Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean!

I have decided that I will comment that, as a passenger, I would like to be able to see where I am relative to the overall trip. Frontier Airlines has an all-the-time channel in flight where you can watch the progress and direction of the plane as it flies from stop to stop. Although it was a tad worrisome when the plane on the screen overshot Denver, our destination, it also was fun to see where we were at least graphically.

Today, we've been out on the ocean moving rather quickly from Skagway to Victoria. It was my first day of sea disturbance--mostly because I was trying so hard to read the labels on the great sale items in the center of the ship and it was rolling. I actually broke out into a sweat. And tonight was lobster night at dinner--not being a fan of lobster, choosing tonight to have the vegetarian menu, the smell of all the lobster meals of my fellow diners set me back a bit.

But it has been a fun day. Another of my "I've-always-wanted-to" items was crossed off today--I sang karaoke! I thought where better than where no one knows me and I need never see any one again! And I chose a favorite standard--Someone to Watch over Me. And, although I love this song and have sung it lots, singing to karaoke without a melody line, in the midst of an extremely noisy disco, was, well, intimidating, to say the least. I managed to croak it out, but, of course, I also turned many deep deep shades of red. And, I am SO LUCKY, since a couple of the other women came up and rescued me by singing along. Plus, a fellow who is a hugger and from whom I have gathered two hugs, also stood right at the rail and watched me the whole time. That was (surprisingly for me, since I'm so shy) comforting. But I did it!

And I played the slot machines in the casino. I am such a virgin! Another fellow showed me how to play the quarter machines and gave me a little guideline. He, of course, won, and turned to me and said "And this is what it sounds like when you win!" All of $6.50 out the window! I did keep back some quarters for the bus to church in Seattle!

It is much warmer, too, now that we are away from the glaciers. I miss the cold. It felt great. But folks were swimming today. I'll probably try the pool tomorrow, since it should be even warmer and I am trying to get the "full" cruise experience!

The sights in Juneau and Skagway were wonderful--so dramatic. And the stories behind the towns, the White Pass, the majesty of the glacier are treasures.

Lots of pictures--I am really using my camera and enjoying it immensely. Post when I get home.

On board--at sea

I do not see land off either side of this ship, the Sun Princess, on its way to Alaska. I'm doing well being at sea, however. I even managed to learn and practice some line dances today incorporating the sway as we go over the swells into the moves.

It's a big floating hotel--muzak in nearly every space, people constantly. The diversity amazes me--every race, every age, and, from dress, every class. There's a big training seminar going on for Camp Logos--a Bible software. A family reunion and other family groups. And, of course, the singles group I'm here with--Singles at Sea, Vacations to Go.

But I'm a bit at sea, too, emotionally, I think. I am so accustomed to being on my own. This is a lot of people. And, of course, that intensifies the soul loneliness.

Prayers go out to Michelle, my cousin, heavily on my mind. A friend, Steve, who just lost his dad. My daughter and her husband about to move. And the ones whose faces I see here--the folks who haven't figured out what's next in their lives either.

In Seattle--Alaska-bound

I arrived in Seattle sometime after midnight Thursday, July 20--somehow, I forgot about the three hours difference between Michigan and Washington. By the time I was checked into the Ace Hotel and settled down enough, it was 5 am my time Friday, July 21.

The Ace is not air-conditioned and Seattle is having a heat wave--not as bad as Detroit's and certainly nothing like my 123 degrees in Phoenix experience. But it is warm...Folks here are either loving it or wondering if it could just end and go back to "normal."

Still, I am having a blast. I would, of course, love to be sharing this with someone I love, but, it is still quite the experience. Yesterday I did the Frommer's walking tour of Pioneer Square--what history. Did the double-decker bus all over Seattle to orient myself relative to the map, then the Underground Tour, which is funny and amazing. No rats, but the corny jokes were good. Then some art galleries, general shopping, the Waterfall Gardens, but couldn't get to the Totem Pole park on Occidental--construction, lots of construction here. Lunch at McCoy's Firehouse--great tea, sausage sampler platter. That night, a lovely Salade Grenobloise and Kir with Mint sirop, at the Le P'tit Bistro. accompanied by French singer with guitar. He was so sweet and I recognized some of the lyrics and more than some of the melodies.

Today, I've been to the Seattle Asian Art Museum, temporary home of the Seattle Art Museum (more construction), and right now, I'm blogging from the Seattle Public Library. Must visit public libraries wherever I go--in the librarian genes. What a building. reminds me a bit of Phoenix Public Library in its concrete and glass-ness. very techy. but why not, it's Seattle--seems more fitting here.

