FEBRUARY 27, 2008 – IWO JIMA

I woke up, felt around and determined that I was alive, and said: “Thank you Lord for another day above ground.” Actually, I learned this from Rowena. This is all to say that things are moving along in the lungs and I have hope of normality in the foreseeable future.
I turned on the TV and there was a movie with Renee Zellweiger as Beatrix Potter which I watched. The trouble is, Ed is mesmerized by anything on the TV. So I was losing hope he’d go exercise today when, mercifully, the movie ended. So I headed out while Ed went to walk the plank, I mean the deck. I had cleaned up the spam in my email and headed for the library where I began to read the USA Times. Then I had a coughing attack, and though I had managed to make it to the staircase outside, the hacking surely disrupted the serenity of the library. Amber brought me water and one of the red hat friends took me into an adjacent room where I finally managed to move around without pulmonary spasms.
It was time for Trivia, so I called the cabin to ask Ed if he was going to make it on time (he rushed—except for me, the crocks cheered his arrival). We were able to see Iwo Jima from the windows in that room so we got double duty.
TRIVIA: It was the usual suspects again today. The questions were tough today as well. I’m amazed at what we pull from the recesses of our minds and I felt very useful when I knew what logorrhea is. Well actually it’s because I have a chronic case of it! (I leave you to look it up for fun). Nonetheless, we prevailed by 1.5 points! We were almost stunned. So we cheered ourselves on and collected our prizes: ID cases for around your neck. I announced that after the next time we won, we’d have to rechristen ourselves “the awesome crocks”.
LUNCH: Ed wanted to get a Japanese lunch from the buffet and watch the island from our balcony. I went to the dining room and Fr. Cribben and I shared a table. We discussed American politics and shared funny stories about life experiences. I told him we’d have to quit meeting like this or people would begin to talk. We both had a good laugh out of that since we talk about the rumor mills on board.
I then went up to the top deck for the afternoon ceremonies and found that two whales were between the ship and the shore. I did get to see them but I don’t think I got any photos. The weather could not have been more perfect! Absolutely clear with a stiff breeze.
IWO JIMA: This unpretentious piece of volcanic ash was the site for the loss of 25,000 men in 1945. It’s astonishing to contemplate. The total size is only 8 square miles! Today a few people stay there to maintain equipment; it was returned to Japan in 1968. Atop Mt. Suribachi is a flag post marking the spot where the famous Joe Rosenthal photo was taken.
The ship had a wonderful Iwo Jima Commeoration with the Captain and ship’s officers, Father Austin Cribbin, Professor Andy Giles, Cruise Director JJ King, 3 WWII veterans: one 95 y/o, one who survived this island, and one who was on a Navy ship nearby, plus the daughter of a veteran who died on Iwo Jima. Just as Fr. Cribben got up to recite one of the prayers, two jets screamed overhead and made a return pass back; it was a Hollywood moment. Most think there was some coordination for this to happen at exactly the right time. I haven’t a clue but it was an impressive sight and added to the solemnity of the occasion.
It’s impossible for me to convey how moving this experience was. I cried all the way through it. Each speaker was truly profound and thoughtful in their remarks (and I don’t throw those words out randomly).
The Captain, veterans, and Fr. Cribben went to the upper deck where a wreath (biodisposable) was pitched toward the beach. It all ended with the playing of the US Marines song. On the front row with us was one of our Galapagos trekkies, and he stood proud and loudly sang all the verses of this song. It was something to behold.
TEA FOR TWO IN TWO HOURS: This was a quiet, interesting talk which went far beyond a discussion of the tea ceremony alone. It was a perfect way to decompress from the emotional energy of the ceremony on the top deck. Today there was a yakata on display where the kimono had been yesterday. It was also very pretty.
