Random observations for those planning a Caribbean cruise

There is no order to these observations; I wrote them down as they occurred.  Also, they were written as reminders for me since I know that I will be cruising the Caribbean again one day.  I keep a journal when I cruise (or travel anywhere), and throughout my journals I make random observations as well that are specifically designed to alert me the next time I read the notes.

1) Take plenty of sunscreen.  Every place you go is hot, the sun is intense, and most places are humid as well.  If you are wearing sandals make sure you protect your feet from the sun as well as the back of your neck.  I remember being on the deck of a car/passenger ship between the northern and southern islands in New Zealand.  Although we were warned of the dangers of the sun, the cool breeze and clouds seemed to ameliorate its effects — temporarily.  Not true!  We (meaning my family members and myself) received severe, very uncomfortable burns.

2) Most ports — meaning countries — are desperate for tourist dollars and, thus, watch out for tourist safety and happiness.  You find little trouble in most ports, but travelers must always be careful.  This means you carry your wallet in your front pocket where you can keep your hand on it, carry your driver’s license with its picture and leave your passport in the safe in your room, and refrain from going into places that look unsafe.  Use your head.  (Everywhere pickpockets have been active, we have been warned to be extra careful.)

3) If you carry drinking water and snacks in a fanny pack or back pack, you don’t have to be dependent on local places for drinks or food.  We carry our own empty plastic 10-12 ounce plastic bottles that we fill with ship water before going ashore.  When rooms have their own refrigerators, you can even carry cold water by wrapping it in a towel.  Also, there are places like McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC in most ports that can be trusted for their food, water, and “clean” restrooms.  (“Clean” is a relative term.)

4) If you purchase items from local vendors, bargaining is expected and, inevitably, you can reduce the cost of various items.  Another theory is that the local people in these countries are much poorer than we are and need the tourist dollar far more than we would.  For that reason (and to avoid having to bargain), you can pay the asking price (knowing that it is a bit high).  The important thing is that you are happy with your purchase.  (It seems, after our fourth Caribbean cruise, that all shops will bargain.)

5) Pack light.  On sea days, for men, bermudas, sandals, and a tee shirt is all that is needed.  The “smart” casual style requested by cruise lines for evening dining, means slacks and a knit shirt with a collar.  You’ll need comfortable shoes for walking, plus “dress” shoes for the restaurant and for the evening.

6) You really don’t need a great deal of background study and preparation for understanding most islands/countries.  The cruise line offers brochures on each port that includes general information (e.g., capitol, location, size, population, language, currency, time zone, and tourist information).  The brochure offers a map of the location of the island as well as a history, information on how to get to town, store hours, bank and post office hours, and emergency numbers.  The brochures we receive include a close-up map of the main town/city of each island as well as recommended stores and restaurants — more information than most people need, want, or even will read.

Now, it must be said here that by not taking any excursion away from the port area, you get a very skewed impression of an island/country.  A port city doth not a country make!  On most cruises we schedule an excursion of each of the new places we visit (e.g., on our Mediterranean cruise we took an excursion at every port of call except for the small Greek island of Mykonos.  That meant nine excursions (two on our two-day stay in Rome) for ten ports — with none in Barcelona nor in Venice, our beginning and ending points.

7) Some useful items to take with you that we have discovered during our travels include books, writing materials, magazines, a hat, back pack, fanny pack, plenty of single dollar bills (you can get more onboard ship), some U.S. change, walking shoes, band aids (for blisters or for protecting blisters), flip flops (especially if you plan to swim), and plastic bags for protecting lotions from spilling, for taking food from the cafeteria for room snacks or excursions (e.g., we took muffins, cookies, and fresh fruit for our walks into town), and for keeping food from the souvenirs we put in the back pack as we travel.

8) Do not bring a knife, letter opener, or any sharp metal object (e.g., a nail file).  Sitting near a woman in the Princess Theater, we overheard her say she bought a rather fancy letter opener for a friend, and they confiscated it at the runway and told her she could retrieve it in Fort Lauderdale (at the end of our cruise).  I showed her the pocket knife I had been taking through security (you and everything you carry with you are scanned every time you board the ship).  I have a steel-cased glasses case which goes through the scanner on top of my backpack.  The small knife conveniently fits into the case along with my dark glasses.

As a short aside, you may wonder why I even need a small pocket knife?  I must cut apples or corn-on-the-cob before eating them because I cannot bite into them with my expensive, front-teeth implants.  I have found having the small pocket knife has been an invaluable tool.

9) Plan to use the room safe for any valuables.  While on board, we keep our wallets and money there.  It is where we store our passports at all times.  It is easy to use; you need a four-number sequence to open or close it; we use our house number because it is easy to remember.

10) If your goal is not to gain weight on a cruise, one way to avoid some of the calories is to avoid all bread and potatoes (and most desserts!).  Your ship cook will make it very tempting!  By avoiding bread and potatoes, you can concentrate on the main foods.  It is also easy to avoid all deep-fried foods and pasta.  If you are thinking as you read this that it is precisely these items that make up the cruise-food you expect for the cost of your cruise, then you will check onto your ship as a cruiser, but you will surely leave it as cargo!

There are, of course, many potential “random observations,” and just as each set of my own might be different if written at different times, each person will have a different set as well.  For example, take naps, avoid ship charge-card expenses (they add up fast — especially drinks), and book your own excursions off the ship, might be some additional “observations.” These are just some thoughts to help make your Caribbean cruise more enjoyable and more successful.  You just have to be prepared for pleasure!

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At Cruise Travel Vacations, just before you get to the direct sales-pitch information, the site includes some useful suggestions especially designed for first-time cruisers.

At Cruise Critic, there are links to many useful websites.  For example, there are quick links to:  Cruise Deals, Cruise Ship Reviews, Community, Cruising Regions, Cruise Styles, and US Homeports.

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Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

“If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all”

A number of people who have cruised the Caribbean have said it: “If you’ve seen one Caribbean island, you’ve seen them all.” First, this statement is untrue. Each island has its own distinct culture, geography, and sights to see. But, if you are not interested in such distinctions, or, if your desire is simply to enjoy the cruise experience without leaving the ship, then such a comment is easy to throw off, for it is obvious you are not concerned about the veracity of the statement.

Having visited more than ten islands, there is no doubt this comment could apply to some of them — if you don’t explore beyond the port cities. For example, I might group the port cities of St. Vincent, Granada, St. Kitts, and LaRomana in that category for these port cities, unlike Aruba, Curacao, San Juan, Barbados, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and the Bahamas, are really under-developed when it comes to handling tourists in their port cities — and that is the criteria I am using to render this judgment. (I think most people who live in the Caribbean would find such a comment (“If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.”) offensive — like grouping all people of the same race or all people from the same country.

Now I have to admit there is a difference when you visit a port where you have previously been. In Grenada, for example, we walked from the ship through the Sendal tunnel — a tight squeeze, one way (for cars), pedestrian walkway — and followed Carenage Street around Carenage Harbour. This is a very scenic, but very local area of St. George’s.

Back through Sendal Tunnel (the local van drivers seem to enjoy scaring the hell out of tourists using the tunnel), we walked along Bruce Street/Melville Street (it changes names), to Branby Street, and then down just a block to Market Square where there is a large local market that sells food, spices, and a variety of local merchandise. We visited it last time we were in Granada. This time we stopped at Maggie’s Spice Shop and picked up 5 nutmeg seeds (for $1.00) and took a picture of Maggie.

There wasn’t a single person from the ship in this large market. Also, Maggie said she must get her nutmeg from other places because the nutmeg trees on Granada were destroyed by hurricane Ivan in 2004 (over 90% of the nutmeg crop was destroyed), and it takes from 7 to 15 years for nutmeg trees to mature. (Just an aside: one of the seeds had worms in it, and the sealed plastic bag in which we kept it was full of worms when we wanted string it to put on our Christmas tree the following winter.)