Still to come today--I hope to get to the Frye Museum and the Klondike Gold Rush National Park (which is really a museum), then the Pike Place Market. And tonight, if I'm able, the Pike Pub & Brewery for my first meeting with some of the singles on this cruise...which takes off tomorrow!!

I think my pics are coming out okay on my new camera, so hope to post those when I return.

I found myself sitting in a moment this morning of sheer happiness--just absolute contentment and joy. And immediately a prayer of gratitude. I am so blessed. so very fortunate to be able to travel and see this incredible world. I still hope to find a church to attend tomorrow morning, but I have yet to see one in all the cross-city riding I'm doing, downtown.

Dream Cruise--but not the Detroit, MI kind

Tomorrow, July 20, at 4 pm I leave my primary work place and go to the airport to leave on an airplane and fly to Denver then Seattle. I've never been in Seattle. I have a guidebook.

If all goes as planned, I'll be on a Sun Princess cruise to Alaska on Sunday, July 23, returning July 30. I will get to see a glacier before it melts--one of the items on my "I've always wanted to..." list. We stop in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria. I get to wear a formal dress and a beaded dress (both bargain purchases!) and jewelry of my own making. I will be traveling with a group of singles--no one I know--sharing an interior cabin with someone I've never met but who is a "match" in gender (female, of course) and smoking preference (no smoking).

I am amazed that I am doing this--for some, a cruise is no big deal and travel is even less of a big deal. I'm not particulary afraid, but as I am so easily content to sit on my bed and read, that getting myself out, across the country, alone, in a big city, on a brand-new adventure--well, this is quite marvelous. How I will fare remains to be seen--I am shy when I am not at work. I am alone most of the time in both my primary work and play. I have been assured by those who know me and who have done this kind of travel that I will be able to set myself aside if I choose and need to have alone time. But I also don't want to miss anything--not a thing! And, goodness, who knows, there might be wonderful rewards beyond the scenery awaiting me!

oh, my! I am achieving a dream. I am about to cruise to Alaska! oh, my!

A Seasoned Woman

I've been reading and have particularly enjoyed Gail Sheehy's most recent work, Sex and the Seasoned Woman. I've read a few of her books and each time they've made such a difference in my outlook and perspective--this one no less.
Sheehy describes a seasoned woman right up front: "What makes a seasoned woman? Time
A seasoned woman is spicy. She has been marinated in life experiences. Like a complex wine, she can be alternately sweet, tart, sparkling, mellow. She is both maternal and playful. Assured, alluring, and resourceful. She is less likely to have an agenda than a young woman--no biological clock tick-tocking beside her lover's bed, no campaign to lead him to the altar, no rescue fantasies. The seasoned woman knows who she is. She could be any one of us, as long as she is committed to living fully and passionately in the second half of her life, despite failures and false starts. How old is a seasoned woman? As Vera told Auntie Mame, 'Somewhere between forty and death.'"

I am a seasoned woman. I've thought about the seasonings that might describe me--sugar, surely, and maybe cayenne, cinnamon, and lemon zest. A recent Halloween my department coworkers and I dressed up as "Spice Girls"--the familiar red capped jars of spices. Mine was sage--probably most appropriate.

Sheehy groups the women in her study as Passionates; Seekers; Married Women, Dammits; Status Quos; and Lowered Libidos. I fall into the Seekers category, though I'd much rather be in the Passionates. Three years of celibacy bumps me out, although I'm absolutely a passionate person, being committed to being in a committed love relationship kind of redirects that passion elsewhere.

She offers a self-assessing quiz, reviews the stages of this second passage for women, and gives lots of wonderful models and personal stories (her hallmark, I think, in each book) to read and find hope and encouragement and options.

In a month I'll be 54. Just the other day, dressed in a new outfit, I bebopped into work and meeting a much younger coworker in the restroom with whom I am pretty comfortable, I asked a question weighing on my mind. "Is this outfit too young for me?" I asked. "I'm 53, shortly I'll be 54. What do you think? too young?" She stopped, looked at me with a blank look, and said, "What? you're what? I would never have guessed you were 53! No, it's not. I was just thinking how cute it is."
What a great feeling that was and what a sweet response. and, as she isn't one to mince words, I get to claim it as truthful, too!

a seasoned woman. feels good. feels spicy and sweet all at once. like me.

