Weekends used to be my downtime from social media.
During our current crisis, it has become media our way of communicating.
To enliven your spirits here is a silly joke.
If you have a post with something humorous, be sure to leave it in the comment area.
I’m always up for a laugh or two. I hope you are too.
LOLOL … Have a Happy Weekend 😎
There I was sitting at the bar staring at my drink when a large, trouble-making biker steps up next to me, grabs my drink and gulps it down in one swig.
“Well, what are you gonna do about it?” he says, menacingly, as I burst into tears.
“Come on, man,” the biker says, “I didn’t think you’d CRY. I can’t stand to see a man crying.”
“This is the worst day of my life,” I say.
“I’m a complete failure.
I was late for a meeting and my boss fired me.
When I went to the parking lot, I found my car had been stolen and I don’t have any insurance.
I left my wallet in the cab I took home.
I found my wife with another man … and … then my dog bit me.
“So I came to this bar to work up the courage to put an end to it all.
I buy a drink, I drop a capsule in and sit here watching the poison dissolve, and then you show up and drink the whole damn thing!”
“But hell enough about me, How are you doing?”
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When we think things can’t get any worse, there’s always something lurking.
Welcome Back … pour yourself a cup of coffee; perhaps, hot chocolate or a cup of my new favorite, chai tea. There are a few pastries for you to enjoy too.
Do sit in a comfy chair and let’s chat.
A little more music … hope you like my selection. I enjoy Spanish Guitar playing.
Part 2
Let’s fast forward to New Year’s Eve …
If you’ve been on a cruise you know that they have at least one formal night. Formal night requires men to wear a suit jacket or a tuxedo if they’d prefer. Women are required to wear some type of dress or fancy suit.
In recent years, the formal dress code has lessened due to requests from former passengers on surveys done by cruise lines. The idea of wearing formal wear wasn’t pleasing too many. We live in Florida where flip flop and shorts are your formal wear so dressing up, if you’d like to call it that, is a nice change for us.
Tuesday, December 31,2019 was one of the two formal nights on-board ship. Tuxedos, gowns and bling were on parade from everyone including children throughout the evening.
This is us before the massive crowds arrived.
Did I forget to mention children?
Yes, there were children – everywhere. We’d been on many holiday cruises before. There were never this many children. I think the European culture may have been the reason for it. They are very close to their families.
Did I mention that the ship was an Italian line?
Yes, it was. It had just arrived from Italy and docked at the Port Everglade in Fort Lauderdale for the first time.
Did I mention that 85% of the people on-board were from Italy, England, and China.
Yes, they were.
Did I mention they spoke Italian most of the time?
Yes, they did. Even when they spoke English it was indistinguishable. The accents were very thick.
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One day, we were in our room when we heard over the in-room speaker, “Man overboard.”
WHAT the F—K?
We ran into the hall to get an elevator to the top deck since nothing was visible from our balcony.
The crew members were in the hall in their life vests looking oddly at us.
“We asked what was going on as we’d heard about a man overboard.”
“Did we need life jackets?,”I said.
In very, very broken English they said, “No man, only crew.”
WHAT???
“No man, only crew learning safety.”
HUH??? WTF … !!!
It turns out it was a safety drill for the crew.
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Okay, back to New Year’s Eve …
The New Year’s Eve festivities were packed with more people than Times Square in New York City?
Yes, it was a mob scene. I’d only seen this type of crowd when on one occasion we’d decided to take the kids to see the New York City Macy’s Day parade. I’d never seen this on a ship before.
The New Years’ Eve ball from Times Square was going to be televised on three BIG screens on the top outdoor deck. There was going to be a buffet for everyone to enjoy after the ball dropped too.
After dinner, we went for a stroll on the top deck. It was around 8:00 pm. The air was warm with a soothing breeze. The sound of the waves crashing against the side of the ship was rhythmic. The salty air was a welcoming scent filling the senses. There were a few hours before the New Year would arrive. It was a nice time to reflect on the past year with all that we’d been through with our health scares. The wishes of a New Year filled with calmer days as part of our wishes to the sky of glowing stars above.