In walking from the market back to the terminal, my wife and I stopped in a shop looking for a Granada tee-shirt. Two local teenage boys saw me go into the shop, recognized me as a potential target, followed me into the shop with the intention of getting my wallet out of my back pocket. Although I didn’t notice it, my wife did, and she stepped between them and me, and seeing that their intention was foiled, they immediately left the shop.

I’ve said it before, but if your only impression of the island of Granada (and this goes for all other Caribbean islands/countries) is gained just from walking around the port city, you have a very partial, incomplete picture of the island/country. Our excursion the last time we visited Granada took us through a destroyed nutmeg plantation, a lush, beautiful arboretum, and the hilly, attractive interior of this volcanic island.

I watched as our ship left the port of Granada from the 18th deck of the Grand Princess, and as I watched it grow smaller, you could see the clear demarcation of a volcano. Clouds hung over the center part of the island as we left, and not only was it raining in the interior of the island, but there were several beautiful rainbows as well, adding to the luster and grandeur of the topography.

Granada is a beautiful island — the smallest independent country (just 21 miles long by 12 miles wide or only 133 square miles) in the world. It is part of a three-island nation that also includes Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Grenada lies 75 miles southwest of St. Vincent and 90 miles north of Trinidad. We visited Granada on this trip because of civil unrest in Trinidad.

Barbados, the island we visited immediately following Granada, is another island we visited on a previous trip. It is the eastern-most island of the West Indies lying 270 miles from the Venezuelan coast and about 100 miles east of St. Vincent. It is a 14 by 21 mile haven covering 166 square miles. While Grenada has only 93,000 people of African (75%), East Indian, and European descent., Barbados has 279,000, is one of the world’s most densely populated nations, has one of the highest standards of living and literacy rates in the world, and has a distribution of ethnic groups typical of the Eastern Caribbean; 90 percent of the population is black, 5 percent mulatto, and 5 percent white.

Looking at Barbados and Granada from 18 decks above the sea, Granada looked quaint, natural, and lovely. Barbados, on the other hand, looked flat, or, it might be more accurate to say, it is composed of low, undulating hills (four or five) that are fairly heavily treed. It doesn’t look nearly as flat or arid as Aruba or Curacao, however.

But, once again, this is an island where the impression you get from walking the city of Bridgetown (an austere, European, rather pricey, high-class (very British), expensive stores), is not an accurate picture of the island as a whole. Our excursion, the last time we were here, gave us an overview of the island, and the tour painted a much different (and more varied) portrait.

Our excursion on February 20, 2005, began at 8:25 a.m. There were 21 of us on an air conditioned bus, and we headed to the east coast through rolling hills and farmland. We saw a Giant Baobab Tree and stopped at Park’s Farm to see the Barbados Black Belly Shop. Next, we went to the Andromeda Garden. This 6-acre garden had orchids, palms, ferns, heliconia, hibiscus, bougainvillea, begonias, and the Toci Pot palm tree. We spent one hour in the garden with our guide, then went to the Bathsheba Rock formations, a place popular for surfing. We saw the last working windmill in the Western Hemisphere at Morgan Lewis, then the bus took us back to Bridgetown, the island’s capital, and to the docks where the ship was located. My point in detailing this excursion is to prove my point: you must venture out beyond the port cities if you want a complete feeling about what these islands are like.

Even though it is unfair to say, “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” it might apply to the less-developed islands/countries and, too, if you do not venture beyond the port city. It is more accurate to say that each port is totally unique in its own way, but the more tourist-friendly they become, the more homogenous they appear. If your goal is to gain a sense of the local culture, ethnic diversity, and local merchandise and food, then it is clear where you need to go.

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This is a cool web site. It results from an essay contest in cooperation with the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Want to read what these essayists find unique on a variety of Caribbean islands? If you think “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” then read this information.

At Cruise Critic: Cruise Reviews and News, there is at this site, specific information about Aruba, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Barth’s, St. Kitt’s, Granada, Antigua, and Dominica. By just reading the descriptions here, you will quickly come to the conclusion that the cliche, “if you’ve seen one Caribbean island, you’ve seen them all,” is way off base, unfair, and ignorant.

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Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

The St. Vincent Incident

We did not engage an “official” Princess-supported excursion on the island of St. Vincent because my wife has a cousin, Ben, who lives outside Toronto, Canada, and winters on the island for four months every year. He and his wife, Sheila, agreed to be our hosts and guides during our seven-hour stay. We met them as they drove through the dock gates in their little, red Toyota Ben bought on the Internet. They loaded us into the back seat, and we were off.

After a brief tour of Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent, we headed toward the leeward side and to their home. Their home will be located (in 2011) on the other side of a massive new airport runway being built to accommodate the biggest jet liners. The many small mountains in the area are being leveled, homes in the way are being destroyed, roads are being diverted, and the geography and ecology of the area is being radically altered. Their home will sit near the end of the runway where jets are decelerating for their forthcoming landing.

After lunch at their home and additional sightseeing on the northern end of St. Vincent, we drove beyond the airport project to a small road that leads up to the volcano. St. Vincent is a volcanic island, and the still active volcano dominates the northern third of the island. It last erupted in 1973, and the destruction it caused is still evident in the small villages you pass along the main road on the northern end.

Ben and Sheila turned left onto the small road, looked into the back seat, and asked us if we wanted to go up. Without hesitation, we took their obvious lead and said, “Sure.”

The single-lane road was heavily rutted, full of pot holes, and rough. It went up through an active banana plantation where large bunches of bananas were wrapped in tubular poly vinylchloride (PVC), blue plastic to enhance fruit development, resist bad weather and sunburn, and avoid blemishes. Workers were evident on both sides of the car as we progressed up to a small parking lot where the trail to the volcano began.

Ben was surprised there were no vans carrying excursioners from our ship. The government was building a small picnic pavillion and restrooms, but they were far from finished and there were no workers present. A single, old picnic table sat where the trail into the lush growth began, and a native St. Vincensian was sitting there, his pack on the table’s seat and a large, well-worn machete showing from within it. We all engaged in informal chit-chat with him, and he not only suggested a place where we could take a better picture of the volcano, but he introduced me to the small pear-like fruit from the tree under which the table was located.

While we were talking, an old white car came up to the parking lot, turned around quickly and headed back down the mountain. We thought nothing about it nor about the fellow at the table walking down the road from the parking lot.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the fellow with whom we had been talking and a second native fellow (this time with no front teeth) came walking up the road to the parking lot. The new fellow carried a very heavy backpack on his head. Clearly the two native fellows knew one another, and we chatted with both of them as the fellow threw his backpack down onto the picnic table and unzipped it. Inside were large brick-like, rectangular blocks wrapped in heavy dark green plastic. My wife thought the fellows were especially concerned about keeping their clothes dry for in our talks with the two of them, they said they planned to hike the trail up and over the ridge to the other side.

Because we were in a hurry to get back to the ship by 4:30, we all got back into Ben’s car and headed down the mountain road only to find the white car that had come up and into the parking lot, had crashed off the left side of the road, blocking the road completely. Just beyond the car was a small police van, and five police officers were already out surveying the car. The female police officer had just found a cell phone and was waving it in the air.

Just as we could not proceed down the mountain, the police could not come up. Ben explained to the police that we needed to get by the car so we could get back to the cruise ship.

There was an additional dilemma as the officers tried to move the car. The steering column was locked, so when the police officers tried moving it, they could not get it out of the road. It was clear Ben and I needed to help. I ordered the police to get stones to put under the back tires, then it was decided we needed to lift the back of the car out farther onto the road. On the count of three by one of the police officers, all seven of us lifted the back of the car and moved it five inches. We did this about five times which improved the turning radius so the car could be pushed off the road. Expanding the turning radius worked, the car was pushed aside, the officers drove their van alongside the damaged car, and the road was clear for us to pass.