My moment as a prostitute

I was asked to be the liturgist in my church the last Sunday of June. This was a knee-knocking, hands shaking, why did I drink so much tea and irritate my nervous bladder kind of moment for me. I survived. I sat down quickly. But my voice was clear and strong when it needed to be and I would be happy to do this again.

Just before that service began, I was asked by one of my pastors if I would do a dramatic reading the following Sunday--July 2. I agreed. I wondered, too, who had told her I would be a good candidate. Then, once I read the scripture and reading, wondered who thought I would be a good candidate to play the prostitute!

Unbeknownst to me, I was one of four dramatic readers and we constituted the sermon for this day that traditionally has low attendance. There was the Pharisee, the prostitute, the beggar, and the boy who had but a loaf of bread and a few fishes to feed thousands.

We were given latitude to give as much or as little drama to our reading. I was second in the order of the service. If you recall the story, the prostitute washes Jesus' feet with her tears, soothes them with an ointment she has brought, and then dries his feet with her hair. The Pharisee, of course, is shocked that Jesus would allow one of those outcasts to care for him in this way. The readings were excerpted from the book, It Happened upon a Miracle by C. David McKirachan.

Two Wednesdays preceding the July 2 service, I lost my voice. I had been battling a summer cold and allergies (the cottonwood season had just finished but we still had piles of fluff hovering in front of our noses and eyes--add to that a Labrador that's shedding and two cats!) I regained it for the most part, but the low pitch, hoarseness, and breathy, soft voice probably enhanced my character.

One line in particular stood out for me, although many touched me personally. It was "Passion without meaning is sad and wasteful." I have done some foolish things recently-after three years of celibacy following my third divorce, I very nearly gave up waiting for Mr. Right (not Mr. Perfect, but Mr. Right for Me) and nearly gave up to accept Mr. Right Now and Mr. Right Enough. I think I was in shock, stunned by my own behavior. Then came this opportunity to serve by playing the role of a reformed prostitute.

Most important was the required reading and rereading of the scripture and the author's interpretation through the eyes of one player in this drama. For the prostitute, her world, her desire to do business, changed when she met Jesus. Her act of washing his feet was a selfless one--something she could do for someone to whom she felt she owed so much and who had given her life meaning--no longer sad and wasteful. When Jesus defended her to the Pharisee, He made manifest his love for her, as she was, with her history, but also her intent and her desire to serve.

The closing line of the reading is the avowal by the prostitute, "I am valuable." In my foolish inclinations, and often enough we all do this, I had discredited and ignored my own value. But Jesus never discards us or our little lives. We are valuable because He loves us. And I am grateful for that and this opportunity that reminded me once again of His love for us.

Much belated post but what a whirlwind

We have access to such great theater from here and here in Michigan! Since my last post I've been to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the Croswell Opera House in Adrian, and the Boarshead Theater in Lansing--just a whirlwind of stellar performances. At the Shaw I saw Arms and the Man by Shaw, Design for Living by Noel Coward, and High Society by Cole Porter--the last being absolutely my favorite. In fact, I may go back later in the season just to see it again. At the Croswell (which is the oldest continuously operating theater and community center in Michigan), I saw an "amateur" performance of Oklahoma--but there was NOTHING amateur about it. The choreography, in particular, was stunning. In the program for Oklahoma, it was noted that this was the first musical that actually incorporated the music as part of the dialogue. The dream/nightmare sequence was stunning. At the Boarshead, I saw a professional performance of All Night Strut--a toe-tapping revue of 30s and 40s swing and big band hits. So hard to sit still--nope, it was impossible!

But I haven't only gone to the theater...I've also enjoyed a Keb' Mo'/Bonnie Raitt concert at Meadowbrook Festival here in Rochester Hills, a Lansing Lugnuts game (Molson Thursday was probably not the best night to be there unless you enjoy beer, babes, and beach boys), the Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, the debut of the Blue Note Revival Quintet at Bakers Keyboard Lounge in Detroit (the oldest jazz club in the world), the Toronto All-Star Big Band at the St. Andrew Presbyterian annual Strawberry Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake), and the Maid of the Mist ride to the Falls.

I am soooooo lucky to be able to do all of this! And such memories it all calls up...My daughter at the age of 2 dressed in a big yellow slicker on my only other Maid of the Mist trip, my son's YMCA t-ball and softball games on hot summer days, my first trip to a butterfly conservatory last March when I was so anxious that I kept ducking the Blue Morphos as they seemed to divebomb me (this time, I was so calm that two butterflies actually landed on me!), the first time I heard real jazz and real blues by real musicians...

and more memories being made. just wishing I had someone special with whom it could all be shared. (sigh)