22 days and counting. That is the number of days until Debs and Tom stand before the Judge (sorry Minister) and repeat their vows. This is the most serious of all ceremonies because if anyone objects they are asked to "speak up now or forever hold your peace". Forever is a long time. Scary.
Your mom and I have talked about taking an ocean cruise for a long time but neither of us is too anxious to get sequestered on a big ship for very long. The stories of virus outbreaks aboard ship are numerous. Also boats sink. And mom can't swim!
Well I had a dream last night about going on a cruise. We succumbed to the enchantment of taking a maiden voyage on a new ship of the White Star Line. The dream had us going first class and we had quarters on the promenade deck. That meant we dined with the Captain (at his table) each night.
It was glorious. We sat in the sun, read famous novels and I oogled bodies at the pool. And we ate and ate some more. We had breakfast, a morning brunch, lunch, an afternoon snack, and an evening dinner. Then there was the bedtime snack. By the time you leave the ship your body shape has changed and your walk becomes a "waddle". Of course in my dream, the drinks and food are incredibly scrumptious and there is no weight gain. I can do that because it is my dream.
Very vivid in my mind is the first night at sea. They have an identification card in front of each "place setting" at the Captain's table. My card for some reason says Mr. Isidor Straus. Maybe that was my name in another life.
Then my dream becomes disturbing. Your mom and I are awakened from a deep sleep by a "shutter" in the ship. It is followed by a crewman telling us to report to the deck and find the nearest life boat. I assume we hit another ship. I knew it! We take our first cruise and the damn boat sinks. Double damn!
Then I awake in a cold sweat! Earlier in the day we had taken a tour of a "Titanic Artifact Exhibition" in Oshkosh at their Public Museum. You are given a replica boarding pass as you enter the exhibit and you carry that card with you until the end of the exhibit. Mine says Isidor Straus. You get to find out if your simulated character survived the Titanic ordeal. It turns out that Isidor was traveling back to New York with his wife Roselie. The Straus family owned Macy's in New York and of course traveled first class. It turns out that Roselie would not enter a lifeboat without her husband. What a gal! They both died.
As we entered the Oshkosh exhibit, your mom was assigned a boarding pass in the assumed name of Charlotte Collyer, a woman with tuberculosis headed to Idaho and a better climate. She was traveling second class. Your mom survived.
Actually the Titanic exhibit was interesting but it did nothing to encourage me to step on to a large cruise ship. The new release of an updated version of the Poseidon Adventure doesn't do much for my confidence. Having dinner with the Captain in an upside down ship is not appealing.
So Grasshoppers, you are controlled by your dreams and fears. Trust your instincts. Go with what feels good. For me cruise ships conjure up bad thoughts and I have no desire to "go there". Call it a premonition.
Love,
Dad