It turns out the police officers were part of the D.E.A. (Drug Enforcement Agency), and they told us they had been following this fellow. The fellow with the backpack was carrying bricks of marijuana worth, according to Ben, somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 (street value), and knowing the police were blocked from coming up, they chatted leisurely with us.

We proceeded down the narrow access road to the highway to get back to the ship. People in St. Vincent drive poorly. The main road is a narrow highway with many hills and turns, and most of the road is marked by a solid white line, although cars pass randomly solid line or not. One black car passed us, and when we turned the corner ahead, he had just crashed into an oncoming car and, thus, blocked the main road. With no police there yet, and the accident still fresh, we crept around the crashed vehicle on the far left and soon after that encountered a car with an “L” on the back. Ben said the “L” meant “learner,” and, by law, could not go faster than 20 miles per hour. We were finally able to get around this car only to find ourselves behind a small bus full of older people. Determining that it was an excursion from the ship, we felt a bit relieved, even though the time for getting back to the ship was tight. We arrived at the dock at 4:25, just in time to wave goodbye to Ben and Sheila, show our identification, make it through the gates, and hurry up the gangway onto the ship.

In the end, we had to compliment our hosts for having “arranged” such an exciting incident. We were told, in retrospect, that the cultivation of marijuana in St. Vincent is a common phenomena, and its exportation helps support a very poor nation and needy farmers.

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At id 21 insights, an essay by Axel Klein entitled, “Growing cannabis in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” explains the situation in St. Vincent far better than I could.

At the web site, Crime and Society, the essay there by Dr. Robert Winslow of San Diego State University, on St. Vincent and the Grenadines states, “St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the largest producer of marijuana in the Eastern Caribbean and the source for much of the marijuana used in the region. Extensive tracts are under intensive marijuana cultivation in the inaccessible northern half of St. Vincent. The illegal drug trade has infiltrated the economy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and made some segments of the population dependent on marijuana production, trafficking and money laundering.”
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Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

Curacao

I had never heard of it, I did not know where it was located, and I knew of no one who had ever been there before. For me, it was just another stop on the ship’s itinerary. That may reveal the very narrow world I live in, or it may reveal the fact that after oil was discovered off the Venezuelan coast in 1920, a new era opened for Curacao. Curacao’s Royal Dutch Shell Refinery, built to distill crude oil imported from Venezuela, became the island’s biggest business and employer. This is when immigrants from other Caribbean nations, South America, and Asia headed to Curacao, and the refinery was considered important enough during World War II, that the Allies established an American military base at Waterfort Arches, near Willemstad. Tourism was not on the island’s radar screen nor was it a significant part of the island’s economy.

One Internet site described Curacao’s history in this manner: “Long lasting colonial dominance, looting, pillaging, plundering, busy slave trade, slave riots, prosperous times, Dutch trade spirit, feuds and invasions all characterize Curacao’s lively history.” Notice that no mention is made of tourism; “prosperous times” relates to the long economic boom that resulted from the establishment of the Shell oil refinery. The 1970’s oil crisis, however, ended the long economic boom and a reduction in international investment in the following decade led to a further economic decline. Shell closed the refinery in 1985.

In the history lecture onboard the Grand Princess, Thomas Judson, a southern California “educator” (his label), told us that Curacao is a prosperous island that, because of the refinery, didn’t need tourism, and this created a mindset that is completely wrong — “wrong” in the minds of tourists today who visit the island.

The island may not have needed tourism, however, once you traverse the Queen Emma Bridge from the “mega Pier” in downtown Willemstad, and enter into Punda, you realize what a cosmopolitan, diverse, and exciting venue this is for tourists.

Punda, on the east side of the St. Anna Bay (Annabaaï) is full of bright, pastel-colored, former merchant houses along the channel front. They adorn many of the postcards available in the souvenir shops, and they are one of the photographs on many of the Internet venues designed to attract tourists to Curacao. Today, those houses are occupied, at least on the ground-floor level, by boutiques, shops, and art galleries.

Punda’s main commercial streets of Handelskade, Breedestat, and Heerenstaat, are lined with beautiful, freshly painted, stores with their typical curved baroque gables and arched galleries. It is picturesque, clean, attractive, and tourist-friendly.

We walked most of Punda, visiting the floating market, central market, Willhelmina Park, the Governor’s Palace, Fort Amsterdam, and a McDonald’s before heading to Otrobanda on the other side of the St. Anna Bay.

We went to the local McDonald’s (following a sign to its location) to use their restroom. We were planning to buy a coke as well, but the lines were too long. There were no tourists at all in the place, and it was clear, because it was slightly off the beaten track, that it was a popular local hangout. From McDonald’s we headed back to the bridge.

I found it fascinating to watch as the Queen Emma Bridge, which lies across St. Anna Bay, swing open to allow ships into Willemstad harbor. It was built in 1888, and rebuilt in 1939 and 2005-2006. The footbridge is a low, wide, paved walkway that floats on 15 pontoons. To open, the entire bridge is swung open by an engine on the very end of the bridge that simply floats it and each pontoon section to one side, much as a straight arm (no bending at the elbow) is moved ninety-degrees from an extended position at one’s side, to a position in front of your body. While the bridge is open (which can last from 15 minutes to a half hour), pedestrian ferries take people from one side to the other. The whole operation is delightful to watch.

We waited only a moment while the Queen Emma Bridge was re-positioned (it was open for ships to move through while we roamed through Punda), and we walked to Mathey Werf (where another large cruise ship was docked) then along Klipstratt to the Kura Hulanda village. Although we didn’t go through the museum, we strolled through the streets where some 65 historic buildings had been restored. Some of the tropical garden areas were lush with falls and pools, and secluded areas for people to sit. It is a delightful area, and according to the literature, “a shining example of some of Curacao’s best 18th- and 19th-century architecture.”

What thrilled us even more, however, than seeing early Curacao architecture, is that we walked along Breedstraat in Otrobanda on the west side of St. Ann’s Bay, which is not designed for tourists. It is where locals congregate and shop, and we saw only three couples (from the cruise ship) in walking almost a mile in the area.

Even the local shopping area was clean. There were a number of places to purchase liquor, but the shops were much as you would expect in any large city: small sports shops and restaurants, numerous clothing stores, a pharmacy, but no tourist shops of any kind. School had just let out, and there were many kids in bright turquoise knit shirts with bermuda khaki shorts walking the sidewalk toward the local bus terminal. Many had already arrived at the terminal as we walked through the area to get back to the ship — docked in the distance just beyond the bus area.

As we leave Curacao in the distance as I am writing this, several things are clear. First, Curacao is only 40 miles long and 10 miles wide at its widest point — just 171 square miles — with a population of only about 150,000 people. It is located just 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela, 42 miles east of Aruba, and 30 miles west of Bonaire. (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are the islands that make up the ABCs of the Netherlands Lesser Antilles). Second, it is not a lush, tropical island. (It gets only 20 inches of rain annually.) Rather, it is flat. Less than a dozen hills (no mountains at all) can be seen across the whole island. Third, the refinery smokestacks (I can count 15 that dot the interior; however, they are fairly tightly bunched together) make up part of the horizon as one looks out over the whole island.

Because we took no excursion on Curacao, we did not see the large desalinization plant on the south coast, the beaches on the northwestern part of the island, any of the 40 dive spots, the Hato Caves where the geologic history of Curacao can be learned, the ostrich farm, the cactus, divi-divi trees, or Christoffel Park (4,500 acres) that contains Mount Christoffel (1,239 feet), the highest elevation on the island. But we had a chance to look at the waterfront, observe the local people and their activities, and we found what we did to be a pleasant way to pick up the flavor of the Caribbean and Curaçao.

