Well, here it is--December 1, beginning the final month of the year, 2008. This is usually the fun month what with Chanukah and Christmas to look forward to and Santa and lots of presents. Also it's the cruise month--especially for retirees. Rhoda and I are going on a 10 Day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean from December 17 to the 27th on the Holland American Line. Our ship will be the Noordam and we'll stop at St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Soufiere, Barbados, Martinique, and St. Thomas. I don't believe there is anything more relaxing than a cruise. You usually get a very interesting hotel-like room with a couch and a desk and a porthole where you can gaze at the ocean as you go by. In the room, you might read a book or magazine, do a crossword puzzle, write something if you choose or just nap on the bed while watching whatever TV offers on the sea. Then, of course, you can gamble if you wish at the slot machines or tables in the casino. You can sit on a lounge chair at the pool if that's your interest or have a drink in one of the night clubs. When lunch or dinner time comes around, there are the restaurants where you get top notch service and all the food you care to eat. After dinner you stroll down to the theater, find a comfortable seat and watch a show. With the show over, there are usually three or four clubs on the ship where you can loll around, do karaoke, and have a cool drink before you return to your cabin for a good night's sleep. Nothing to worry about on a cruise. All your troubles drop away from you like rain off a chicken. This will be my first cruise with a scooter. I will not have to walk the long distances from one end of the ship to the other. Using a scooter will be a new and weird experience for me--the marathon man. I am still not used to being so immobile as I find myself, and as I get around now with the use of a cane, I have to control the anger I have stirring around in my brain. But I suppose this condition is part of the territory of age.
It could be worse.
It's fortunate at this time that I can occupy myself observing with great interest how a new and exciting President elect goes about selecting those who will help him with some very difficult issues as he takes office. Senator Barack Obama is not letting any grass grow under his feet as he goes about picking his cabinet--those people who will help him to achieve the aims he has when he sits in the Oval Office. His most interesting appointment thus far is his choice for Secretary of State, a position that puts that person closer to the President than any of the others. Obama has chosen a former "enemy" of his, Hillary Clinton, both of whom threw plenty of barbs at each other during their campaigns to secure their nominations. I wonder, now, how they will get along and relate to each other at a very important hour in our country. Obama cannot afford to go too far to the left. Perhaps his most important duty is to make sure that when the two girls have sleepovers with their friends, that the girls get thoroughly checked for weapons. Firecrackers might be O.K., but pillow fights must be short and featherless. The first lady, Michelle Obama should be given a credit card so she can shop for clothing at least as expensive as the windfall given to Sarah Palin. The fact of the presidency I cannot fathom is his puny salary of $400,000 when athletic kids out of high school are given million dollar contracts just to play ball. The world is out of balance and fools have made it so.
No comments:
Post a Comment