The News

[Bmichael]

OK…so some folks went on a cruise…there was a fire…and some essential services were disrupted,  creating  less than desirable circumstances for some 4200 people. I’m being kind here.

From all accounts that I’ve seen, the cruise ship company did the best they could, groveled appropriately and provided  an excellent response   in the form of refunds, cash,  hotels, free flights, free future cruises, etc.

There are also stories of admirable performance by the crew – and let’s not forget that they were living in the same conditions as the passengers.

Our crack news media focused heavily on this event – to their usual fault – and so much of their emphasis was on the presence of fecal material due to system failures – that I was reminded of one of the times that Michael Jackson was arrested and confronted feces in a jail rest room.

Never mind, Michael, that you were being charged with horrendous crimes against children – let’s smokescreen and make this all about poop. (Felonious poop, I might add.)

But I digress.

As the incident finally (!) came to a close – and after the pictures of disembarked passengers kneeling and kissing the ground were published, more accounts surfaced by other passengers who agreed that while the whole experience was unfortunate and challenging - they contradicted the extreme stories of earlier reports.

In other words, it maybe wasn’t all THAT bad.

Except maybe to a few dozen “Michael Jacksons” on board.

Forced to eat onion sandwiches? Really?

Other stories reported that  helicopters were routinely airlifting food and supplies to the stricken vessel.

I also read there was free beer on board.

 True Fact: Did you know beer is classified as food and taxed accordingly?

I would have survived just fine on…er…beer sandwiches. (With or without the bread)

There were also accounts of folks having to relieve themselves in plastic bags.

 Any port in a storm, but I am a bit puzzled as to why the ship’s engineering staff didn’t (or couldn’t) fabricate some form of “Porta Potties” that hung over the side of the ship. That’s what the sea is for, isn’t it? (Not kidding here – we’ve been treating it as a giant toilet for centuries – but that’s why God made shrimp, I guess.)

Fortunately, I wasn’t on that cruise, but if I was, I think I would have taken a more “It is what it is approach” instead of whining and complaining to feed the news media.

…and  would have tossed  at least one cruise line employee overboard every hour until we made land.

Cheers!

Your Pal,

Bmichael

[Westerly_2]

I never got to go there. My grandma, who was born in Boston, kept promising me a trip from CT and a  ride in the Swan boats. But we never got there. She couldn't drive, and it would be a long trip in the bus for an old lady.

(Never knew about those ducklings who made it into lasting literature).