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For a quick summary of Curacao’s past history, check out Curacao Central, a site at which you can locate hotels, restaurants, snorkeling locations, and beaches.

This website, Curacao History, offers essays (other websites) that will take you through specific periods in Curacao’s history. Dates are provided with brief summaries, but in-depth information is a mere click away, and you get a complete examination of the particular dates and events.

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Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing, LLC

High-end, High-tech, And Then Some

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We have developed a high-end, high-tech speech recognition program as well. With this software it will allow you to dictate to your computer and have your words converted to text in a word processing or e-mail document. You can access function commands, such as opening files and accessing menus, with voice instructions. People with disabilities that prevent them from typing use our speech-recognition system. If you have lost the use of your hands or eyes, or for or when it is not possible to use a Braille keyboard, our system allows personal expression through dictation as well as control of many computer tasks. Our software saves your speech data after every session and allows those with progressive speech deterioriation to continue to dictate to their computers. Our software, Speechtechworks.com has a vocabulary in the tens of thousands and allows you to speak at a normal, conversational speed.

We have an electronic display screen that is as thin as a sheet of paper that requires low power usage, allows complete flexibility, and is more readable than a book. It replaces all books, newspapers, and magazines, and can be used for cell phones, PDAs, pagers and digital watches. Not only can it hold a display of the same text for weeks without any additional charge applied to it, it can be changed in an instant. An advantage of our electronic display is that it can be printed on any surface, including walls, billboards, product labels, and T-shirts. Homeowners can change their digital wallpaper instantly, and its flexibility makes it possible to develop roll-up displays for electronic devices. For greater understanding and the purchase of our software, go to Tronicdisplayworks.com

You may think all this thus far in this essay is surprising, but you haven’t experienced surprise until you read about our next high-end, high-tech gadget. Have you ever wondered, why do human beings do the things they do? Until now, the connection between the body and the mind has remained a mystery. How we perceive the world and learn new things will no longer fascinate and confound you. The answers to questions like, “Are you born with certain qualities, or are you the product of your experiences and upbringing?,” or “How do you form an idea, gather information, and learn to adapt?” MindTech is a simple way to see what goes on in your mind and make sense of it. MindTech takes theoretical psychology to a new level. It allows you to hypothesize about something you can't visualize. MindTech gives you tangible data, or psychometrics, to grasp the more intangible aspects of your psyche. Its uses are broad for it will assist you in education, the workplace, counseling, and health. MindTech will help you understand, predict, and even control your human thought processes and emotions. To understand and then purchase this high-end, high-tech gadget go to MindTechWorks.com

You can understand now why we at And Then Some Publishing, LLC, are so excited. Not only have we developed a wonderful, tight relationship with Tahwyas International, LLC, but we have now on the market a group of products that are outstanding. Not even discussed above is our convergence device that combines a cell phone, digital camera, radio, camcorder, GPS receiver, MP3 player, portable video game device, television, and allows you to surf the Web. This one includes a printer as well. It is a multi-functional device and can help you save space when you pack for a trip. Go to Convertechworks

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See Crystal Campbell’s “High tech meets high-end cuisine” (April 1, 2009) at Content for Reprint

At Unique Homes luxury is being redefined. Camilla McLaughlin writes in “REDEFINING LUXURY: High-Tech at the High-End,” that new technology is changing the way we buy, sell, and live.

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Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing, LLC

Aruba

All I knew of Aruba was that it was an exotic place with beautiful beaches. That was the sum total of my knowledge, and I couldn’t even locate it on a map. Then, suddenly, in 2005, that all changed. That was when the death of Natalee Holloway (on May 30th) put Aruba on everyone’s map because of the media sensation her disappearance caused. As an American student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, she was on a high school graduation trip to Aruba,

Scheduled to fly home on May 30th, Holloway failed to appear for her flight and was last seen by her classmates outside Carlos'n Charlie's, a Caribbean chain restaurant and nightclub in Oranjestad — the same city at which our ship docked when we visited Aruba on our Southern Caribbean trip in March, 2009. This essay is not about Holloway, however, that is the most recent time I heard of it, and that incident left deep scars on the island.

Aruba is a very small island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea. It is 21 miles long with a total land area of only 75 square miles. It is just 17 miles north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela, and together with Bonaire and Curaçao it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles — probably more geography than you care or need to know!

It is an autonomous region within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and has no administrative subdivisions. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate, an arid, cactus-strewn landscape that, in the early years, was thought inhospitable and provoked little colonial enthusiasm. It lies outside the hurricane belt.

Aruba has a clear history. It was discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499 and acquired by the Dutch in 1636. It seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. Talk of achieving full independence has never become anything more than mere talk.

Three main industries have dominated its economy. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery designed to refine Venezuelan crude oil. The last decades of the 20th century, however, saw a boom in the tourism industry.

As I wrote this essay from the 18th deck of the Grand Princess, I had a full panoramic view of the main capital town of Oranjestad. From this high point (higher than anything on the island), I could look across this flat land to see the horizon in every direction. Less than ten small hills offered some gentle undulation — like going over a series of overpasses but not much more.

Along the west coast, from this high perspective, I could see the two low-rise hotels at Eagle Beach, and just beyond them, between five and ten larger hotels located at Palm Beach — the prettiest beach on the island. If you go farther north along the west coast, you will come to the California Lighthouse, named for the U.S. ship — the California — which sank about two years previous to its construction in 1910. Perched on a high seaside elevation, the lighthouse has become one of Aruba's scenic trademarks and offers a view of the island's western coastline of sandy beaches, rolling sand dunes, and rocky coral shorelines.

From this high vantage point as well, you can see the smoke stacks of the large oil refinery that occupies the southeastern end of Aruba and dominates the blue-collar town of San Nicolas. Jobs at the plant contributed to the development of a local middle class, but automation meant workers had to look elsewhere, and the island has successfully transferred its economy from dependence on refining oil to relaxing tourists.

There are two things truly unique about Aruba. The first is its language — a language shared by no other countries besides the Dutch “ABC” islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. It is called Papiamento, and it is a combination of Portugese, Spanish, Dutch, English, African, and Indian words.

The other unique thing about Aruba is its aloe production. It is the world’s leading aloe producer.  This plant has antibacterial, antifungicide, and antiviral properties. Aruba aloe is tremendously rich in vitamins (A, C ,F, B (thiamine), niacin, vitamin B2 and others), enzymes and minerals As I visited the shops in Oranjestad I hoped to find a variety of aloe products; however, they are available only in select stores and rather highly priced. Aruba is the world's top exporter of raw aloe and other aloe vera products for the world wide market.

The town of Oranjestad looks prosperous. It is a clean place of decorative buildings, many shops for tourists, restaurants, and casinos. Close to the dock are three large shopping malls.

It is clear why people often talk of visiting or living in Aruba for the temperature is a constant 80-degrees or so with an ocean breeze that keeps it comfortable for most of the year. Walking through the village of Oranjestad belies the arid interior which is dotted with cactus and windswept divi-divi trees.

When we disembarked, we walked through the new ship terminal, turned right onto L.G. Smith Boulevard, and first visited the Royal Plaza Mall, where we found a small outside shop, located in a kiosk, where aloe products were sold. Then we walked to the Renaissance Mall and, finally, the Renaissance Market. Most of the shops were the standard ones you find in Caribbean ports that cater to tourists: jewelry, clothing, and numerous places to buy souvenirs. Many of the shops in the malls here were slightly more upscale — meaning simply they sell many of the same goods for higher prices.

Along the parking lot on L.G. Smith Boulevard there are 20-25 shops that sell local products — although if you examine them closely you will find that “local” products tend to be manufactured elsewhere. For example, walking canes come from Cartahenga, Columbia., and many products are manufactured in China. Remember, however, that there are only 30,600 people in Oranjestad and just 105,600 on the entire island.

