Miscellaneous Cruising Musing . . .
Following are some relatively random thoughts about this year's cruise
. . . . I may add to this as I think of stuff, but if you have a short cruise
story or observation, I'd be happy to include it here . . . really! So
if it so moves you, write to
me
and I'll post your words here. -jim
Engaging . . .
I thought it was pretty cool that my friends Brian and Julia got engaged
on the cruise. Being privy to the plan, I knew Brian wanted to ask during
Delbert's first set with an appropriate, and scheduled, song.
That didn't quite work out . . . so it happened on a quiet beach on Eleuthera
. . . from my standpoint a much more romantic and memorable spot. (I had
imagined Julia screaming over the music . . ."what did you say? . . .will
I what?" . . . or some other complication of asking in a noisy crowded
place.)
The funniest thing was as the days went by, I had to keep giving people
updates on whether he had asked or not . . . remind me to never mention
something like this to anyone! But the secret remained intact .
. . though Julia was wondering why I disappeared when we got off the boat
on Eleuthera . . . 
They did get a chance to visit with Delbert after the engagement . .
. hope the three times married Mr. McClinton wasn't dispensing too much
advice! ;-)
Michael . . .
At virtually every performance centered directly in front of the stage,
jacket zipped to the neck, a bag of percussion instruments at his feet,
was Michael . . . and I don't know what the cruise would be without him.
With an encyclopedic knowledge of the music and musicians (check out
the SBC VII quiz
), his enthusiasm, and his odd, but ultimately endearing demeanor, Michael
is one of those people you couldn't help noticing.
With dancers whirling around, there he'd stand, stock still, transfixed
by the music
. . .or unselfconsciously invite himself into the performance with
a tambourine or maracas, jamming away with abandon.
It's funny what you can learn sometimes about acceptance, caring and
bravery. . . . I consider Michael a rather brave soul who follows an inner
voice that I may not understand, but can respect. I suspect a lot of people
don't quite "get" Michael . . . and may even feel a little uncomfortable.
But there are so many others who go out of their way to make him feel
welcome and cared for. I hope she doesn't mind me saying it, but Bekka
Bramlett exhibits some amazing heart when it comes to Michael. She's a protective
arm or a soothing voice that just seems so supportive and caring. It is so
sweet . . . .
And it's pretty cool to watch other performers, like Gary Nicholson and
Marcia Ball, so open to sharing the stage. (Though I do wish I had my camera
to catch the look on the faces of Jeff Steele and Bob DePiero during the
Songwriters session when Michael was doing some energetic, and rather acrobatic,
stage moves with his tambourine!) :-)
Hope to see you next year, Michael!
Some Final Thoughts
Well . . . I never thought I'd finish this stupid site, but maybe now it's
done . . . or maybe not . . . these things take on a life of their own and
for a number of days over the last two months it has managed to consume much
of mine! I seriously doubt that I will ever do anything quite like this again
. . . so much for just putting up a few pictures and words to describe
the trip . . . of course I have to expatiate and turn it into an epic! (
note to self: lesson to learn this year is brevity). I
can't say I haven't had fun putting it together . . . and it did help solidify
the memories in my head (whether events actually happened as I described or
not . . . it's written down now, so it's true) . . . and I hope it did a
little of the same for you.
So count down the months, weeks and days until Sandy Beaches IX, and if
things go as planned, maybe we'll get together next January . . . . be well,
be safe and see ya on the flip side . . . . -jim
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