BOAT BUILDING CONTEST: I told you on the Diamond Princess about how funny this event was, so I was disappointed when told it had been rescheduled indoors because the weather by now was rainy, dreary, windy and cold, not to mention the sloshing of the water in the pool. Well, I can’t imagine that this was as much fun with this change. They should have rescheduled the event for a time when we could see how “sea worthy” these home made craft were.
SHINTO: THE HEART OF JAPAN: This lecture was given by the “theologian” traveling with us. There were lush photos and lots of quotations from reputable sources. I was disappointed that I had one of my coughing spells and had to leave. I’ll have to watch it on TV tonite to fill in. Ed said it was very interesting.
AFTERNOON QUIZ: One couple has suggested that we (not just us but all of the crocks) come up for the afternoon session, so we decided to do that today. Since this time is Val and Eric’s happy hour, we were joined by two Brits (we screened applicants as we needed a Brit or an Auzzie to fill out our reference section). We did very well actually but lost by 1.5 points. One of the questions was about a 1980 (?) duet song. We didn’t have a clue about the answer (Lionel Richie and Diana Ross) so we put down Barbara Streisand and Kenny Rogers. Since I was the scribe for the group, I put a happy face beside this line (we never leave an answer empty: we’ll put something in there even if we know it’s wrong). When it was returned to us after scoring, Brian from the group “Nice People” (this title makes me suspicious right away) had put a frown by that answer. We got a good laugh out of that.
You may recall the ethical dilemma I described to you a few days ago. It continues but Ed has dealt with it each time by tell her not to do it, it’s cheating, it’s only a game, and so on. She continues to refer to these teeny tiny reference pages she carries. Today we had a phobia question again, and we had the answer very quickly—still she looks on her list, which, as it turns out, did not have this particular phobia listed. There’s an irony to all this since there isn’t one answer she’s ever been able to find that related to any of our questions from her stash. They are only on to Singapore so I suppose we just have to continue to be her conscience and notice how pathetic this behavior is.
POLITICS: I promised John Hargis I’d put something about the political scene in the blog. I think Hillary needs to rein in those teenagers she’s got running amuck in her campaign. The photo of Obama in African garb is so stupid and any fool would know that it would do more harm than good. Obama has gained polish along the way but I’d like more real substance to fill in for the generic fill ins. Poor John McCain has his hands full with his own party members.
I saw Bill Richardson interviewed earlier today (CNN seems to get better reception where we are now) and while I’d like to see him shave his beard, I still think he’s got good experience and skills for any President’s needs. Which brings up the question of who the possible VP candidates might be. Now there it gets really interesting. Ed thinks Biden would be a good Dem. VP because of his national security expertise. There are numerous possibilities to consider for VP but I don’t hear any female names, nor any minorities except for Richardson. One thing’s for sure: politics is never dull. Stupid often, but never dull.
DINNER: Twyla and Dave with us tonite. Dave got some terrific whale and wreath photos today. Somehow we discussed the ways Southerners name their kids. I recognized this as a mine field when Twyla told us the names she gave her boys.
The dessert tonite was Bananas Foster courtesy of the Head Waiter. Delicious as always. Their ice creams are made fresh each night and they are the smoothest, creamiest ever. And Dave said the Key Lime sorbet tonite actually had enough flavor to make you pucker.
PHOTO CONTEST: Twyla told us the photos were on display so we had a chance to see them. Boy there are some really interesting ones. Sunsets, sunsets over volcano tops, a close up of a hermit crab perched on a branch on the beach, A bird looking into an unusual color and shaped bird’s nest, ours of course, and many others. One very interesting one looks totally blue from a distance. But if you look close, you see that it’s an underwater photo of a sting ray which is visible at mid distance in the photo. Very unusual.
I would not want to have to judge these contests. So many of these photos are breathtaking in their beauty, composition, uniqueness, colors, you name it.
ENTERTAINMENT: This is a violinist/fiddler. I opted to stay in the room, finish this blog, and catch up on the parts of the Shinto lecture I missed.