It has been a long, tough, winter. We have had economic collapse, long cold days, rampant unemployment, and the threat of depression. Maybe just a little bit of a challenge to live in these days. However, now comes the summer. We have warmer weather, the economy is moderating, and perhaps, just perhaps, we will all live to see another day. It has been a long, tough, winter, but I am hoping for a better more optimistic summer.
I suppose it is a right to be rude if you want to be, but is it polite, I don’t think so. My recent cruise on the Crown Princess was very enjoyable except for the fact that we ran into a number of people who were downright rude. If whatever was going on was not according to their desires, they spoke up and they were rude. Once, my wife wanted to put her arm around me and she was told that she couldn’t do that by another lady. In several instances these people were obviously from New York, but I don’t think it was limited to that area of the country as the location of rudeness. I have been to New York and New York City and I found most of the people very delightful.
No, it was a select minority that were rude in their behavior and their remarks, and I felt sorry for them because their lives must be pretty bitter to make them want to behave this way. I am going to re-double my efforts to be polite with people.
In 1492 Sailing the Ocean Blue
Having been on the ocean in the area that Columbus is said to have landed on and discovered in 1492, my mind was brought back to sailing in those days, versus sailing in these days. The ocean is so vast, the skyline marked by nothing but water, that one wonders how it was they sailed and found places in those days.
It is a real testimony to the spirit of those men that they could sail the ocean, using a sextant and their judgment, wind power, and wooden ships, and still get to where they needed to go. It is a miracle they found the new world.
Today we have computers aided by GPS navigation satellites that can tell a ship Captain exactly where the ship is within 5 feet. The same computer drives the ship propulsion and navigation systems to they can get to where they need to be right on time. We have miracles today too, but it is the mechanical kind rather than those that came from men with only bravery and a crude way of navigation.