Although we didn’t take an excursion, did not visit the interior or the beaches, and ended up simply walking the shops and malls of Oranjestad, we found the slogan, “one happy island” (emblazoned on each license plate) to be true. The people are friendly and respectful, and not the least bit pushy or aggressive. Aruba is a small but delightful speck in the southern Caribbean Sea.

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The official website for Aruba has much to offer tourists or readers interested in more information or photographs of the island.

The Wikiipedia website on “Aruba,” includes information on its history. Information on politics, law, education, geography, economy, demographics, towns, country, language, infrastructure, places of interest, etc. are all contained here — a wealth of information on the island.

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Copyright March 2010 by And Then Some Publishing, LLC

Seeking a sanctuary: On the Grand Princess

I had been searching for it for two days, and I think I have finally found it. Eighteen decks above the Caribbean Sea is a disco-nightclub called Skywalkers, and from 9:30 p.m. until about 2-3:00 a.m., it is throbbing to the pulse of loud music and young people drinking and dancing. My wife and I have come up at night just to check it out, but before we even stepped on the 50-foot-long moving stairway that propels you from Deck 17 to Deck 18, the loudness of the music drove us to reconsider our decision and leave.

I am in Skywalkers Nightcluub as I am writing this. The chairs here are all living-room-style, overstuffed comfortable, the view of the ocean is panoramic, there is virtually no one here, and the view of the ship’s wake spreading out into forever is both mesmerizing and hypnotic as it follows us at 17 knots toward Aruba.

Yesterday, my wife and I found chairs along a hallway outside of Explorer’s Lounge on Deck 7, the Promenade Deck, but they were having an art auction, and the voice of the auctioneer was loud and distracting — even though we were not seated in the Lounge itself. Besides, a hallway on the Promenade Deck is more for people who want to be seen, are waiting for others, or who don’t mind the numerous distractions.

Another location we tried was the piano bar area at the atrium on Deck 7, and although there were few people seated in the area, the distractions came from people moving through and around the atrium, bar rats talking boisterously at the bar, and bartenders blending customers’ fruit drinks. There are bars located throughout the ship.

Our third attempt to find a convenient, comfortable, quiet location was the library just off the Atrium on Deck 5. Now, you would think the ship’s library would be a perfect location, and on all three of our Celebrity cruises the libraries were excellent. In the Grand Princess library there were many visitors, computers for use by anyone interested (for a fee), uncomfortable chairs, and no convenient writing tables. I know what I like (Celebrity spoiled me), and this was not it. The one thing I liked about the Grand Princess library was the outstanding bronze bust of Albert Einstein at the exterior door of the library. Unfortunately, Albert Einstein was a bust as far as contributing anything to my writing experience there.

The fourth attempt to find a quiet, comfortable, and convenient location for writing was successful; however, I do not recommend it for the feint of heart. I’ll explain that in a moment.

Skywalker’s Nightclub, with the exception of the smokestacks about two-thirds of the way back on the ship, is the highest location. During the two weeks of sailing, few people discovered it during the daylight hours (they preferred the pool areas at the center of the ship). The nightclub, however, tended to fill up around 4:30 through 5 p.m. when we were leaving a port for the view was outstanding. I watched as we left Granada, for example, and not only did the Nightclub provide a remarkable view of the port area and island terrain. Ominous rain clouds embraced the center portion of the island, and the setting sun cast enchanting rainbows over Fort Frederick just above the dock from where our ship departed. The departure was truly stunning — a scene I couldn’t wait to capture in words!

Getting back to Skywalkers Nightclub: picture a cocktail lounge full of numerous seating areas designed for four people — furnished with a couch for two, two comfortable lounging chairs, and a coffee table — with a large floor-to-ceiling picture window through which you see bright blue water extending to the horizon, and you create a vision of where I am. Then, throughout the club there are places for two people to sit in big, comfortable chairs with a small round table between. It is at one of these places for two, not directly overlooking the water, where I found my writing sanctuary. It is a place to ponder, think, reminisce, and write, and for many days on this cruise I retired to this location — whether for one, two, or three hours during the day. I finally found my writing place.

I mentioned convenience as a prerequisite. There are two elevators out of seven at the back of the ship — one on each side of the ship — that will take you directly to the 17th deck. Most only go to the 14th deck where the Horizon Court breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets are located.

When you get off at the 17th deck, there are bathrooms conveniently located in a hallway connecting the elevators, and when you turn and enter the center of the ship, there is that 50-foot moving ramp (not moving during the daylight hours) and angled pathways on either side of the escalator that take you to the 18th deck. (Just an aside about these angled pathways with full glass windows on both sides: they pass over somewhere between 30 and 50 beach chairs on each side of the rear of the ship — and a whirlpool — where sun worshipers spend their days in the sun. This adds some additional pleasure — or interest — in walking from the 17th to the 18th decks.)

Our room (Emerald Deck Room 614) is located toward the rear of the ship, and because Skywalker’s Nightclub was at the extreme rear of the ship, adding significantly to the impressive and imposing silhouette the ship casts when in port, this made getting from the room to the club extremely efficient.

(The Horizon Court buffet is located at the rear of the ship as well. This is where two flavors of ice cream are served at 3:30 p.m. every afternoon — a convenience to room, club, and me!)

I want to mention a loss that took place between our first voyage on the Grand Princess in 2000 and this one in 2009. Occasionally I enjoyed writing in a room at the very front of the ship — on Celebrity, that location was called the Fleet Bar — and on Grand Princess they have created a new area called “The Sanctuary” which, I think, would be ideal.

To create “The Sanctuary,” they removed the jogging track entirely, which, in 2000, I used almost daily! The only problem with “The Sanctuary,” which I find totally objectionable, is that Princess Cruise Lines charges passengers $10.00 for a half day for permission to sit in this area! I do not believe passengers should be charged for this privilege, because they are already paying dearly for their trip.

I mentioned earlier in this essay one problem with the Skywalkers Nightclub, and I said I would return to it in a moment. For those who get carsick or seasick, or who find reading in a constantly moving environment, Skywalkers will be uncomfortable if not upsetting. Because it is so high, when the ship is sailing, Skywalkers is in constant motion. When the seas get the least bit rough, Skywalkers is likely to be one of the first places on the ship to reveal it. I found it soothing, even comforting, on most days, even though on one of them, my pen would move radically on the paper as I composed. For me, cruising gives me a chance to read and write, but I must find my sanctuary.

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At the Itinerant Librarian, there is a brief, interesting essay by Angel Rivera entitled, “A writing sanctuary: wish I had one of those back when.” In this essay she writes about having a writing sanctuary (although her “sanctuary” is a bit different than the one I talked about in my essay.) She writes, “I certainly did not lack imagination, so I had a chance to explore that. I am thinking now that a place like the Kelly House earlier in my academic career would have been good for me. It's a writer's sanctuary blending the formal and the informal.”

At Julie Unplugged, Julie Jordan Scott writes an essay, “Sanctuary Musings (Exercise from Christina Baldwin's Life's Companion, p 82).” In the essay, Scott defines a sanctuary as, “My writing sanctuary – all sanctuaries – have that feeling of ‘Safe place.’ Sacred, set apart. My writing sanctuary is separate and yet it is together with the rest of the house. I can watch the neighborhood as it comes and goes, the characters that play a part. I can be a witness to the beginning of each day, sitting at my writing desk.” Any serious and consistent writer searches at some time for that special place. That, indeed, is what my experience on the Grand Princess was all about.

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Copyright March 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

The luxury of travel by car

Luxury is defined as something that is not necessary to my life, health, or subsistence, and something, too, that ministers to my comfort and pleasure, but when it comes to travel, “luxury” for some means traveling by air alone or, if by automobile, staying only at top-of-the-line hotels or motels and eating at the very best restaurants. If either of these travel options are those that satisfy your travel taste buds, then you may find my definition (which follows) totally off the mark. I will define “luxury” through a description of traveling by car.

I realize as I am writing this that the tough economic times we are currently experiencing means that some will consider any travel opportunity a luxury, and I respect that opinion. I am not just fully aware that my chances to travel are fortunate, but I am truly thankful for them as well.

My goal on this trip (March 2009) is Ft. Lauderdale and a cruise of the Southern Caribbean, but the cruise itself is not the subject of this essay, and if a cruise were the subject of interest with respect to defining “luxury,” there would be no discussion. Cruising is luxurious by any definition.

My “luxury” begins with several stipulations. The first is that I want to save money. A second stipulation is that I want to eat “well” — but, obviously, not expensively. And a third stipulation is that I want to travel at my own pace. That is, I take my time (and avoid flying because my wife hates to fly).

“Luxury” begins at home. I make enough coffee to take an additional 18-ounce mug full of coffee in the car; we don’t stop for coffee. I make lunches as well, and I take an electric car refrigerator so I can make lunches in motel rooms for the next day. A cheese sandwich with mayonnaise, mustard, and lettuce on pumpernickel bread and an additional peanut butter and jelly sandwich supplemented by fresh vegetables (carrots), fresh fruit (apples and grapes), and a cookie for dessert, make a nice meal that can be eaten while driving. Also, for dinner I have a quarter of a Tyson (already cooked) chicken, mustard potato salad, baked beans, and a tossed salad — which my wife and I eat at the small table in the motel room.

You begin to see, now, where my “luxury” is going.

The only stops on our days of car travel are for bathrooms and welcome centers. When entering a state where I will spend the night, I stop at the welcome center to pick up travel coupons. By departing in the morning by 8:30, I can stop in the afternoon by 3:30-4 p.m. Seven and one half hours of constant driving is sufficient, and stopping by 4 means I am among the first to stop and, thus, have a choice of rooms.

Stopping by 4:00 p.m. allows plenty of time to relax. If either my wife or I wanted to swim, the pool is always clean and devoid of anyone else. There is often fruit in the motel lobby, and around 5:00 p.m. there are fresh cookies in the lobby as well. This is time to read the newspaper, magazine, or a book that I carry, or to write an essay (as when this one was written).

I travel with a variety of CDs so I always have music in the car. This is a necessity, not a “luxury.” Having just burned more than 50 new CDs from the 500 or more long-playing records I collected 50 years ago, I had music I hadn’t listened to for a long time. With a six-disc CD player, each CD carrying close to 80 minutes of music, I could load the player in the morning and have enough uninterrupted music for a full day of driving.

Other “luxuries” included having my own pillow from home, carrying my own snacks (always having them available), and being in total control of my life. One problem of being dependent on others is the loss of control involved.

A good example of how control is lost occurred at the Hampton Inn in Hollywood, Florida — the place I chose to stay during the night before the cruise. I decided to leave the car at the motel as part of a cruise/park deal, rather than at the parking garage at the Port Everglades port. The cost at the port was $225 (plus tax), and the Hampton Inn charged $198 (plus tax), but the Inn included an overnight stay plus a free all-you-can-eat breakfast. It was a no-brainer, true, but that choice led to a loss of control.

By choosing to leave the car a the Hampton Inn, I was dependent on the Inn for transportation to and from the port. I had all morning of the day of the cruise at the Inn; however, I requested an earlier transit. Although the request was granted, it turned out that everyone heading for the port left at the same time on a bus that seated 60 people. There, waiting for the bus, were my wife and I with two overstuffed bags, two garment bags, two carry-ons (for pills and toiletries), and two fanny-packs — totally at the mercy of a driver and his assistant. (You just have to hope they know what they are doing, that luggage gets put into the correct compartment, and that luggage is removed at the right time. I don’t like the loss of control!)

As an aside, here, the transit from the Inn to the Port provided a new experience for my wife and me. Before leaving the Hampton Inn, the bus driver explained that he and his assistant would split the tips acquired on this trip, and they expected $2.00 per person for handling our bags. His assistant then proceeded down the aisle collecting the tips. Many couples, I noticed, gave him $5.00, not four — perhaps because they didn’t have dollar bills. Having been warned about the need for providing tips, and having cruised a number of times before, we were well prepared with dollar bills. I wonder what the bus driver and his assistant would do with someone who chose not to tip them or to tip them less than what they expected?)

The “luxury” of this Inn-Port transit was that no further handling of the bags was necessary. My wife and I were told that the next time we would see our bags would be on the ship at our room. A porter outside the bus (at the port) asked $2.00 per couple for taking the bags from the shuttle to the ship!)

The dictionary defines “luxury” as something that is not necessary to life, health, or subsistence, and something, too, that ministers to one’s comfort and pleasure. What is “comfort” or “pleasure” to one person certainly differs from what is “comfort” and “pleasure” to another, and my wife and I have our own definition of “luxury” when we travel by car. No, its not travel by air, and it’s not staying at the premiere hotels and motels, nor eating at upscale restaurants, but for us, whether we travel by car or by using our fifth-wheel, travel is, indeed, luxurious.

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“The world’s most luxurious destinations, luxury hotels and resorts, exclusive, secluded and exotic getaways, stylish escapes, and luxury cruises” — that’s what some advertisements say when you enter “luxury travel” in Google. But all travel need not be this luxurious. At Travelers’ Tales, Joel L. Widzer, “The Penny Pincher's Passport to Luxury Travel,” offers a book full of tips called The Art of Cultivating Preferred Customer Status—3rd Edition in which, according to the website, he “reveals his method for traveling in the lap of luxury without breaking the bank. Joel’s techniques are simple, proven, and available to even the infrequent traveler. Fulfill your travel dreams now! ” I have not read the book, and this website is an advertisement, however, it seems Widzer makes an emotional appeal aimed at my heart!

At suite101.com, Jennifer W. Miner has a great little essay, “Thanksgiving Travel Tips: Reduce stress and add luxury to your holiday travel plans,” that offers some specific travel suggestions — especially for those having to travel with other family members (children).

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Copyright March 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

We’re cruising again

Yes, we’re at it again. It is March, 2009, and this is our 9th cruise. As I write this essay, it is a full two days before we leave (we’re driving to Ft. Lauderdale), and we are almost all packed. We seldom wait until the last minute, in that way all the essentials are packed, and our minds can spend time on details (e.g., refills for my writing pens, jogging shorts, heating pad for Andrea, etc.) Fortunately, I brought our suitcases down from the attic almost a week in advance of leaving because I had forgotten that on our last cruise to the Mediterranean, those handling our bags not only ripped the canvas covering, but broke off one of the two wheels as well. The suitcase was so badly damaged it was no longer useful. The suitcase was one of the victims of frequent travel.

From the outset (when I brought the old suitcase down from the attic), My wife wanted to make certain I did not save it. She knows I’m a saver. So, despite my feeling — who knows what some potential use I can find for it? — I promised to dump it upon getting a new one. More on the acquisition of a new one in a moment.

You may wonder how luggage is broken. You may, of course, be able to guess; however, (unless you are a cruiser yourself) I don’t think you can conger up, in your wildest dreams, how luggage is ruined. Forget about airline personnel, conveyer belts, throwing it into the hold of an airplane, and all the other pre- or post-cruise possibilities; I’m talking about on-ship handling.

It became clear to us (how luggage is broken) when we arrived early to the ship for one of our cruises. Our stateroom had been changed, and we were absolutely convinced (correctly, I might add), that our luggage was heading to our old room and not to the new one we had recently been assigned.

