Call Me Scrooge… Please

Yes… it’s true. I consider myself to be on par with Ebenezer Scrooge. I’ll explain more in a minute, but first…

A couple of nights ago, I watched “A Christmas Carol” on TV. Of course, I’ve watched it a zillion times before… along with all the other classics including Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life (still my favorite), and of course, The Wizard of Oz. I don’t know how the Wizard of Oz got to be a Christmas movie, but these days, it’s the only time of year it is shown.

This year, the original version of Miracle on 34th Street is “pay to view.” That’s a dirty rotten trick by the cable service here on Kokomo Island. This is certainly not in keeping with the Holiday spirit. So I say to them, Bah – Humbug!

Hummmm… the saying, “Bah – Humbug,” has become Continue reading

Turkey Day Ramblings

Alexander Hamilton – “No citizen of the U.S. shall refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day.”

Pilgrim Thanksgiving

It is generally agreed that the United States tradition of Thanksgiving began with the Pilgrims. Most scholars consider the first Thanksgiving to have been in late 1621. However, there is no evidence that the Pilgrims ate turkey as part of the feast. The Wampanoag Indians brought deer, and the Pilgrims brought wild “fowl.” Historians think the “wild fowl” was most likely ducks or geese.

It’s also unlikely Continue reading

Magical Mystery Tour – Review

Finally… I’ve recovered and caught up on all the things I should have been doing while I was “playing hooky.” Now that I’ve paid for my sins, I can get this review out to you… and then start dreamin’-n-schemin’ on my next adventure.

Before I get going, I want to tell you I had tons of fun on this cruise. The big reason… nights in the piano bar (PB). In particular… Ben Gentry in the PB. I booked this cruise only because he was the PB entertainer, and this was my last chance to cruise with him for several months. If he hadn’t been in the PB, I wouldn’t have booked this cruise.

So… it was a blast! I wish I could have this much nighttime fun on every cruise. But… rather than just giving you glowing reports on the Piano Bar, as I always promise you, my posts will tell you of the “good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Since I’m writing this as a review rather than my usual day-by-day “live from,” I wasn’t sure how to proceed. I decided to break it up into three segments. I’ll let you decide what you want to read. I’ll give you a quick synopsis here, and you can click into the part for the details you want to read. Or perhaps you’ll just click “goodbye.” (Goodbye takes you to a Ben Gentry Youtube Video.)

Each part, except goodbye, links will open in a new tab.

So there you have it. Of course I will cruise with Carnival again. I already have the Piano Barbarians cruise booked for next January. I don’t care where the cruise is going because I’ll be with friends and the great PB entertainers. AND… I’m already eyeing my next cruise with Ben Gentry… I may not get off the ship on that one.

Magical Mystery Tour – The Good

Just in case you didn’t get here by clicking through the top-level “review,” I want to tell you how phenomenal the Piano Bar (PB) was.

The PB entertainer was Ben Gentry. He is recognized in the “Carnival PB world” as one of the premier entertainers. Sure, Carnival has many good entertainers, but most can’t do what Ben does. Somehow he makes friends with everyone who sits around his piano. It doesn’t matter how young or… ummmmm… not so young they are. A couple of songs after you sit down, you are his friend.

Oh the things Ben gets people to do… how does he do it? Standing room only.

Even more, after an evening with Ben, Continue reading

Magical Mystery Tour – The Ugly

Hummmm… I’m not sure there’s ever any ugly on a cruise. I mean… if your overall experience on a cruise, or any adventure, is good, then can anything really be ugly. And I did have a blast on this and all but one cruise I’ve ever been on. But, as always promised… here’s what I think is as close to ugly as it gets.

(Scroll to the bottom of the page for links to other parts of the review. )

Progreso

 I don’t understand why Continue reading