Bosses

While in the store this morning, I saw a sign for Boss' Day. With no hesitation at all, I purchased two cards, already writing the greetings in my head. Driving home, I began to wonder what it might mean that of the myriad management overseers I have had in my 50+ working years, only two jump into my head each year on Boss' Day: Dr. David McDonald and Ben Wortham.

A stranger would never peg either of these two men as a huge influence on my professional and personal life as we (superficially) have little in common. They are conservative. They are devoutly religious. They are heath-oriented. They are soft-spoken. They are thoughtful, as in they think before they opine or take action. They are Southern gentlemen in the truest sense of that phrase.

When I met them I had none of those attributes! Gradually, they worked their magic on me. (They are very sneaky that way.) Today I am occasionally conservative, generally health-aware and, sometimes, I even think before I open my mouth!

Despite our differences, I came to realize and appreciate that we share some core beliefs and values. Families are vitally important. Trust is necessary for any relationship to prosper and trust is built on honesty.  Communication must be give and take, not top down. Rules are necessary but not necessarily rigid. Learning should be joyful. Words are powerful. Schools should be havens, not prisons. Sometimes the student is right and the teacher is wrong. Differences should be explored, not condemned.

My years working for and with these men improved me, as an educator and as a person. I am thankful I met them late enough in my career that I could recognize the benefits of our relationships. (I'm not certain that would have been the case in my brasher younger years.) 

I seldom applaud the greeting card industry's compulsion to have a day for nearly everything - Boss' Day is October 17, this year. Nonetheless, I urge to acknowledge a boss who influenced you - he or she deserves to know. Whether you do it on that "official" day or not is unimportant.

Friends (New and Old) In Deed

1. Tuesday morning, I disembarked with no problem. Christian from Halifax tour was one of the shuttle bus coordinators. So, as I was standing in HUGE line for the next LaGuardia shuttle, a Cunard organizer came down the line hollering, "One person for Delta." Christian hollered back, "Right here." and off I went to the first bus in line. I arrived at Terminal C nearly five hours before my flight boarded! Excellent to know the right people!
2. I checked in.  All was well. Then TSA tagged my carry-on bag. The very pleasant officer asked what sharp objects I had in there, my reply, "knitting needles."  His shrug indicated that's not the problem. Then he lifted out Denis' bottle of Sortilege, turned and looked at me, grinning, "Ms. Mayer, does this look like a 2.5 fluid ounces container?" I turn red-faced and feel utterly stupid, no, stoopid!! I was so concerned about bringing only a liter into the USA, I never even thought about the carry-on restrictions. So, Salah (yes, I got his name because I dropped TSA a note about how courteous he was! I figured they might relish a compliment for once!) gave me my options: I could dump the bottle or leave the TSA check-in and check the carry-on bag through to JAX. I took option 2 because, as I explained to him, chasing this damn liquor all over Canada has been a journey worthy of Odysseus and I was not leaving it behind! He escorted me to the gate, told me just what to say to the Delta ticket agent and waved me off. 
3. At the Delta counter, Michael Morales waited on me. He MUST be kin to Salah. He didn't laugh at me or make me feel awkward. He taped my carry-on bag very securely shut, placed 4 "Fragile" stickers on it, ran my credit card and refused the tip I offered him, "Thank you, Ms. Mayer, but this IS my job." No wonder I like Delta!!!! (To whom I also penned a complimentary note!)
4. When I went back through TSA check-in, Salah waved and OKAYed me as I breezed through!
5. When Letreze picked me up at JAX, she hugged me and said that she and Jean had met at 4606 and tossed all the spoiled (from Matthew's no electricity days) food in my freezer and refrigerator! Bless their hearts! I had not been looking forward to that chore. THEN, I discovered they had replenished my foodstuffs enough so I did not have to grocery shop for a couple of days! I tell you, true friendship is dealing with odoriferous, nasty food so your vacationing friend does not have to come home to it!

New topic: Today I was stunned almost speechless when Bob Dylan won the Novel Prize for Literature!!! I mean, c'mon, BOB DYLAN!!! The man's a wizard with words and music but he's no Stephen Sondheim or Richard Rodgers or Gershwin. I wonder who submitted his name to the Nobel Committee? And why, now?

I recognized a sadness that I only thought of two people I wanted to talk to about Dylan's award: brother Bill and Jack DeYoung. How have I become so musically isolated that only those two men popped into my head when I heard the news??

Though I am home, I have gotten into the habit of considering my days; thus, I am going to attempt to maintain posting my thoughts. Fingers crossed!

Final day at sea

About 2:30 this morning, I woke up to a gentle rolling. The ship had encountered the tag end of Matthew and my body recognized the "ship moving through rough swells" movement and I immediately slept deeply for the next several hours. The swells increased all day. At lunch they were breaking over the windows of the Britannia restaurant. I was bemused by the reactions of the new Cunarders who were worried and anxious. I don't recall ever being upset, only excited and curious! 