People were beginning to gather around the dance floor and big screen area. Seeing this, we decided to try to get a table. I’ve got bad knees making standing for too long uncomfortable. I thought a table would be the perfect way to enjoy watching the dancers and the ball drop. We were sitting, chatting and listening to music when a black couple asked if they could sit at our table. There were four chairs; two were empty. We didn’t mind so we gladly offered them to join us.
OH … you must be wondering why I mentioned their race?
Fear not, it will all come to be told.
I’m a bit chatty. I was always shy all of my life but when I started my handmade jewelry business it was important to interact with many, many people. I developed the skill and still seem to have it.
I enjoy meeting new people. I love learning about them as well as imparting some of my own info too.
His wife was quiet but answered me if I asked her a question. He was grumpy and grunted a lot. I’d asked his name and he just stared at me. She answered for him. Eventually, they gradually twisted their bodies in such a way that you knew they didn’t want to be involved with you. They were there for the seats.
Hubby got up to get a drink for us and asked if he could get them something?
They declined, looking annoyed that he’d asked.
Did I mention there weren’t any waiters to serve you?
Yes, there were no waiters. I’ve never been on a cruise where there wasn’t a waiter going around asking if you’d like a cocktail. It even happens at the pool. Where were they?
A few minutes later the husband (Mr. Grumpy) tells his wife,“I’m going to get a drink and I’m taking this damn suit off. He grumbled, he was tired of being in it”.
As he left, he coughed.
He was directly across from me. No covered mouth. No cough in the bend of his arm. No handkerchief to cover his mouth.
Nothing!
It sounded like a very serious congestion. He quickly blurted out that he didn’t have a cold. After he was gone, his wife said, “He has bad allergies. He’s not sick.”
OK???!!!
Did my glaring look at him say he was sick?
Maybe.
But, I didn’t think it was allergies. My hubby has allergies. I know allergies. It was congestion in his lungs. He sounded like a rumbling earthquake.
He left and came back in a t-shirt.
As more people began crowding the area, I became concerned. I’m short – 5 feet. I’ve got bad knees so I don’t walk very quickly. I was getting a bit claustrophobic. I don’t like crowds or small confined spaces. Yikes, this wasn’t going too well for me.
The dance floor couldn’t be seen anymore. Dancing was no longer possible because you couldn’t get to the dance floor plus flailing arms and a lot of twerking was all around you. We managed one slow dance before this became a horror. When we’d returned to our table, a woman was seated in my chair. When I approached, she glared at me. I’d asked Mr. Grumpy and his wife if they’d hold our seats for us while we danced. She gave me a shrug as her answer. She shrugged again when I asked if she’d told the seated woman. The woman did get up but it was useless to see a thing unless I stood.
There was a river of people standing in every crevice which was overwhelming. I began to feel that our safety was at risk. A crew member passing by loudly told people to keep the aisle clear. No one listened. A feeling of doom covered me. I wanted to run screaming. No one cared about safety.
Another black couple in their mid 30’s stood near our table amongst the other people.
Again … I’ll clear the need to mention race eventually.
The beautiful young woman looked at me and asked, “Can I leave my iPhone and purse on your table while we dance and until the ball drops?”
Naturally, I said, “Yes.”
1098 … the count down … 7 6 5 … people were yelling … 4 3 2 1 …
balloons falling, confetti, screams, and pushing.
Yes, lots of pushing with people getting angry because access to the screens was blocked by the crowds.Others were pushing to get to someone they wanted to hug and wish a Happy New Year.
We stayed among this chaos until midnight.
We told the younger couple they could take our seats since right after 2020 arrived we’d be leaving. As they approached about 15 minutes later, we got up. I introduced them to the other couple and wished them all a Happy New Year. I slowly and carefully turned towards the exit and was instantly stunned. The grumpy old man was all smiling with chatty laughter and super talkative to this young couple even before they finished sitting down.
I looked at my hubby and said, “It’s time to go.”
The saga with COVID 19 and Me will continue … come on back for the next chapter …
Welcome … pour yourself a cup of coffee; perhaps, hot chocolate or a cup of my new favorite, chai tea. There are a few pastries for you to enjoy too.
Do sit in a comfy chair and let’s chat.
A little music might be nice … hope you like my selection.
My last blog post was on December 22, 2019.
Yes, it does seem like a long time. I’ve missed writing and reading all of your posts. It was due to health issues which I’ll unveil in this post. It may require a few days ofposting.
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Everyone is in the midst of this horrific virus COVID 19. I don’t want to talk about preventions or the illness as I’m not an expert. I’ll be discussing my personal experience with this virus.
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The holidays were in full swing, as was I, when I posted ‘A Christmas Wish for You’. Christmas is the time of year to catch up with family and friends we haven’t seen. Hubby and I were getting ready for a New Year’s Eve cruise too. It would be our 20th cruise. Quite fitting, that we’d be celebrating the ‘New Year’ of 2020 on our 20th cruise.
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We’ve travel on various cruise lines. Our travel agent is aware that we enjoy cruising as our main form of travel. From time to time, she texts or e mails cruises she believes we might enjoy. They’re a bit difficult to resist when I see them in my in-box.
A special deal arrived in one of those e mails for an 8 day cruise beginning the 28th of December on the Costa Luminosa. It would be our 1st time on this cruise line. The agent hadn’t traveled on this line either. She couldn’t give me too many details or logistics but we felt confident that it would be a good choice and it could be a bit of an adventure to try this new ship line. Since hubby’s favorite food is Italian food, I felt he’d savor the food. We booked.
We boarded at 3:00 p.m. on the 28 of December at Port Everglades from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ship would be leaving port at 11:00 p.m. It was a bit later then other cruise lines we’d traveled with but each one sets their own departure time.
It’s always exciting when you first board a ship. The bright lights, the different decor from one cruise ship line to another, the colors, the crew and the prospect of what your room will be like.We’d booked a suite for the first time. After all, it was our 20th cruise and our Christmas gifts to each other; so, we thought we’d go big.
Because the rooms weren’t ready yet the crew directed everyone to enjoy browsing the ship for locations of the pool, spa, theater, dining room, night spots, etc. and encourage everyone to have a bite to eat at the buffet.
Eventually, we made our way to our room when we heard a couple say, “The rooms were ready.”
We were very disappointed with the room. It was the same size as a balcony. There was supposed to be a small table for in the room for dining in the room. Nope, there wasn’t one. We thought we’d check with the front desk the following day. We knew we wouldn’t be able to change our room due to a fully booked ship but we were curious as to whether or not it was a suite.
~~~~~~~~~~
Since we were docking at the Dominican Republic the next day, an island we enjoy visiting since the people are very friendly plus we’d missed a few places on prior visits, and since we’d been on-the-go from 6:00 a.m., we decided to go back to the room and skip our normal after dinner theater show the first night.
The following day, we took a historic tour of the DR. We had a nice covered buggy bike ride with our happy bicyclist named Mario. The turquoise blue Caribbean water with the sun glowing on it was magical.
I’ve added a only few photos in this slide show
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One of the gallery shop we toured had wonderful handmade items from local artists. I couldn’t resist the colorful tote below.
After a long day, we were back on-board with enough time for a shower, cocktails before dinner, our dinner and a show. It was a full day of activity.
Our days continued like this everyday except for two islands we decided to skip because we’d visited them before. We were beginning to feel a bit tired too. We assumed we’d been doing too much. Our bodies were in need of rest, so the pool, leisure lunches, spa treatments, rest on our balcony with a good book and naps replaced those touring days.
The saga with COVID 19 and Me will continue … come on back for the next chapter …
Today, I’m trying to get myself back into writing on my blog.
It’s been a difficult start in 2020. I wish I could reboot the year.
I plan on being more consistent. I don’t know what direction I will journey.
I do know I will showcase more writing and fewer challenges.
Everyone, please stay safe during this COVID 19 time.
We’re all fighting the battle together.
This is a post from 2014 to get me back on track.
Ironically, it’s befitting for our lives now.
I gift myself with the power to LOVE myself.
My LOVE will provide for me a life without restrictions or judgments.
LOVE, you show me the path I must travel.
You are my direct route to my destiny.
Today, everyone will be touched by my HEART.
I want the LOVE in me to be the light that brings LOVE to you. 🙏🏻Namaste🙏🏻
Isadora
Christmas fills our minds with memories we hold dear. I’ve shared this story before.
It’s a tale of the innocence of childhood. I hope you enjoy it again … it’s a repost.
