Cloudy, windy, hot, rain, clearing.
This written just before dinner and the sun will soon be gone and we will have seen the last of the Amazon. When we pull the curtains open tomorrow morning, we will be heading NW in the Atlantic towards what is commonly called Devil's Island, although it is a group of three islands in fact.
Today was a Rest and Recuperation day for us and many others. It may be hard for you to imagine, but in this Floating Retirement Home, five days in ports in a row has it's toll on people our age: up earlier, out in the open exploring unknown territory and actually having to think on your own without Uncle HAL looking after your every need.
Somehow, the day passed and we did rest up some but there was not much happening other than the Crossing The Equator Ceremony at 10:00 AM and two talks by onboard presenters. We have already crossed the equator three times but the ship chooses the day and it was today. We did not attend as we have seen it endless times and it was very hot at the time and very crowded.
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A short observation on people and personalities...
We had dinner with a new couple the other night and she commented on her 15 year old grandson. She indicated that he had a 'Corrective personality' I had never heard that phrase before but instantly understood what she meant. Some people will correct you on little, seemingly minor issues like pronunciation or your wrong choice of a word.
To me that steers the conversation in a different direction. To them it is just ingrained in their personality and has to be verbally expressed. Interesting observation.
If I understand and accept to above premise that 'That that is just the way they are built', then it helps me to understand other types of 'personalities', for lack of the proper word.
There is a single woman on board, divorced I believe, who seems to crave attention. She will hog the guide on a tour, ask most of the questions and seems to always be the centre of attraction by her constant need to be seen. She has breakfast in her stateroom each morning and loves it, and the little bouquet of flowers that comes with it. She possibly will have some special thing at her table every night to show that she is special. Who knows, on a special diet so that she gets tomorrow's menu shown to her the day before so she can order from it. (Conjecture on my part.) So that is just the way she is built.
There is a at least one couple on board, Dutch or German, who when getting on a bus take two window seats. They seem to think that is their right and there is no point arguing about it, not that I would, but some others certainly would.
They are also unaware or could not give a damn about others. I think that is where the word boor came from, from the Dutch word Boer. When sitting in the Showroom waiting for the show to start, most people talk in somewhat subdued voices, not him, he has a very deep, loud, guttural voice. I feel like I am in a concentration camp. Oh well, that is just the way God made them, don't get in a sweat.
We had dinner with a new couple the other night and she commented on her 15 year old grandson. She indicated that he had a 'Corrective personality' I had never heard that phrase before but instantly understood what she meant. Some people will correct you on little, seemingly minor issues like pronunciation or your wrong choice of a word.
To me that steers the conversation in a different direction. To them it is just ingrained in their personality and has to be verbally expressed. Interesting observation.
If I understand and accept to above premise that 'That that is just the way they are built', then it helps me to understand other types of 'personalities', for lack of the proper word.
There is a single woman on board, divorced I believe, who seems to crave attention. She will hog the guide on a tour, ask most of the questions and seems to always be the centre of attraction by her constant need to be seen. She has breakfast in her stateroom each morning and loves it, and the little bouquet of flowers that comes with it. She possibly will have some special thing at her table every night to show that she is special. Who knows, on a special diet so that she gets tomorrow's menu shown to her the day before so she can order from it. (Conjecture on my part.) So that is just the way she is built.
There is a at least one couple on board, Dutch or German, who when getting on a bus take two window seats. They seem to think that is their right and there is no point arguing about it, not that I would, but some others certainly would.
They are also unaware or could not give a damn about others. I think that is where the word boor came from, from the Dutch word Boer. When sitting in the Showroom waiting for the show to start, most people talk in somewhat subdued voices, not him, he has a very deep, loud, guttural voice. I feel like I am in a concentration camp. Oh well, that is just the way God made them, don't get in a sweat.
On the other hand...On board we have some people who are an inspiration to me/us, for example...
There is a gent on board who has extreme difficulty in walking and getting around, he uses a walker. We had a dinner with him, he asked if he could join us. His name is Larry. He had a massive stroke about 12 years ago that left him with all his muscles partly destroyed and unable to strengthen them.
He has the most positive attitude towards life and insists on doing most of simple issues, like getting food to his table, on his own. We would seek him out to be with again. I found him very interesting to talk to and inspiring to be with.
Then there is a woman, about 45, who requires a wheel chair to get around but can walk a short distance. We believe she may have Cerebal Palsy, not sure. What an inspiration she is, always a smile, dresses very very smartly and always pleasant to talk to. She will joke about her issue and we go out of our way to continue to be inspired.
Lastly there is a couple, who the woman of the pair, about 45?, is permanently bound to a wheel chair, it is impossible for here to walk. She must weigh less than 100 # and he carries her whenever we get in a tender. They are also very considerate of others and he makes sure that they do not hold up others more fit. When getting on a tender, he will physically cradle her in his arms and carry her down and up the stairs, always the last to get on or off. We have chatted with them and they have a very positive attitude about their lot in life, they do not mix socially a lot but are pleasant to be with.
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I wrote this because I have had some time to reflect on the cruise as it comes to an end and we have rubbed shoulders and met people infinitely more than we ever do at home. Several years ago, some of the negative types aboard would bother me greatly and I would wonder why I could not get along with them.
It has taken me the better part of 80 years to realize that I don't have a problem, they do! I owe some of this correction in my attitude towards people and acceptance of their faults to my good friend Jim Cutler whom we have traveled with many times and he always seems to be positive under rough people circumstances and continues to be an inspiration to me in that regard.
As a general statement, the good outnumber the bad by a ratio of about 20 to 1!
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