When visiting the deck where our former/original room was located, we watched (witnessed is more like it!) luggage being distributed by the ship’s handlers, to the various floors. It was one of the most eye-opening, amazing, spectacles we have ever witnessed on our cruises. Luggage is brought to the floor by elevator, then handlers literally throw the bags from the elevator into a large pile in the lobby. How and where the bags land is irrelevant: the sole goal of the handlers is speed — getting those bags off that elevator so it can return to the lowest floor and gather more. There is no concern of any kind for the care or safekeeping of customer luggage.

But, this is not the end of luggage handling. Room stewards on each floor are responsible for transporting the bags to individual rooms. They are the ones who pull the bags down the hallways across the metal threshold dividers that occur periodically down the hallways. Speed, again, is the essential element as the bags are pulled to each room. This is where the wheels of each bag get their most severe test as they are rolled over these metal thresholds. Most luggage wheels are small and made out of plastic. (I will be anxious to see whether or not the wheels of my new bag survive the test.)

I want to return now, to the purchase of my new piece of luggage. The first thing we did was to check advertisements for sales. Kohl’s, within less than a mile of our home, had a “buy one, get one free” ad, so I went there first even though we had no need for a second bag. Having measured the one I was replacing, I could not find one of the exact dimensions I needed, so I began checking other local stores (i.e., Target, Meijer, K-Mart, and Walmart). I found one at Target and purchased it, then I found a better one at Meijer and purchased it, returning the one to Target immediately.

After bringing it home and comparing it with my old bag, my wife determined that it was too big. Although I liked the bag, it would be far too heavy when full.

The next step was to have my wife accompany me to Kohl’s, which proved to be just the right solution, and here’s why. We wanted a bag slightly smaller than my old one (actually, the same size as my wife’ suitcase), which means one that fit the dimensions: 25-inches high, 9-10-inches deep, and 17-18-inches wide. The one we found was a superb suitcase.

The suitcase was part of an exhibit of Samsonite luggage, and there was a single sign on the exhibit that advertised the pieces at 50% off. The luggage tag on the piece we selected was $359.99, so the sale price (as it came up on the cashier’s register) was $179.99. My wife and I looked at the cashier in shock, because the sign advertising the pieces on this exhibit clearly said that the price for this sized bag was $139.99. My wife went back to the exhibit to make certain we had read the sign correctly, and she determined that that was, indeed, the price we expected to pay.

The cashier spoke into her lavalier microphone, and she had an assistant go back to the exhibit to check the price. I accompanied her. She looked at the sign and the luggage, and she determined that the bag we had was part of the “Drive Collection” whereas the sign referred only to the “Austonia Collection” in the same exhibit — not to the “Drive Collection.” At that point, she told me, it’s up to the cashier to determine what to do.

I went back and joined my wife at the register, and the cashier quickly decided to give us the bag at the advertised price of $139.99, which was a $40.00 markdown for this item at the 50%-off price. At this point, my wife produced her 20% off coupon she had received in the mail. This reduced the cost of the bag another $28.00, to a total (with tax of 6.5%) of $119.27. We were, in effect, getting a bag offered at the suggested retail price of $359.99 (plus tax of $23.40) for only 31% of that price — an incredible (and lucky) deal! Whether this bag is able to withstand the handling on this forthcoming trip, of course, is yet to be known.

One of the features on this new bag which I worry about are the heavily advertised, “Four Spinner Wheels for Effortless Mobility.” The wheels are small (2-inches in diameter) and as most wheels, they are plastic. Will they handle the metal thresholds that punish bags, or will the canvas be stronger and more durable than bags of lesser “quality” is to be determined. That essay is yet to be written.

What can you learn from all this? Start your packing early. Understand that luggage is treated in the most extreme manner that your mind can imagine. On one trip our bag came apart so radically that we had to purchase a luggage strap in the ship store to hold it together until we could get home. Buy expense bags? I have no clue on this one. (I’ll let you know!) All I can say is that I feel incredibly lucky to be heading out on this trip with a bag that I feel is so special, so much more than I have paid for any previous luggage, and one that will test the theory: the more you pay the less likely the damage. (As an afterthought, and written well after this original essay, I can attest to the strength of this piece of luggage. It withstood all tests.)

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At CruiseDiva.com, Linda Coffman offers excellent advice in her essay, “Tips for Selecting Luggage for Your Cruise.” She presents the problem: “Airport and pier baggage handlers are notoriously rough with suitcases, so a top consideration is sturdy discount luggage. It doesn't have to be top-of-the-line, but it should be well-built to withstand the rigors of conveyors and sorting machines; not to mention being stacked, dropped and thrown through the air. Really! I've seen that happen!,” and she gives a number of considerations, one of them being, “Brand name luggage that comes with a good warranty is always desirable, but no-name or private label brands can also stand the test of time.”

At DoctorCruise, there are six excellent suggestions regarding your luggage.

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Copyright March 2010 - And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

Life is unfair

by Richard L. Weaver II

Life is unfair — deal with it! This was an assumption I had throughout my life; I never thought otherwise. And, I determined to level the playing field (get my share) by doing my best. I always thought that if I did my best and succeeded (that is, did well), I would get exactly what I deserved. The problem, I discovered, was that people did not always perceive (or fully realize) another person’s preparation or qualifications; thus, they felt they were not being treated fairly (equally) because they thought they were equal, but if one dug just a little distance below the surface they would discover grave differences, not just minor ones. The problem boiled down to what they “thought” and not what were the facts.

It wasn’t until we had children that “life is unfair” became a fairly commonly used phrase.

We had two boys and two girls, and our job as parents was to continually justify the different treatment each of our children received. It was never the same; not even close. We know of someone else with two girls who were three years apart, and almost since the younger girl was born, the husband felt the girls should be treated equally. What is good for the older child is good for the younger one as well — no matter what it is. This occurred — and became a major bone of contention between the parents — throughout the girls’ childhoods (until the older girl turned twelve). This, of course, is total nonsense, and the father should have been jailed for child abuse. Okay, if not abuse then mistreatment and misconduct at the least.

At the John Tesh Blog, on the topic, “Life is unfair, better get used to it,” Tesh discusses the coddling kids get as they mature: “...we cannot hurt anybody's feelings. So we try to make everyone feel like a winner and we protect kids from anything that may be stressful. No bumps, no bruises, no disappointments, but also none of the challenges of real life.”

It is just this kind of coddling that distorts reality. Children should not be protected from unfairness. Think about it. At “Life is unfair," the writer offers a brief list of issues people consider unfair. Using their list, the most obvious inequities occur when you consider a person’s race, nationality, parental heritage, physical traits, mental capacity, social status, economic status, experiences of life, birth order, age, and religious heritage. Often, there is nothing that can be done about these issues; life is unfair, and children must not be protected from it.

At personal-development.com, in an article, “Life is unfair,” Chuck Gallozzi begins his essay with these sentences: “Yes, there are injustices. Guiltless people are sent to prison. Terrorists make plans to strike at innocent citizens. Facts regarding the poisons in our food are hidden from us. Olympic medals and Academy Awards are presented for political reasons instead of merit.” Certainly you can think of many other injustices that provoke, annoy, and perhaps enrage you; they are not difficult to locate.

Now, it should be clearly noted that because of the coddling many children receive during their upbringing, their only, and I might add, natural, response to unfairness could be described in much the same manner as Gallozzi describes: “All too often those bemoaning the unfairness of the world are just whining that they’re not getting their way. They haven’t grown up yet. Their sense of unfairness is irrational because it is based on childish demands and unrealistic expectations. They want to return to the time that they were infants. For then all they had to do was cry (complain) and someone would come and attend to their needs.”

What I said at the outset of this essay remains true. If each of us — despite all odds and obstacles — worked our hardesst, applied ourselves consistently, and did the best work of which we are capable at all times, the “life is unfair” phrase would likely have little application to our life. These, to me, are winning ways.

