FEBRUARY 26, 2008
TOMORROW IWO JIMA

Since we got an extra hour last nite, it was easier to get up this morning, by comparison anyway. My sore throat wasn’t appreciably better so I made up my mind to go to the clinic. I went to the buffet to get hot herbal tea and fruits and Ed joined me there. He said the gym is closed when the seas are heavy.
HEAVY SEAS: Well if there is one barf bag taped in the stair wells, it’s heavy seas. When there are two barf bags to the trash bins, you know it’s REALLY heavy seas. So I don’t know what to tell you except to report that some stairwells have two, and some have only one. Perhaps the missing second one had been used by someone but I have to be honest, I’ve never seen anyone use a barf bag on a ship or on a plane, I have seen folks grab the nearest potted plant however.
CLINIC VISIT: I took all my pharmaceuticals with me so I could show them to the people just in case. They have an intake form for you to fill out and the bottom section is all about respiratory symptoms: sore throat, ear pain, trouble breathing…you get the picture. While I was waiting, a woman was worried about being charged for the visit as she didn’t think her insurance would pay for the visit. I don’t know what her problem is (this time) but she had been into the clinic on two separate occasions for the norovirus. The nurse explained that she was not charged for those visits. After a lot of conversation and the MD trying to reassure her, she agreed to be seen (for whatever her current problem might be).
Several of the ship’s personnel were there; all looked terribly young. On one ship, I recall they had a separate entrance; on yet another ship, they had their own onboard MD.
My vitals were taken and I had a slight fever but nothing like last night. My BP was up a little from coughing; no surprise there. The nurse interviewed me; she’s a cute little gal who is probably a closet gothic after hours. She has spikey black hair. Very cute. She knew about lymphedema and asked me some questions about that. This is the first nurse I’ve encountered in an episodic visit who knew what the sleeves were about.
Then I saw “Nikolas”, the German MD. (Everyone on the ship has their first name, job and country on their name tag; I’ll have to look close and see if this is true of the Captain too.) He read all the notes on me, listened to my chest and then said all he could give me was “advice”. That was fine with me; that’s what I wanted. He needed to clarify what a few of the drugs were that I was carrying, then adjusted the dosages I was taking to more frequent ones, also telling me that while we think this is viral, he’d put me on Cephalexin because of my asthma. The only other thing he’d consider was perhaps an expectorant. I told him Ed had Robitussin with him and so we agreed on that. So I came away feeling validated and glad I had had this consultation to get a second opinion on how aggressive I should be. The cost for this visit was only $60 which I felt was very reasonable. Ed looked at the bill and remarked that the diagnosis was “COPD”. I guess this was new to him but it’s consistent with my bronchitis and asthma.
And along the way I got to see their facilities which are larger than I would have expected for a small ship like this. I’ve seen large ships with clinic areas smaller than this. On the other hand, if you’re going to be going on a 102 day voyage, with a population of these ages, you probably want to be able to accommodate more patients. I saw 4 patient examining areas each of which would match an ER room anywhere in the US. I can’t tell you what was behind the doors of the cabinets.
By afternoon I was feeling somewhat better though still with my tail between my legs.
PORT TALK: I met Ed in the port talk and listened until the ending. He was ranting about the mistakes the speaker made this morning including a photo of the famous mounting of the flag on Iwo Jima which showed the statue of this event. The speaker said it was on Iwo Jima. Ed said you could see the Washington Monument and the Capital in the background. There were more, but I’ll spare you.
VETERANS GET TOGETHER: I would have loved to have sat in on this discussion, led by Prof. Andy Giles, with the WWII vets on board. I thought it would be intrusive to do so but I did hear some of the remarks in passing. I suppose it’s not surprising that many of the vets have emotions as strong today as they were in 1945.
TRIVIA: We are the “crocks” once again. I was asked about my cold and described the visit. Eric piped up that “all my pills are white.” He has such a hang dog face and dry manner that this statement was hilarious. Murray has some experience with drugs and so I suggested we find a Tuinal for Eric so he’d have a pretty pill to take. I haven’t seen one of these in years but they were such pretty capsules: almost red on one end, and a vibrant blue on the other, and a violet where they join.
Eric had commented earlier in the cruise that his son saw their arsenal of medications they were taking on this trip (it seems we’ve all done this) and asked if they’d fill his prescriptions for him if he brought them over.