If you’re reading it for the first time, I hope it brings memories of your past Chrismas’.Dear Santa,
I forgot to mention I want a bicycle.
Thank You, Doris
(my family called me this name when I was growing up)
On Christmas morning, those were the words that rattled inside my mind when I saw this very shiny bicycle near our Christmas tree when I was 9 years old.
I know what most of you are thinking, ‘Why did she believe in Santa Claus at age 9?’ Isn’t that a little old to believe in things that don’t exist?
But, I always believed everything my parents said to me even if classmates said there wasn’t a Santa Claus. Parents wouldn’t fib to their children. Besides, we were taught every day in Catholic school that lying was a sin. I didn’t want to believe my parents would commit a sin on purpose. My little sister was 5, then, and she believed in Santa. Should I have spoiled it for her? No. And so, I believed.
On this particular Christmas morning, I questioned whether or not I’d asked for the right gifts. Even though, I had 2 gifts this year there had always been just one. I must have been really good.
I was thrilled when I opened my first gift and it was the special Shirley Temple doll I had asked for. She had the prettiest smile and blonde curls. She was wearing a plaid skirt with a crisp white blouse and a beret atop those ringlets of curls.
The second gift was the exact beret Shirley Temple wore when I’d seen her at the Macy’s store on 5th Avenue. My family had gone into the city to see Santa and all of the wonderful New York decorations. As I think back to that day, my grandmother had taken us to have lunch while my mother did some errands. Doing Santa’s work, I’m sure. Well, he did fulfill my wishes.
But there in the middle of the living room, next to a brightly lit tree, was this blue and white shiny bicycle. It had a giant white bow and my older sisters’ name on it. It was so pretty. It was remarkably high too. I could barely reach the handlebars. It was gleaming and satiny bright. Whenmy sister saw it she squealed and jumped all around the living room. She had a huge smile on her face while slight giggles emitted as she spoke. We all gathered around it as we oohed and aahed.
Excited and ready to get her new bicycle outside, my sister ran into her room to get dressed. I waited in the living room with my Shirley Temple doll. I knew she wasn’t going to be able to ride.When she grabbed her bicycle and was ready to go my mother told her she couldn’t go outside.
Stunned she asked, why?
She was told the bad news. It had snowed 5” during the night. The sidewalks were covered in snow.
Well, she wasn’t having any of it. She trotted down the flight of stairs with her new bicycle and went outside. She rode on the snow. Of course, she fell a lot too. It didn’t matter to her. She wasn’t going to be stopped. All of us watched from the window and laughed.
Weeks later the weather improved. Eventually, she gave me a ride on her new bicycle. I didn’t know how to ride a 2 wheel bike. She had to hold onto me and the bike as I attempted to reach the pedals. It was futile. I was too short. Since she’d asked for a boys bike with the bar that ran across from the handlebars to the seat, my riding days quickly ended.We did have great fun rides with me sitting on the back fender while holding onto the seat.
Four years later, when she left home at 18, I was given the bicycle. I’d learned to ride a 2 wheel bike by then but I was never as interested in bike riding as she was.
I guess I did get the right gifts from Santa that Christmas, after all.
I enjoy posting these Sunday Songs for you to enjoy. I discover new artists as I research what song I’ll be adding next. If you have a favorite song or artist you love, please leave the url in the comments and I’ll be sure to pop over and have a listen. Thanks … Isadora
Last week, I wrote about Bobeshi Rivqah. If you’d like to catch-up click here. This story does stand alone. Ironically, the locked cages in the photograph had the same feel as the ones shown at the Florida Holocaust Museum in Tampa, Florida.
Mama, can I go outside?”
“Go! But, don’t go far.”
From my stoop, I watched Mrs.O’Doherty and Bobeshi Rivqah talking.
“Rivqah, you’re telling me they used the same numbers?”
“Yes, can you believe that?”
Mrs.O’Doherty shook her head from side to side.
“They reused prisoner numbers from the dead; especially, is if they were moved to another camp,” Rivqah said. “Dehumanizing!”
Slowly, I made my way towards them.
They were taking about something I’d wondered about.
“Why do you have numbers on your arm, Bobeshi?”
She hugged me and said, “One day, you’ll know kleyn meydl, one day.”
