both ears. He got his first hearing aide at 26. Slowly over the years, it got worse. New hearing aides didn’t help. He was forced to retire in 2000. He had Cochlear implants put in both ears. He went back to teaching as a tutor. He’s retired for good now. He has trouble hearing if there is a lot of ambient noise in the room. But his wife says he’s become a very good lip reader. Politics came up briefly. Milt’s wife Carol asked if we were Trump people. Much to her relief, we said no. She’s a Democrat. Milt is a Republican, but he has no use for Trump. It appears he can hear just fine.
There are several different musical acts on the ship performing in one of the lounges or in the main theater. Two guys from Ukraine have given me a greater appreciation for classical music. One plays the piano, and steps up to the microphone between each selection and tells you about the composer and the piece they are playing next. He speaks in heavily accented, halting English, and appears shy. The violinist never speaks. I started calling them Penn and Teller. The music they make is beautiful and soothing.
There was music and dancing in one of the lounges. We watched the same younger couple on several nights dominating the floor. They were smooth, and almost sensual. He was the better dancer, and seemed to be guiding her. They certainly intimidated me. But there were older couples who glided around the floor with a grace the younger couple could not achieve. It showed an intimacy that only comes from years together.
On a cruise, you get the same stateroom steward. Ours was Agus. He was very polite and efficient. But every night he left us a surprise. He would leave a little animal towel creature on the bed. There was a crab, a frog, and even a chimp. But what was disturbing were the little plastic eyes he put on them. So, when we returned to the room every night, the creature was staring at us. I swear the eyes followed me around the room. I would classify the gesture as cute, but creepy.
As part of our trip, we toured Mt. Denali National Park and Preserve. As we sat in the outdoor Denali Square listening to music, a couple asked to sit at our table. Bob and Diane were from Appleton, Wisconsin. He wore a hat showing he served on USS Constellation from 1964-1967. He had retired after selling his insurance agency to a bigger company. We swapped stories about hometowns and families. These conversations always seem to bring out odd and interesting insights. Bob had a younger brother who had died years ago. He keep his brother’s ashes in the house. Diane would pray to his brother whenever she lost something, and she always found what she lost. Bob decided he wanted to bury the ashes next to his parents. He called the cemetery, and asked if he could bury the ashes next to his parents grave. He was told that wasn’t possible, he would have purchase a new, separate plot. Bob initially gave up, but years later took matters into his own hands. He visited his parents grave with a small shovel, and buried the ashes on either side of his parents. He seemed pleased he beat the system. Diane will have to be careful not to lose anything.
Travel takes you away from your routine to see and learn about the world, and people from other places.
Neat stories.