So Eric suggested we have a ship’s event called “Show and Tell” where everyone brings their pharmaceutical and herbal stash and shows it all to others. Thereafter at every opportunity, we made some joke about the drugs we were carrying on board.
We really did very well today. Our downfall was: name 3 movies that have garnered 11 Academy Awards. The answer: Titanic, Ben Hur, and something about Kings—a very old movie. Our other troublesome answer was the golf course where the Master’s Tournament is held. Augusta (as in Georgia). They wanted Augusta “National”. We objected, fruitlessly as it turns out. So our final score was 18.5 out of 20. Very respectable. The group who calls themselves the “geniuses” (This is Fr. Crispin’s group) won with 19.
The staff member had told us before we began that the prizes today were a brand new product and they were fortunate to be able to get it for us—or some blather like that. So when we had lost by a half point, we were crushed….until we saw this “special blah blah blah” product: a squeezable Princess ship.
Now we didn’t feel so bad…What the hell would we do with it? Well at least Fr. Crispin has takers for his prizes: he gives them to the two little girls on this cruise.
LUNCH: Father Crispin joined our table with his usual Irish take on events. Bill (for our dinner table) arrived as well along with another couple from Palm Springs (and Idaho) and a single lady. A discussion arose about how awful the port talker is and the mistakes he makes. The single lady valiantly, but clearly unsuccessfully, defended him. (Poor dear, she must be very deluded.)
Now, since he’s so inaccurate, why are his talks so well attended? For the photos? To find something to complain/talk about? Out of boredom?
Speaking of complaining, Fr. Crispin told of a very high brow (at least she thought so) woman on one cruise who had been dubbed the “Countess of Complainia”. She was expounding about how awful something was at the table one evening, and Fr. Crispin remarked that it certainly wasn’t Maxim’s in Paris. She thought he’d been there (he couldn’t afford a glass of water there much less a meal) and so they immediately were tight friends. It was all very funny, particularly as he related it.
TWO STICKS AND A FLOWER: the Japanese art of Ikebana. This is such a genteel, relaxing topic to see and hear about. And the beauty is undeniable. The speaker has a breathtaking wedding kimono on display in the background, small shoji screens, and various artifacts related to her topic on display on a table.
IOW JIMA AND OKINAWA: Prof. Giles went over the history of these two locations and their WWII battles. He has incredible archival photos, some of which are very graphic with dead bodies, maimed and deformed, and poignant shots of American and Japanese soldiers both dead next to each other. Iwo Jima is a very small island; it takes only a few minutes to go from one end to the other in a car. Yet it took 36 days to capture. When it is explained to you, you can see why.
I had not realized what tunnel rats the Japanese were on these islands. And on Iwo Jima it was especially interesting since Iwo Jima is an active volcano (the island is expanding in size actually) and so the tunnels get hotter and hotter the deeper into them you travel, and the sulfur odor becomes more intense. Andy Giles brings tour groups of WWII vets to these islands and he has photos of many of them and shares their stories (he hopes to finish a book soon with their stories). Especially touching was the experience of a soldier whose job was the get the dead and bury them. You can only imagine.
AFTERNOON TRIVIA: There is an afternoon trivia and I considered going but figured I’d be restless if I didn’t catch up with my blog.
DRINK OF THE DAY: Ed’s favorite: Caipirinha. However, I don’t think I should have any since I’m on all these meds, and Ed is doubtful that they put any real Cachaca Rum in them.
DINNER: Six of us present and accounted for. Hank is still fighting his cold and they prefer lunch anyway. I find these meds seem to decrease my taste; that or the food wasn’t very tasty tonite. I could stand to drop a few pounds anyway especially since I’m not walking stairs if my destination is more than 2 levels while my lungs are crappy.
ENTERTAINMENT: They had a song and dance show this evening, special to this cruise, called “Tribute”. It had a lot of oldies but goodies you’d all recognize. Some of the costumes were way out there! The acoustics seemed to be off and didn’t do justice to the singers as they usually do.
There was some question as to whether they’d be able to do the dance routines because of the pitch and sway of the ship. They are troopers. While it’s calmer than earlier today, still it isn’t easy. You’d never know there was any problem at all viewing the show.
SHIP SHUDDER: Someone said today that when the ship shudders, it is because the screws were out of the water. “I didn’t know that!”

FEBRUARY 25, 2008—GUAM

You see some of these islands and you wonder why anyone gives a damn about them. Then you think geopolitically and you understand because they provide stop off points to other strategic locations.
We woke up before the sun was out. We had ordered room service to save time. It seems odd to us that Guam is an American territory, yet this is where we have to appear with our passports, questionnaires, and be physically seen by our officials. They are very friendly and I teased one guy that he was a long way from home. It didn’t go quickly though because of the numbers of us. We again relinquished our passports to ship’s personnel (it was fun to see all the stamps from the places we’ve been though!), and were given a green piece of paper that said we’d passed immigration inspection. Reassuring to know we wouldn’t be tracked down as illegals.
TOUR: It wasn’t great but it would have been almost impossible for us to do this on our own. I wasn’t feeling great to begin with and the air conditioning in the bus wasn’t working properly. Despite assurances that another bus was on the way to replace this one, it never happened. The temp is in the 80s so that’s not so bad, but the humidity is above 80% and it did sprinkle a little.
We were taken to many high areas where the Japanese watched the Allies land on the beach. My word: I can’t imagine how we ever took over this place! Soldiers on the beach were sitting ducks! As you expect, there are numerous memorials here and there. One about Pearl Harbor listed the Guam soldiers who died there and their ships. At one place, a vandal had stolen the brass plaques with the names of dead soldiers in order to sell it for scrap. He was found but the plaques were damaged, so those have been replaced with plastic ones.
The beaches in these places are breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful. The water is crystal clear and clean and you can see all the way to the bottom for a long distance from shore.
There were two busses for this tour and a lot of folks who wanted to be dropped off in town for shopping. So it took almost an hour for this shuffle to occur. Jeesh. I can’t imagine why it’s that important to find a local souvenir made in China.
To be honest, many folks had boxed up their purchased to date and were looking for a UPS store where they could ship them back home.
SHUTTLE BUS: there was a free shuttle bus into the town from the ship, but I was really worn out from the heat and humidity, drippy nose and hacking cough, so we passed.
LUNCH: I had a little to eat and then spent time watching parts of the movie “Around the World in 80 days”. I had forgotten that Cantinflas was in it.
CHAMORRO CULTURAL DANCE: At 3 pm a troop came on board with 4 males from ages 7 or 8 to 30 something, and probably 10 females from age 4-5 to probably mid 30s. They were very good and their costumes, dances and music were completely foreign to us though you can see the Polynesian influence.
But the youngest girl stole the show. People were falling all over themselves to get pictures of her. She did a great job with the movements only occasionally looking around to check out the moves with the other females. There will be some fantastic photos of that kid!
We were sitting on the front row and Ed was chosen to go dance with the dancers (many others went up too). The girl who asked him was about 8 or 9 yrs old. I was watching from the side and laughing because I could see her giving him directions on what to do next, such as twirl around. The dance was a cha cha type and he said she directed him to stomp on each beat, not just slide across them. Well you can imagine how much fun he had and we had watching.
DUST UP AT THE OK CORRAL: This ship is very prompt about everything it does. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it is run by Germans. But we were supposed to leave the pier by 5 pm. We lose daylight at 6 and there are reefs to sail beyond before the ship is home free. 5pm came and went, the dock cleared off except for police and some workers who release the ship’s tethers. Everyone was sitting. We could see the captain on the extension of the bridge, just looking around as if he were waiting. Ed said he heard someone holler down: “You (expletive deleted) wouldn’t take cash!” So he suspects it had to do with port fees or something. In any event, after about 30 min., something gave, the guys released the tethers, the cops left with a wave to the passengers watching, and off we went.
ENTERTAINMENT: I didn’t feel like going to this evening’s entertainment so Ed went to report to me hee hee. It was the yet-to-be-released, world-premier, only-to-Princess movie “Bonneville” with Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange and Joan Allen. Ed said I’d have enjoyed it. Other men’s remarks indicated it was in the chick flick genre.
SUNRISE:SUNSET: I keep forgetting to remind you that we are on 12 hour days again since we’re near the equator. So we have almost exactly 12 hrs of daylight and 12 of darkness. This limits how long the ship can stay in a port since, in many instances, you need to leave for the deeper seas during daylight. This is especially true in these areas of a lot of reefs, many submerged, and war detritus just below the surface.

FEBRUARY 24, 2008, CONT…

EMAIL FROM HOME: Ed brought me a copy of a nice long email from Mike catching us up on the news from home. Mike is a good writer and these notes paint a fun picture of events. He writes of his kids taking over the BINGO games at the home to assure that Rowena wins---well that’s not quite what he said but I like my version better. Mom continues to integrate with the population there at the home, is eating well (and filling out accordingly), and overall doing better than several months ago. She has to be reminded that we are away on this cruise but everyone reminds her we are away and Mike will bring her copies of some of the photos we post. Too bad we don’t have a scanner on here: I’d scan some of these photo studio photos they’ve done on the ship.
PASSENGER TALENT SHOW: Ed said one of our least favorite show offs stole the show…legitimately. He’s a man in his 80s and loves to be the center of attention—which he manages to grab far too often. Apparently he printed off some jokes, some of which had JJ cringing, and delivered them with zest. People were laughing til they couldn’t catch their breath. Just as well I wasn’t there: I’d have died of respiratory failure.
INTERVIEW WITH MARTY ALLEN: I’m sorry I missed this as we really enjoy this on the Prinsendam last year and he loves to interact with people. He has little of the Hollywood big shot disease refreshingly.
THE THUNDER FROM TINIAN: This documentary by Prof. Andy Giles was on the cabin TV this afternoon and I watched part of it. He really does a nice job with these weaving photos from all eras, video clips when he can find them, recent footage and interviews with participants. If you are interested in the Pacific Theatre in WWII, I’d say they are a must.
Certainly I’d consider seeing the two Clint Eastwood movies about these campaigns after being here: Flag of our Fathers and I’ve forgotten the name of the other one.
DINNER: Ed didn’t want me to go to the dining room because of my cold. Enuf said.
ENTERTAINMENT: This was the last recital for the young Russian pianist. Ed enjoyed her as much now as at any time. I stayed in the cabin playing sick.

FEBRUARY 24, 2008—ON TO GUAM

Ed woke up before 7 and I couldn’t tell if he was going to take a shower or what. So about 7:30 I hopped into the shower to see if I could feel a little better. I went to the buffet to get some fruit and hot tea and saw Val and Eric there. Ed joined us in his exercise clothing. When we were all done, he went to exercise.
PASSPORT PICK UP: for some odd reason, we have to appear before the US immigration from Guam on the ship tomorrow with our passports and declarations in hand. I managed to get both of our passports by giving all the important info from them; my passport photo they could see though I did have my glasses on as colds make it difficult for me to wear my contacts.
LAUNDRY: I figured I’d try my luck with the laundry room, so I sorted out the clothes, and headed down there like a beast of burden. Amazing! There were 2 washers and 2 dryers open. I filled them up and tried to read for a while. Some men came in and one even ironed his stuff. He was one of the entertainers.
I had left Ed a note on the bed that we needed more quarters as we didn’t have enough. Since the washers take 20 min and the dryers 40 min, I figured an hour was plenty of time for him to show up. One load in the dryer didn’t get dry enough and I only had 2 quarters. It will only operate with 4, so I asked if anyone had two quarters I could borrow and I asked his cabin number. I thought he said 7024 but later when I knocked on that cabin door to return the money, the lady said no, it couldn’t have been her husband. Oh dear…Not sure I’d recognize him outside of the laundry room.
Eventually Ed showed up asking if I needed quarters (despite putting it in writing and laying it on his pillow, he’s still uncertain? Further, we had discussed the need for more quarters after the last run to the laundry room).
This time I left him with the dryer full of his clothes to fold and bring down when they were fully dry. I shlepped the other bags to the room and put everything away.
TRIVIA: I took the elevator. Figured I have so much gunk in my lungs that it wouldn’t be necessary to prove my low oxygen saturation. Besides, the Atrovent I take makes me shaky and sometimes it feels like my knees are going to buckle.
Maria was already there; she’s a few days ahead of me on the cold. Val and Eric came. Ro came but her husband wasn’t feeling well, and Maria’s roommate joined us. Ed came after it was all over.
Eric is a howl. Today when he didn’t know the answer, he’d lay back in the chair and snore loudly. We came close to winning and he reminded us that if we had taken his answer of 1997 for the year Hong Kong was turned over, we’d have won! This doesn’t come across right in the telling but he has this very dry sense of humor.
BRUNCH: They had a 10-2 brunch today so we went down and I had a few things and then came back to the room and curled up in the bedspread. Ed joined me later to watch one of Prof Andy Giles’ documentaries which was on the TV. We missed his lecture this morning on Guam, Saipan, and Tinian: The Thunder from Tinian.
When that was over, he went down for the passenger talent show.I’m still running a fever and trying to become human again as we have a 3 hr. tour tomorrow on Guam.
No library or internet today…

FEBRUARY 23, 2008 TRUK, OR CHUUK?
WE CROSSED THE EQUATOR AGAIN SO NOW WE’RE BACK IN THE
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

I woke a little after 5 and peeked out the window to see the sun beginning to show behind the clouds. Ed was in the bathroom. Eventually, he dressed and went to the jogging track to kill two birds with one stone: getting exercise and watching the passing scenery. I tried to sleep a little more and then got up and got dressed when Ed returned.
Originally this was to be a tender port; however, they were able to tie up at the pier. This is another of those great natural harbors in this region of the world. The locals seem to have not a care in the world; they sit endlessly just watching the ship. And US postal rates apply. I always carry postage stamps so I was ready. And the local currency is the USD.
This place is a commonwealth of the US (whatever that means). I tried to look it up in the dictionary since Ed and I have a difference of opinion about the postage issue, but couldn’t find the dictionary in the library, assuming it has one.
BREAKFAST: I had some hot tea helped a little and my usual fruits. It is such a luxury to have fruit ready at most times of the day. Marty Allen came in, greeted most of us and proceeded to order his wife’s breakfast. He is just funny to look at and is very friendly with everyone.
After this we went to the library to read the paper, do the crossword puzzle – not nearly so esoteric today – and then to the internet café to catch up on email. I was surprised that I couldn’t find a dictionary in the library but then the crew member wasn’t there today (we are in port).
LOCAL “DIGNITARIES”: I see the captain and others escorting locals around the ship. They have cameras and videos like any tourist and are dressed in mumus and other tropical casual clothing.
We had a quick tropical rain mid day and then overcast which keeps the heat index down a little. Still you are aware of the humidity.
MOVIES: I had planned to watch Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age but Ed beat me to the TV; he’s watching West Side Story. So much for him going on shore right now. Elizabeth was shown from 10 p last night in the Lounge on the large screen so today it’s on the TV.
COLDS: Well, if I HAD to have a cold, this was as good a time as any to get it. Chuuk is hardly a must see port unless you’re a WWII buff. So I’ve decided to stay inside today and nurse myself. I haven’t had a cold in over a year and was beginning to be hopeful that I wouldn’t get one this season. A lesson in humility.
LUNCH: I decided to tackle the dining room because I wanted hot soup. They had empanadas as an appetizer so I shared the 2 with Ed. Then the cheese and ham soup was so delicious and it seemed just right for a head cold. And finally I had a fruit plate with a yoghurt dressing and samples of walnut bread.
Ed then went onshore while I went back to the sick room. Have to get my strength up for the climb tomorrow to the:
TOUR OF THE BRIDGE: We signed up for this after someone told us the secret. It seems there are a lot of things one has to find out by accident here. We told Dave last night about the free internet credit. He didn’t realize that the allotment was greater since this is a very long cruise. Reminds me of when I was a doc students at USC and wasn’t told that we had a certain amount of free mainframe time! Here I had visions of putting us in the poor house using the mainframe to run my data.
So we got a nice invitation to a tour of the bridge tomorrow morning at 9:45 am. We can take still photos but no video. We’ll see how many folks they’re taking this time.
LATE ENTRY: Due to my cold, Ed told them we couldn’t come so they will reschedule for another date.
EMERGENCY DRILLS: When we are in port, they hold a lot of these: fire, man over board and such.
CHUUK: Ed did go off the ship to walk around this little burg. It didn’t take him long and he was back.
DINNER: Ed went down and ordered a tray for me from the dining room menu. I enjoyed it but it is more complicated than simply ordering from room service.
ENTERTAINMENT: Ed did go to this; it had a skit by Marty Allen and his wife and he said it was hilarious. And he does look exactly like a dammit doll in person.
They also had a sail away party on the upper deck—moved to the Pacific Lounge because of sprinkles, and it had a King Neptune skit in it. I’m sorry we missed it but I was really dragging. Tried to go to sleep at a decent time.
DEAN MARIE COWAN: My UCLA colleagues have notified me of the death of Dr. Marie Cowan, Dean of the UCLA School of Nursing for over 10 yrs. Marie was a special person in my professional and personal life. Last year she was named a living legend for her research in cardiac care. Dr. Cowan was diagnosed with colon cancer shortly after arriving at UCLA. She has continued to work all through many recurrences. During one of her periods when she was “tumor free”, she remarked that she needed to start attending national and international meetings so they’d know she wasn’t dead. Early on, long before one saw it in the literature, she said to me: “Remember Bonnie, that cancer is a chronic disease.” Now that idea is seen regularly in cancer literature.
Dr. Cowan influenced several generations of nurse and medical personnel and her absence will create a void hard to fill.

FEBRUARY 22, 2008

Up to hear port talk on Truk and Guam. Despite all the mumbling and complaints about the speaker, the room was pretty full. He does have gorgeous photos after all.
CALLING ALL DIVERS: These places are a diver’s paradise with lots of colorful marine animals and hundreds of WWII relics on the islands and the bottom of the ocean. This is a better place to dive than Rabaul because at least here there is likely to be safe food to eat.
Did the usual run to the library and internet café. No luck in the latter: it was full and when I got to a terminal, I kept getting bumped off the ‘net.
AMAZING RACE: This was a game held prior to trivia. I still don’t understand what it was; probably some kind of scavenger hunt. But teams of two people were straggling into the lounge with paper panties on their heads and maybe cold cream on their face. All participants had some spa products delivered to their rooms. The Captain was there to give out prizes. The first place winners got a free meal in the “alternative dining” steakhouse on board. Two guys won it. We had a good chuckle at this especially since one was very short and one was very tall. They were fun winners.
TRIVIA: Today’s questions were hard but our group, we now call ourselves the “crocks” (guess that could be taken two ways), we tied with 3 other groups! So on the first tie breaker question, none of the groups got the right answer. (The question was: on computers, what does the abbreviation http stand for? Ed was close but no banana. The answer is hyper text transfer protocol.) So we had a second tie breaker. Each group had to send a representative up to the crew member. Then the first one to correctly guess her age would win for their group. Ed (hurrah!) correctly guessed 21, though I agree with Eric, this young lady, Lauren, seems more mature than that. She runs a tight ship for trivia, thank the Lord. So we all collected another Princess line logo novelty item.
LUNCH: I went with Ed because I wanted some soup; the minestrone did not disappoint. And the ossobucco was terrific. We had a nice assortment of Brit, Auzzies, and Yanks at the table so the conversation was wide ranging.
THE CENTRAL PACIFIC OFFENSIVE: This was another lecture by Prof. Andy Giles on the WWII events in this area of the world. He has written, directed and produced documentaries about the history of this area. His interest began because his father was a Marine here in WWII and was killed when he was 4 y/o.
BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI: This was this afternoon’s movie and we watched the end of it. Though I remembered that the bridge was blown up in the end, I had forgotten that Alec Guinness falls dead on the dynamite handle to start the blast. Still a good movie after all these years. Apparently, there’s a tour to see this site at some point. Eric actually knows a lot about it and when I have a chance, I need to get his take on it all.
SUPPER: Just Dave, Twyla and us. Twyla is still having neck problems that radiate into her neck so she was only eating soft foods. I managed not to spread too many germs (I think). Hank went to see the MD today because his cold is in his chest. The head waiters made a peach dish for dessert tonite. I was only going to eat my fruit plate and steal some of Ed’s peach delight, but Rod brought me my own serving and I can’t stand to see food go to waste (waist?).
ENTERTAINMENT tonite was the singer who imitates Nat King Cole oldies. I sure didn’t want to see that. Ed and I tried to watch the Texas debate of Hillary and Barack. CNN was frequently frozen or not being received. However, (and I know this won’t surprise any of you!), Fox news came through loud and clear.

Select "all groups" or such to see the photos I'm posting because occasionally they get posted to the wrong group!

FEBRUARY 21, 2008

THE SEA: It still amazes me that I can tell where we are vis-à-vis open ocean and nearby land by the feel of the ship. We came through the Bismarck Channel, where there is land on both sides even if it is far away, and are now in open ocean. The ship hardly moves when in a protected area; now it is undulating again.
The howling of the wind by the patio door gives me some idea of our speed; the faster we are going, the more the howling sound.
I definitely have a cold now but it’s in the in between stage: not sick enough to stay in bed; not well enough to be enthused about getting up and doing anything. Ed got up about 6:30 am and I kept hearing this tap tap tap from the bathroom (him tapping his razor on the sink). He got dressed and left about 7:30 to exercise. I took advantage of the time and got myself ready and read until it was time to go to this morning’s lecture. Ed joined me later in the audience.
JAPANESE CULTURE AND CUSTOMS: A very proper British lady is doing this series of talks about the Japanese, with whom she has lived, albeit in a family rather well-to-do (by her own admission). She had a beautiful wedding kimono on display along with samples of the various slippers one wears in a Japanese home. She had photos of Japanese in various forms of dress for specific occasions. And she had a typical gift giving card for money. She speaks very slowly and deliberately and takes one through her landing at the airport until the afternoon at her host home. Since I’ve never been to Japan, it’s almost all new to me.
TRIVIA: We had our group of 6 and called ourselves “Crocks” today. Our member with cheat sheets didn’t unearth them today. There were many brain teasers for us, but WE WON! We all felt very vindicated. Our “gift” was a passport and ticket holder with Princess Cruises on it (of course). Apparently it’s a new item. I was delighted since my current one is on it’s last legs and this one will be just perfect (even if it does have their name on it; I suppose that’s a small price to pay for a gift.
Not so with the needlepoint kit however, I put “Dr. BonBon” on it where “Princess Cruises” was supposed to go. Some other ladies were delighted in this small token of rebellion.
LIBRARY: Dropped off another Vanity Fair today that Ed finally relinquished. Read the USA Times, and more in Iberia. We will only be in Barcelona in Spain but now I wish we could visit the cities and areas he discusses.
Speaking of Michener, this afternoon they are doing a repeat of the “South Pacific” DVD and discussion I told you about last week. So the pickings are slim this afternoon.
Amber, the poor dear from India who is assigned to the library told me that the next meeting of the book club is scheduled for the 26th and how did I like the book? I confessed the whole story including the fact that the person to whom I passed the book had read two chapters and couldn’t “get into” the book and is returning it to me. Several of the people reading the book have finished it and loved it! So go figure: it ain’t for everybody. Just as a reminder: It’s title is “water for elephants” and it’s a NY Times best seller.
I’m conflicted because I promised myself I’d read the books and magazines I brought along as a treat—and I’m moving along on that. So now I have to see about attending the book club meeting even if I haven’t read the book.
Crossword puzzles. I usually pick these up in the library but there have been some really weird ones lately. So I passed two of them along to him. He looked at the question, then looked at the answer to that question, and said: “What?!” So I’m being a little more selective about what I bring to solve.
LUNCH: My rabbit food again. Sat with one of the couples from Trivia. He’s rather full of himself but it wasn’t a terrible discussion. My opinion of him might be tainted by the fact that he kept insisting that virology was the study of microbes as in microbiology and rejecting the correct answer of “viruses.” I did prevail on that answer but I wanted to (figurately of course) slap him up side the head and get him to listen to my explanation! (For those of you who might be curious: microbiology includes the study of –almost-- anything you can put under a microscope, e.g. bacteria, protozoa, and yes, viruses with the electron microscope—but then I know all of you already knew that). The other thing that I had to act as if I was neutral on the topic was his discussing bring over nurses from the Phillipines to take care of the nursing shortage. Those who know me well, know this is a short f.use for me. You’ll be proud of me: I never mentioned that topic at all.
This same font of all knowledge, said that a 46 y/o passenger who had gone on the Macchu Pichu trip had collapsed and died up there. I know there have been some unscheduled disembarkations but I hadn’t heard this specific. It’s not so surprising however. In a population of this size with the average age group well approaching 80 y/o, you’re bound to lose a few even if we were sitting in the park in Ft. Lauderdale.
INTERNET CAFÉ: I went there and ran into Ed. The place was packed. He got up from his terminal to get something from the printer and a lady took over that terminal. (he who hesitates is lost). She left after a few minutes and I sat down since Ed was still working out getting his pages from the printer. (he said he was printing an article from the NY Times off for me to read but I don’t believe that’s what was going on. At 50 cents a page for seven pages?? I don’t think so.)
Anyway, I started to log on and Ed was desperate to print off the rest of said article, so I left him on my account and came to the room. The reality is that when there are this many people trying to access the satellite, your chances of being bumped off are higher and thus more frustrating.
TODAY’S MOVIE: Dan in real life. I just saw about 3 min of the beginning; look imminently forgettable. So I turned to “Burma Bridge Busters”. It’s got a lot of WWII vintage planes and such. Definitely not a winner in my book either. Now the Bridge on the River Kwai (which I understand we will be dealing with later in the cruise)? Now that’s a horse of a different color. Alec Guiness was terrific in that movie don’t you think?
FRANK SINATRA ANYONE? At 3:15 today they have a passenger appearing in a Tribute to Frank Sinatra. Apparently he’s become a minor celebrity due to his karaoke participation. I’ll let you know about that one.
ABOUT THOSE PHOTOS: I realized last night that I forgot to upload the photos from yesterday. I’ll try to do better next time I access the internet.
DINNER: There were 6 of us and the configuration for talking was in a “U” shape which made it a little better. Ed and I were at the bottom of the “U” so I tried to pay most of my attention to the couple on my right so that everyone was involved. To a limited extent, it was better but there are some ego issues at the table and I’m trying to stay out of it all.
ENTERTAINMENT: A pair of brothers who go by the name Whyte and who play Beatles music. They’re OK but I was surprised they were the act for this evening on this ship. Marty Allen took a seat next to Ed and we talked about a variety of things. It reminded me somewhat of the time I spent with the Hollywood producer (doing private duty). I looked for Dave who has yet to run into Marty Allen on the ship and who wants a photo with him, but I couldn’t locate him. Oh well, they’re on here for a few more days.
JOHN MCCAIN: Well the dirt is being dredged up again with some new wrinkles. I’m conflicted because it does reflect on his ability to be discriminating when it comes to folks who become friends.

FEBRUARY 21, 2008 RABUAL

The sea has been so flat, the ship simply glides along. When the sun rose this morning, it was really B R I G H T ! There are seven volcanos on this little island and two are active so we were greeted with two plumes of differing sizes rising straight up into the air. There are also some rubbish fires near the beach.
The harbor lives up to its reputation for service in WWII. It is ample in size and well protected from the open sea. One story said the Japanese had as many as 100 ships in this harbor prior to WWII. There was concern for the security of Australia given the proximity, thus the Allied interest in this area.
The ship is here today from 8 am to 5 pm. There are two tours: one to the volcano(s) and the other for war sites. We will walk around the small village on shore for a while slathered in lots of sunscreen and with heads well covered. Because we are in port, the activities are slim and almost all confined to sedate or intellectual pursuits.
THANK YOU to Pat for the newsy mail to Ed. I am impressed with his Executive Administrator style and concise writing.
VOLCANO: We can see it from the ship; probably about 4 miles away. We can smell the sulphur and hear the (g)rumbling from it. This is the first time most people had ever seen a volcano that is active so their observations were fun to hear. I’m posting some photos so you can see it.
ON SHORE: Before you get to the gangway, the heat and humidity seep up to the upper levels in that stairwell. We walked down to the farmer’s market and took some photos of the local produce including betel nuts. They cook things together such as rice and a vegetable or fruit in a leaf wrapping and it’s like a lunch meal you take out.
The women wear colorful dresses and sometimes headgear. They carry colorful crocheted bags which they also sell. Among the crafts they sell are masks, gorgeous conch shells, necklaces of various complexity made out of shells and such. They only want crisp new bills (USD) or their own money. They will dicker for prices we’re told. Oh and I forgot to mention the ubiquitos (and cheaply made) T-shirts. We went into one store (these are rather primitive places here you understand) and they were selling cell phones and other electronic gadgetry. I couldn’t give you the local prices as we never tried to convert or purchase anything.
We didn’t last long in that heat and humidity. I was dripping before we got one block away. The locals cluster under trees and sing out “hall—oo” to you as you pass. They all smile and are cheerful. The ship’s info discourages paying for photos but some did anyway. I took no photos that were close ups for that reason. All ages are seen and other than security and the folks in the market, there doesn’t seem to be any work going on. In fact, it was like it was Sunday.
We stayed on the ship and watched the George Clooney movie “Michael Clayton”. It was Ed’s kind of movie. I enjoyed the coolness of the cabin, watching the volcano change, doing some needlepoint, and just the freedom of no responsibilities.
DINNER: Just Dave and Twyla and us. She isn’t feeling well. Did something to her neck which is a recent surgery for her. We talked about books, the locals, volcanos (the latter with our new head waiter from Naples where Vesuvius is destined to blow up again any time and cover everything in the vicinity), etc. I kept repeating “fruit plate” to Rod and he gave it to me with a shit eating grin. It’s funny actually. Ed had dessert which I helped with so I’m no saint. Rod showed us some of his hidden tattoos. He sailed on ships in the Tahiti area for 6 yrs.
OUTBACK HAT ANYONE? When we were in Australia, we saw some of those bush hats with wine bottle corks hung down from the brim with leather ties. They swing around as you move your head. I thought it was a joke but was told it keeps the flies away. So I picked up a cork from the table tonite. To make a long story short, Rod brought me enough for two hats! I may do something for a red hat event with them after I’ve dyed them. Speaking of red hats: my majarini has a really bad cold, poor dear. Her 85 y/o roommate is healthy as a horse. I have a sore throat but it’s mild and I’m thinking positive. This ship has sounded like a respiratory ward sometimes in the past few weeks.
UNEXPECTED MESSAGE: Someone found my “lobster dog” video on You Tube and posted a comment. I don’t know who this person is but it was fun to see it’s still “alive” up there.
BANJO PLAYER: Again tonite. He’s an Auzzie and knows British songs and the American standards. He’s a cheery fellow with that funny accent and overall great fun even though the crowd tonite was small.
We are headed for Chuuk now. Don’t ask, I don’t know. But I’m sure we’ll have a lecturer before we get there who will give us the low down on why we should care.

FEBRUARY 19, 2008

OCEAN: It is so smooth in this area that when I awoke in the night it was almost like being in port. This afternoon, it is still that way. It’s very humid and overcast. Given the time of year and the typhoons or monsoons, we may see a lot of days like this. Nonetheless, one can’t afford to ignore sunblock and bug spray.
GUADALCANAL & RABAUL: Prof. Giles reviewed the history of the war and battles in this area and then showed us photos, often a before (during WWII) and now comparison, of the places and war materiel in the area. This would be a great place to scuba dive as there are numerous ships and planes on the ocean floor in this area, both American and Japanese. He obviously is very fond of the natives at Rabaul if one goes by the photos he shows. They all speak English and many live in places created during the war. Both sides of the conflict lived in caves to avoid bombing. A full hospital was underground in many places.
He told a story of being in this area on another Princess ship and narrating from the bridge. The Captain made some comment about the volcano(s) here and lo and behold, it blew up while the ship was there. Maybe we’ll have a little excitement while we’re there. We could add a volcanic eruption to our list of exciting events we’ve seen.
We have a good size group of WWII veterans on board and when the speaker says anything sympathetic to the Japanese who were abandoned by their government, one fellow behind us would say “tough” and other similar remarks. I had mixed feelings about this: I understand where that’s coming from, but it’s time to move on.
There are two tours tomorrow, neither of which interest us so we’ll just get off and wander around on our own.
EMAIL: I am pleased to see that Dr. Lou Rubino is doing a powerpoint presentation about Ellen’s contributions to the China exchanges at the China Banquet. I’ve asked if he will post it somewhere so that others can view it as well.
LIBRARY: It’s so quiet and peaceful here. Folks here and there reading the 1 page newspapers we have here: Australian, UK, USA. Others putting jig saw puzzles together wordlessly. In another area, WiFi is being used with folks’ laptops, and still others are doing the crossword puzzle for today. Amber, a cruise staff member from India, is present for several hours to help folks,
There is a paperback exchange for folks to choose some books; not all of them are paperback; there are a nice selection of hardcover books too. As is usually the case, there are more books each day as more contributions are made.
SUNBATHERS: We have a solid core of folks who fry everyday around the pool. Their skins look like old leather and they really look weird with white or blond hair.
TRIVIA: They’ve moved this event to 15 min. earlier which is a good idea since it now ends just before lunch. Val and Eric were there along with the couple from yesterday. I now have an ethical conflict because the wife in the latter couple writes the questions on a yellow pad she carries, but in the back she has some cheat sheets. For example, there are often questions about phobias and I think I see a list of these with their definitions. They are in teeny tiny font size.
This is pathetic in my opinion beside the ethical concern I have. I don’t want to play with her. It doesn’t really help in the long run; kind’ve like students who want an open book test: by the time they find the answer in their book, they could have successfully answered a number of questions. So maybe I’ll ambush the local padre to see what if anything I should do about this.
RABBIT FOOD: I went to the buffet and got some fruit and rabbit food for lunch. There I talked with a couple who had been on the Prinsendam 2 yrs ago (we were on it last year) and the same captain is really a special person and absolutely perfect for his job.
While I was getting these nibbles, I saw Marty Allen in line; he and his wife are doing the show tonite. We saw him on the Prinsendam last year and he’s still as funny at 85 as he ever was. His wife is 20 yrs younger and talented as well (piano and singing). I’m looking forward to it.
I also ran into my now favorite Republican and his wife. They were finishing up lunch and were going to start playing Triominos. Too bad Ed doesn’t like table games. I love them.
CHICAGO: This is the movie for today so I came back to the room where Ed was laying down watching CNN. He was agreeable to watch this again. One of the best movies we never tire of seeing.
READING: I’m back to Iberia by Michener and enjoying it as much as one can enjoy a text. I’m learning so much about Spain and it will be interesting to see what is still true when we are in Barcelona and the Gibraltar area.
DINNER: Hank has a cold and they had had lunch so they didn’t come to dinner. The seating places changed and this configuration, with couples at each end of the oval, made it much more difficult to have a conversation that included the couples at both ends simultaneously. I felt conflicted in trying to include all in a conversation but without much success. The men at both ends have hearing problems (well many of the rest of us have decrements in this area too) and that complicated it even further. One tolerates this more than the other it seems.
ENTERTAINMENT: This was Marty Allen and his wife. We saw them last year on the Prinsendam. The skit was the same but with some more up to date aspects added. Still, while I recognized it, I didn’t remember all that much of it. It was a good show and folks seem delighted with it.
Tonite was Country hoedown night but JJ said only 6 people were showing up for the 10 to midnight dancing. They do rearrange the times of the show on the nights before we have a port stop and that helps everyone.