But, such a stance doesn’t really address the issue of this essay: life is unfair. That is, how can we best deal with unfairnesses besides working at our peak level? There are several suggestions.

The first, and most important is to take responsibility for your life. If you don’t like your situation, do something about it. There is no need to place blame on yourself or others, but what you need to do is change your attitude. Instead of a victim, become an architect (of your life). Determine what it is you want, figure out what you need to do to become qualified to get (earn?) what you want, make a plan to achieve your goal, and take action.

The second suggestion is to become a team player. As you cooperate with others, you will develop important connections. With the team as your support group, you will contribute to promoting their best interests, just as they will be promoting yours. When others recognize your genuine interest in them, they will cooperate and contribute positively to your best interests, as well.

The third suggestion is to begin to operate based on your thinking and not on your feelings. The problem in believing that life is unfair is that it creates worry and anxiety, and because they require energy, you drain important energy from sound, sensible, reasoned decision making and problem solving.

The fourth suggestion goes back to the results of coddling. Those who are coddled often remain immature and go through life demanding that the world cater to their every wish. In this way, they set themselves up for disappointment, frustration, and resentment. Parents must let children know that things will not always go as they like and that the world is full of unrealized hopes and dreams, but that is not the end of the world. They must learn to not just face disappointments but to cope with them as well. Life is full of both ups and downs; they are unavoidable. What children must be taught is to accept the hurdles life throws at them, and like countless others before them, learn to overcome them and grow stronger because of them. Life is unfair, but the way we deal with it is what counts.
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At Oprah.com , in an essay entitled, “What to do when life seems unfair,” there are three suggestions for dealing with unfairness: 1) Get to the heart of the problem, 2) Don’t be a victim, and 3) Shift the way you see the world.

At ProgressiveU.com, there is an essay entitled, “When You Say ‘Life is Unfair’ I say ‘No Duh’,” by Bridge, that makes one of the same points made in the essay above: “We already know that life is unfair, so why bother wasting time to say it? Let’s embrace those challenges that better us in ways we could never fully understand at the time.”
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Copyright September, 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

Being totally wired means being more communicative and expressive

by Richard L. Weaver II

I want to admit upfront in this essay that I am not totally wired; however, I spend a great deal of time at my computer, and I have written extensively about the Internet and its effect on various aspects of communication in my textbook, Communicating Effectively, 9th ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2009).

What I want to do in this essay, more than anything else, is simply to document what is happening in our society. It will be outdated, of course, almost as I tap on these keys, but what a benchmark it establishes as technology races forward. This is an essay that will be entertaining to read ten, fifteen, or twenty years from now simply for the contrast it provides to what will be happening at that time. Although teens will be totally wired, the technology will be different.

I am indebted to Anastasia Goodstein and her book, Totally wired: What teens and tweens are really doing online (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2007). I sought this book for the insights Goodstein could provide in helping me write the ninth edition of the book referred to in the first paragraph above: Communicating Effectively. The characterization of teens that follows is Goodstein’s.

When totally wired teenagers today get out of bed in the morning, the first thing they do — before breakfast and before showering — is to fire-up their “at rest” computer to check for messages on Facebook or MySpace (or both). They listen to their MP3 or iTunes to accompany them while getting dressed and put in an earphone so they can listen without bothering anyone else. Before going downstairs for breakfast, they check their cell phone for voice or text messages from their friends.

Totally wired teenagers will call or text their friends on the way to school so they know where they are and where to meet them when they arrive. To protect themselves from having their cell phones confiscated during classes, they turn them to vibrate, but they use them between classes to keep in touch with their friends and plan activities for immediately after school.

Schools have many computers, and students own their own laptops as well. Students use school computers to check their Web e-mail messages, do research for school projects, type projects and papers, and make PowerPoint presentations. Students, for the most part, are more comfortable with computers than most of their teachers, and often students end up answering their teachers’ questions and helping them figure things out.

In English, the teacher created a special website just for his classes that includes the syllabus, course expectations, brief project outlines and papers that must be downloaded, and a FAQ (frequently asked questions) link as well. One feature of the website is an ongoing, up-to-date blog which students are required to respond to using their special class names that only they and their teacher know. This English teacher has received high ratings on Ratemyteacher.com not just because of his use of the computer but how he integrates the computer into classroom activities, maintains a daily question-and-answer page on the website where students can keep up with any aspect of the course about which they have questions, and a “contact me” link where students can contact him or her directly regarding problems, suggestions, or personal insights.

The algebra teacher, unlike the English teacher described above, does not receive high ratings on Ratemyteacher.com. She assigns too much homework (according to the students), sometimes embarrasses them when they don’t know answers, and calls on them when they aren’t paying attention.

Totally wired teenagers often are incredibly busy after school hours. In addition to athletics, homework takes up time, but spending time on the computer dominates. They update their LiveJournal (LJ) entries, post comments on their friends’ Ljs, instant message (IM) their friends and relatives, check their own website blog, add a new entry to it as well. They go to their MySpace or FaceBook (often, both) profile to keep in touch with distant friends and to tell friends what they’re doing at the moment. They may even keep tabs on boyfriends’ or girlfriends’ online profiles, sometimes leaving flirtatious comments, posting recent pictures of themselves or cute photos of them together. Although they like having boyfriends and girlfriends, they realize such contacts take time.

During after school hours, time is spent, too, interspersed within all of this, sending and reading e-mail and text messages. If there is even a little time remaining, they may surf the Internet, enter a chat room, post a note on a message board, hang out on community sites, or just go back through all of their contacts to see recent answers to their questions, the latest posts, or update what they’re doing at the moment — an activity that demands freshness and up-to-date posts. Sometimes they just relax with their MP3 or iTunes plugged into their ear reading a website about their favorite singer, actor, or entertainer.

When they are away from home, it is not uncommon to receive cell phone messages from parents who are just checking in. When they are somewhere they know their parents would not like, they lie and tell them they’re somewhere else. As long as they answer their cell phones when their parents call, they get away with it. When at parties, it is not uncommon to receive text messages from someone across the room, telling them to check out someone else, or talking about someone else who is in the same room.

When they hang out with friends, they go see movies, rent DVDs, download videos from the Internet, play video games on their Nintendo DS or BlackBerry, or watch others play video games, and just talk as they watch for text messages or communicate with someone else on their cell phones. They find such multitasking comfortable and easy, and most students perform multitasking when they do their homework, work at their computer, watch DVDs, or play on their wii or Xbox 360.

Today’s teenagers spend enormous amounts of time socializing with friends, love listening to music and playing games, actively use their computers for socializing, doing homework, and researching papers and projects, and find it easy getting information of all kinds from the Internet. Because of the Internet, gossip travels quickly just as negative information and mean pictures. Writing diaries, once considered a personal form of expression, has become public documentation and sharing diaries, emotional experiences, and likes and dislikes is common practice on blogs, FaceBook, or MySpace.

“There are more opportunities for teens to express themselves and distribute their work as writers, artists, videographers, or podcasters (Internet radio hosts who create audio recordings you can download from the Web)” (p. 13), writes Goodstein. There is no doubt that totally wired teens raise new issues of privacy and safety, but it may be, too, they are becoming more communicative and expressive at the same time. We live in a far more verbal world than ever before — and what appropriate preparation and rehearsal for a life of running everywhere with BlackBerry, cell phone, and laptop in hand, as amply demonstrated by America’s professional class.

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Melissa McNamara, at the CBS News website , has a wonderful essay entitled, “Teens Are Wired ... And, Yes, It's OK,” in which she echoes many of the ideas discussed in this essay. It is a short essay well worth a read.

An introduction to Anastasia Goodstein’s book, Totally Wired can be found at the Google Book Search website. Here you can look at the contents, acknowledgments, introduction, and some of the contents as well.

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Copyright April, 2010 - And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.