I missed the Oscar Hammerstein lecture by Roy Hunt because I set my clock incorrectly. I was happily knitting with Margaret while listening to Bob share his adventure in the Antarctica last year when he asked what I had planned for the day. I mentioned the lecture and Margaret said, "Marty, that began 25 minutes ago!!!" Yikes! So I stayed with them until Merril found me to ask where I was. Not my best day for timeliness!  I went with her to Sir Samuel's where I splurged on fondue as we were joined by Diane and Peter. When we looked up, the afternoon skies had brightened, the seas were beginning to fall and the hours had sped by. 

My Perth girls gave me a memento:

An aside: the Captain told the ship that the expecteed 40 knot winds actually exceeded 75 knots as we were passing through Matthew. No wonder I woke up to movement. 

No pictures today, except for my koalas. Lots of talking and stories. I am fascinated by how quickly I become conversationally intimate with people on a cruise. Perhaps it is the closeness of the surroundings. Or it may be my personality or a combination of both. I believe Lis and Merril have the potential to be my new version of the Parkers, though I may never get to Carnes or Perth. 

Before dinner tonight, a group from Texas joined my table to play the trivia game. When I offered a couple of answers, they called me an unofficial team member "our kibbutzer." Assuring me it was complimentary!! I inwardly chuckled...I must not appear remotely cosmopolitan!!

Halifax, Annapolis, Wolfsville, Gaspereau Valley

Left Halifax Seaport, Cunard Center, bright and early bound for Annapolis and Grand Pre' Vineyards. The Cunard Center pays homage to the city's relationship with Samuel Cunard who was born here and his shipping line with models of various ship's figureheards. I wish I had time to read each plaque for information.

 

This has been the only non-sunny day all cruise. Edges of Matthew threatened all day but the rain did not begin until just about 6 this evening. Captain Oprey assured us seas will be high and wind be about 40 kts once we leave Halifax Harbor, but QM2 and I have been together on enough North Atlantic Crossings for me to have not even a twinge of a qualm!

I heard from all my extended family in North Florida. All is well with everyone, no one suffered structural damage, though Jean and Brian had to cope with 16 inches of water! Good things the Doodles have high perches!!

Color was everywhere today, so I'll mix in shots as I share my day.

 High speed coach travel does not always provide superb photography, but you get the idea. 

Annapolis is in Evangeline country. "This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pine and the hemlock." The early Acadians reclaimed land from the Bay of Fundy by piling up cut down trees, plastering the pile with a thick goo of gypsum paste and making dikes. See the faraway dike, then closer up.

 

 The Acadians knew the piles would rot, but they just kept adding logs and goo while the rotting logs made great soil!! No wonder when they came to New Orleans, they made such effective leveees!!

The winery was beautiful. I saw myself standing on a hill in Acadia, sipping wine while the Bay of Fundy shed water behind me!

 The flowers, trees and flowing, non-bubbling water feature contributed to the murmurring aura of this Grand Pre' winery.

 

 

 

 

 I even contemplated sitting in a decorated Adirondack chair...though I didn't see a nearby crane to help me out of it, so temptation was ignored!

 The wine tasting was varied. We had a full flight of three reds, three whites and one dessert wine. Everyone needed a nap when we boarded the bus! I had a Summer Street moment when I turned off the path into a glowing sugar maple branch!

 

 We journeyed to Wolfsville just south of Grand Pre'  and successfully avoided the hundreds of folks there for the annual marathon! Tour Guide Christian and I had lunch at an Greek/Indonesian place (reflects native cultures of owners)! Our waitress was from Lady Lake, FL!! She thought Christian's German accent was cute and didn't think I had one, Bless her heart!! I had never eaten an Antep Kebab! Delicious!!!

 Walking back to the bus, I stumbled on the waterside park and snapped a few shots of low tide in this section of the Bay of Fundy. You can't really tell, but the pit is about 25 feet deep! 

 I asked this young man, Liam Elliot, what he was building on the edge. He is a musician and was astounded when I recognized an Aeolian Harp! His is made of hemlock and is a cultural experiment. I promised to follow his website for its progress.

 

 After Wolfsville, we journeyed to Windsor to catch the Annual Great Pumpkin Regatta. Dill's Farm has the secret for growing gigantic, like 1100 pound, pumpkins. October is the festival month and TODAY was the race. Folks hollow out a pumpkin, decorate it and "race" around a course!! Anyone remember the Mug Race down the St. Johns?

 

 

 Dill Farm is also the home of Long Pond which is where Canadian ice hockey first began in 1800!!!! 

I, also, discovered Hotel Chocolate Club. A tastimg club that I hope e tends into the USA.

Below is a relief map of my tour area!

 We drove back to Halifax via the Gaspereau Valley. No words, just images.

 

 

 

 

When Titanic sank, Halifax sent ships out searching for survivors in boats. After 11 days, they had gathered 300 bodies; while Carpathia had saved the living ones. The Titantic Graveyard in Halifax is where these folks rest. It has the same haunted aura as Little Big Horn, Arlington and Flanders Fields!

 

 

Tonight I'm off to final formal night after the Captain's Cocktail Party!! Ooooh, do I feel special?!

Chatted with Ronelle from Sydney at cocktail party. Told Carol and hubby to have a safe flight home to Oregon.

Finally, got the New Mexicans to sit for a photo. Now realizing I don't know their last name! They gave me a bar of pure white Nova Scotia chocolate! I am touched. 

 Now to bed so I can begin packing and organizing tomorrow. 

At sea on way to Halifax

Woke fairly early, good sleep. Off to breakfast where I met Margaret, Bob was walking his laps, and we chatted and knitted until a bit before 11 when I'd arraned to meet Lis and Merril for tea before lunch. (These Aussies drink more tea than many of the Brits I know). Diane and Peter, also from Perth, joined us as they are the ladies' table mates for dinner. The five of us never ate lunch, we shared stories, dinner party themes, entertaining successes and failures, games preferences (Squatter?) and birthday surprises (my 65th birthday to self at Woody's, Merril's hummingbird cake party at a table in the railroad station in Philadephia, Diane's soursop cake). Generally, we talked and laughed until just before  3!!!!!! 

  

Later I was sitting at Roy Hunt's lecture on Frank Sinatra when Lis and Merril found me for a much quieter hour!

The day has blown by and I did very little productive, except for a few rows of knitting. One excllent occurrence was a text from Sonny that he walked my property before he went to work today and saw no damage from Hurricane Matthew! Apparently there's a loss of power all around, but I can easily toss any ruined refrigerator/freezer contents. All my friends seem to have "weathered" the storm. I can't say for sure until I connect with Jean and Brian, which will be tomorrow as soon as I get in range of my Sprint connections, which were unavailable in Gaspe'. I'm a bit concerned about them all, but accept there is not one damn thing I can do. 

One note: I did discover the meaning of the bronze man with antlers coming from his head in Gaspe'. He is not a Lord Herne of Sherwood Forest, he is a nothing! Apparently the sculptor has horned heads on all his sculptures mwhich he has installed all over Quebec province as an arts project. The residents of Gaspe' accepted his offer of a statue presuming it would be something/someone relating to Jacques Cartier or the region, no such luck - they got a logger!! Thus information was from a gentleman at the next sofa set from Margaret and me this morning!

Gaspe'

This is the first time Cunard has been to this village and though the people were friendly and social, there is nothing to see that I could find to make it worth a visit. After a 15 minite tender ride over totally calm waters, I walked around town for about two hours and saw everything! Some gorgeous yellow flowers caught my eye!

 

Further along the promenade, I met two ladies going to the re-enactment of Jacques Cartier's establishing his trading post. 

 Just beyond them, I found this great scultpure, but the explanation's in French, so I am at an utter loss as to why he has antlers growing out of his head! 

 But, I am confident SOMEONE will be able to translate the words below and let me know. Please?

 

This village also provided Denis with his Sortilege as I recognized the SAQ (state liquor store) and it was open!!!! I really enjoyed this Halloween street lamp decoration. 

 And this gorgeous maple! 

 And this I think, thatched roof of what looks like surgar cane or palmetto stalks.  Again, hampered by not being able to speak a lot of French.

 I was less thrilled about seeing a McDonald's!

 But intrigued with the Micmac birch bark hogan that was on display, though I apparently missed the tribal representatives explanining how they made it. 

 Just in front of the tourist center is probably the faciest harbour buoy I have ever seen. It's being used, now, as a commemoration of those who died at sea. 

 Back aboard ship, I lunched with one of my knitting buddies, Margaret from Yorkshire and her husband, Bob. Charming couple. They talked me into trying a different lunch, so I dined on skagen, gravelax and herring...and cleaned my plate!!

 

 At 3, I met Tom and Victoria for coffee in Sir Samuel's and we chatted for more than an hour!! Very comfortably. They, like Margaret and Bob, warned me off any Mediterranean cruises for the foreseeable future. Their ship turned back this summer due to activity in the easterm Med and passengers were refunded money!!!

 

At sailaway this evening, I was again on the Observation Deck and caught a great (for my iPhone)  shot of a small sloop ghosting past QM2. I can't decided if the red or green fireworks reflection is best!

 

 

 I stayed on the after the fireworks ended to look at stars. Looking at Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Orion's Belt and the Pleiades as they sparkled over the bow at Queen Mary 2 is a memory I'll keep! But not one I can share; I'd need a MUCH better camera! It was one of those magical moments, accompanied by me FEELING the ship's horn vibrating through the wooden railing into my palms! 

On a totally different note, I finally remembered to bring my phone to dinner, so you can "meet" Barbara from Albuquerque and her children Zach and Darby, Gabrielle from Munich and Kevin Cassidy from Belfast and The Bronx! I just checked pictures - the New Mexicans will have to wait until tomorrow. But here are Gabrielle and Kevin: