Kevin Hughes Blog

From: Kevin Hughes: Kevin@staytogehter.us
Date: July 26, 2009 12:03:59 PM EDT
Subject: Re: The Final installment of the Ten years at sea – to me the most important – The People you meet at sea….

Aloha All,

 When you work at sea for 10 years you meet lots of people. They fall into three basic categories: the people you work with – (other entertainers, cruise staff, crew), passengers, and the people who live in the country you visit. Just like at sea, all of them intermingle just about everyday because you interact with all three groups in just about every port.

When you live on a ship, even a ship as big as this one — you are never more than 1000 feet away from another human being; or 5000 human beings — because that’s how many are on this ship. It means you are basically in an enclosed container, a self-contained community that floats.

 It means that one of the challenges you face every day is; having to deal with people you would rather not meet that particular day. Unlike land, where if you don’t like the people in the restaurant, you just do not go back to the restaurant — at sea, if you don’t like the people in the restaurant you have to eat there again tomorrow.
   It forces you to grow a thicker skin — become more tolerant, and accept things as they are; instead of the way you would like them to be. You also pick up a new skill, the ability to the hide in plain sight!

 That is a necessary skill to develop when you run into the occasional toxic person — and there are a few of those on every ship.

  Because I work in the entertainment industry — most of the people I meet on the ship tend to be extroverts; talented, and creative human beings. Most of them have one foot in the present, and an eye on the future. Kathy and I have met some of the closest friends we have ever had out here on ships — one of the bridge lecturers -whom Kathy met many years ago onboard ship- is now her closest and dearest friend.
 I have several true friends from out here — one of them a super talented piano player from Scotland. Even though he is 30 years younger than me — in a lot of ways we think alike. I have other comedian friends – who’s work I admire – and I enjoy conversations with them. Then there are others, though I admire their talent — our personalities clash.

    On the ship we classify the Acts into two categories: high maintenance and low maintenance. There are some Acts who, when they board your ship, you breathe a sigh of relief knowing they are coming aboard. Because they are good people — besides being good acts. They lift the morale of the whole ship just by being there — there are about a half a dozen Acts that fit that same description. They would be considered low maintenance — they show up on time, you don’t have to worry about them causing a scene with another crewmember, or a passenger — and they are always willing to help

  Then you have the high maintenance Acts; you can never really make them happy — they are always complaining about the amount work they have to do, the showroom, the lights, the sound, the people at breakfast — or they talk about the other acts in a negative manner. Depending on how talented they are — they are either tolerated or eventually weeded out.
   In general, during this economic down turn — it is the hard-working talented Acts that are surviving the massive cuts in the Entertainment Department.  They get longer contracts in general, but less time at home. It is a trade-off that a lot of us have to make in order to keep our jobs.

    So we have many friends — folks who we enjoy both their company and their talent. Then there are other acts — that are almost like nephews and nieces — you see them every now and again and you’re always polite — but you really don’t know them. They fly in — get on the ship — do their shows — and then leave in the next port; and they have a slightly different personality and mindset than those of us who are resident guest entertainers and stay board for long periods of time.

  One of the things that all these Acts have in common, are their great stories. There is one entertainer– who has some incredible legendary stories; including racing a ship across the Panama Canal on roller blades (he actually won and beat the ship through the transit!), and he also was put in a cage in the middle of a town in China for taking pictures of panda bears! This was during the “Cultural Revolution” years in China, not the best time to come to the attention of officials.
His stories are interesting, hilarious, and genuinely fun to listen to. I mean, how can you not get interested in a story that starts with: “I will never again, marry a woman I met while she was sleeping naked by the side of the Playboy Mansion Pool.”

  Or it could be a story from one of the entertainers — that makes all the other entertainers laugh. We have another very famous comedian — and he tells this story:

“I was standing across the street from the post office in Ketchikan Alaska — just talking on my cell phone. About every five or six seconds — a group of people, or a couple, or a single individual, would walk right up to me and smile, then cross the street to the post office. This lasted almost an entire hour. I started to walk back to the ship and went by one of the little tours — you know, the “gold rush” tour — and there was a lady in an 1848 period costume, you know that kind of “dance hall” look. She smiled at me, and said hello. So I talked for a few minutes — and revealed the strange behavior of all those people who kept coming up to me smiling and then crossing the street. She said:

“Oh, that was my fault. Those people wanted to know where the post office was. So I told them: “See the Black guy? Just go to where he is, and then cross the street. The Post Office is right there.”

I broke out laughing. I have been called a lot of things because I’m Black — but I think that was the first time in my life I was ever used for directions.”

 The stories of road rash (that is our name for things that happen in airports, hotels, transportation to and from the ship — lost luggage, late check-ins, no food voucher — those kinds of things) are also very interesting and hilarious.
 One of our friends — a juggler — was in Africa with another group of jugglers when they ran out of money. So they decided to juggle fire while riding on six-foot unicycles — which usually gathers a crowd and they get enough money to at least go eat. What they did not know, is; that country was undergoing a revolution — and crowds of more than 100 people were forbidden- to prevent riots.
   Well, you can imagine in a country where everyone is Black, what happened when White people with long flowing blonde or red hair — suddenly appeared in the market square on six-foot unicycles juggling fire. The crowd quickly swelled to thousands — then sirens came from every direction — tear gas, militia and police everywhere — to break up the “riot”.

My friend the juggler, and his colleagues — were taken by armed policeman into the back of a military van and driven to the port. One of them had the presence of mind to record the event on a little camcorder — it was hilarious — in hindsight. It could very well have meant years in prison — that is a road rash story.

   One of my other friends tells a great story about an exchange program between English comics and German comics.  Ever since the end of World War II — the two countries, once a year, have a show of the other countries stand up comics. So one year the show is in England — with only German comics on the bill — the next year it is in Germany with only English comics on the bill. The Germans all understand English, to make it easier on the English comics — and the German comics all speak English when they go to England. My friend did this show in Germany. He opened his act (which is one hour-long) by telling the German people that they have been so gracious for so many years in allowing everyone to speak English — he had decided to do his entire one-hour show in German.

  The Germans applauded politely. He then said: “ I will begin speaking only in German for the next hour.” He then opened his show with these words: ” Vee vill now do za show – in German. Ven I vill do dis next trick – you vill laff und zen you vill be amazed.”
Yep. He did one hour-in English- with a very bad German accent. The Germans went nuts — and thought it was hilarious. For the entire hour, he never once broke character — just continued to speak in a very bad German accent- the English language. Stories like that fill hours on the ship.

  Then you meet the passengers — ordinary people who have experienced extraordinary things. You get to talk to them and find out things like: a 90-year-old woman who was the oldest female to ever climb Mount Fuji; ninety year old Mountain climbers are a rare breed indeed!

When I shook her hand, it was like holding a brick. We asked her how she rested on the side of a mountain, she showed us. Now, remember, this woman was 90. She just reached up, took her hand, swung it like an ax and wedged it between two rocks — and then just hung there. Just hanging from her one hand, wedged in between the rocks.
Amazing to us — but apparently, an ordinary skill amongst mountain climbers.

 We met another family — they turn out to be Jewish; they organized the largest collection of motorcycle riders in Canada to drive down to Tennessee to deliver 50,000 pebbles to the Holocaust Memorial there.. You can look up the whole documentary — about a small-town teacher who wanted the kids to remember the Holocaust by getting a paper clip to represent each of the 6 million victims of the Holocaust. It is a real tearjerker.

  We met a Canadian guy who brought 50,000 pebbles instead of paper clips. The reason he brought the pebbles instead of paper clips; is that in his particular way of practicing his Faith — you leave a pebble on the grave of a loved one for each good deed that happened after they died. What I mean by that is, if your Dad and Mom taught you not to steal — and you found a wallet and returned it to the rightful owner. Then that good deed was not fully you — it was because your parents taught you not to steal. So, you put a pebble on your parent’s grave. I think that is a pretty cool custom.

  We met another lady;  just picture your ordinary, very tiny, little grandmother, with a European accent, You would then have a fair representation of Judith Miezel. She is a Holocaust survivor — and was sent to a death camp when she was only 12, along with her 14-year-old sister. Her documentary which won a lot of awards — is called: “Tak et all.” That is Norwegian for: “Thank you for everything”.
   She walked with her sister, from Poland to Norway during World War II. They were being taken from a concentration camp to a death camp (if you’re wondering what the difference is — death camps had ovens) when the column they were walking in, was strafed by fighter planes.
 In the confusion they escaped. One of the reasons Judith is famous — is she is one of the only white people on the platform in Washington DC when Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous; “I have a dream” speech. How she ended up on that platform — and why — is worthy of a documentary in and of itself. If you get the DVD of her World War II experiences — one of the extras is how she ended up on that platform.
  I will never forget one of the things she told Kathy and I at dinner. We asked her if she thought prison camps could start again — she told us this: “If a fat girl walks by your table — and the other people make fun of her, and you do nothing to stop them from making fun of her. That is the beginning of a concentration camp.” Watch the documentary — we got to see her speak live — and got to go to dinner with her. She has a wicked sense of humor and was great company.

  One of the other passengers I met had been married to his wife for 69 years. That is the longest marriage I have ever personally met. As he held her hand and talk to me I asked him: “69 years with the same woman would you do anything differently?” His answer should go down in the annals of romantic history.

Here’s what he told me:

“I would have married her sooner.” That, my friends, is a beautiful answer.

I turned to his wife and asked her:

 ”69 years with the same man, is he trained yet?”

“Nope. He will die first.”

  Then there are funny little incidents that happen with passengers. I put my toast in the toaster up in the Horizon court — went over to get butter to put on my plate — and came back to the toaster just in time to see a passenger woman take my toast. I said to the lady: “excuse me Miss, but that is my toast.” She said: “Oh no. It is automatic.”

 I broke out laughing.

  We have met Nobel prize winners, Holocaust survivors, people who speak 10,or more, languages. People who started in a new country with no money in their pocket — and now are doing well enough to pay for a cruise. We have met ordinary people who save their whole lives to go to one destination.

 We have met people who have survived incredible car wrecks, or plane crashes, or cancer — and then carrying on with their lives as if nothing happened. We have heard stories that tell about the whole deep, wide, well, of human experience.

  I wrote (in a previous e-mail) about the lady that we met who was suffering from a disease that did even have a name — and even though she is the only human being to have whatever this is — she was still enjoying her life and had plans for her future — even though she already knew her future might be short.
 It really makes you think about life–that some people only have a few years, and live a lifetime — other people have a lifetime, and only live a few years.

 Not all the stories are extraordinary — until you really sit and think about them. Many stories of Romance how couples got together with each other resemble our story of dating and courtship. Young man meets young woman — makes up his mind immediately to marry her — she agrees, and they are still married 30,40, 50,or even 60 years later.
We have met authors, sailors, fighter pilots, Nobel Prize winners, CEOs — housewives, neighbors, sons and daughters. We have met people from many different walks of life, from many different religions,  and many different countries.
  They teach you little things — like for example, if you are looking at a painting of Indian gods like Shiva — if they are blue in color they are divine. That is a cool little thing to know when you’re looking at their paintings of their gods and mortals mingling.

    Or you learn from the Japanese not to stick chopsticks into the bowl of rice and leave them standing there — since that is a funeral symbol in their culture. Or you learn in Germany if you are leaving a table with a lot of people at it — to just knock on the wood of the table rather than shake everyone’s hand to say goodbye. You learn that in almost every language, there is a formal way to say “hello”, or “goodbye”; to people you don’t know or who are older than you – and then there is an informal way to say goodbye or hello to friends, or people you know well.

  Sometimes you get to witness human graciousness and class in action. We were sitting at a table with four women around the age of forty; when another woman joined us at the table. The late joiner was in her late 30′s and was wearing a bandana around her head. During the course of the conversation – she revealed that she was battling cancer and had no hair. She said she did not like wearing the bandana- and did not want to stand out as the only bald lady. Well, the other four women looked at each other- smiled and nodded to each other.

   Then all four of them removed their wigs. All were bald from Chemotherapy. Everyone laughed, and the woman with the bandana took it off, and sat beaming, surrounded by women who were supporting her in a very quiet personal way. That, my friends, is pure CLASS. By the way, until the moment they removed their wigs, no one knew that they were sick. Class.

One of the things, so subtle, that it sometimes skips by you unnoticed — is that everyone on a cruise ship was brave enough to leave home. It does not matter if they are passenger or if they are crew. They were brave enough to leave home go to an airport or port — and go to a foreign land. That is outside the comfort zone of most people. The people who enjoy travel and live on the ship — are almost a separate breed.

 New experiences are eagerly anticipated by this group of people — they do not need the constant same environment or familiar surroundings. For them, there is no real judgment call — different does not mean bad, or good, it just means it’s different. They tolerate behavior and customs and basically follow the old rule: “When in Rome do as the Romans do.”

   I have really enjoyed the people I’ve met while out at sea — and it has given me a greater appreciation for both: the people who stay at home and build a community- a town -a civilization; and those who travel and introduce people to new or novel ideas or customs — we need both populations.

   I hope some of the stories made you laugh, or made you think, or gave you a little glimpse into our lives out here at sea. It sure brought back some wonderful memories of some wonderful people to relay them to you.

 That’s it for this series of 10 years at sea by Kevin and Kathy Hughes. Maybe in another 10 years — if I am still out here — I can write about what it’s like to be at sea for 20 years. Of course, by then the ships will be so big that you will never even realize you are at sea as you mingle amongst the other 30,000 passengers. I know you think I’m kidding — but the largest cruise ship ever is coming out in May of next year — 6000 passengers, 2800 crew – 8,600 people on a single ship. Eeve bigger ones are planned!

Allow from Kevin and Kathy at sea.

From: Kevin Hughes : kevin@staytogether.us
Date: July 26, 2009 6:01:52 AM EDT
Subject: RE: Ten years at sea, Art and Architecture  - in words…

Aloha All,

 On the grounds of BYU Hawaii, there stands a Temple and a visitors center. You cannot go in the Temple (unless you are a Mormon in good standing).  The Temple sits at the end of a Valley looking straight down onto a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean; you can, however, go into the Visitors center. There you will see a statue of Jesus that looks like a NFL lineman – a huge, huge,  statue with the arms of a powerlifter. Why? Because the Pacific Islanders (Tongan and Samoan) are huge men. They had it sculpted in their own image and likeness.
   In Spain, we saw Jesus pictured -and sculpted- as a Moor, a Spaniard, and a Jew. Art, for a long time, was mostly religious based – especially Art in Europe. Even Roman and Greek Art represented their Gods – or famous figures, or Heroes. In most cultures, isn’t that the way of most Art? Who else can afford it? Look around your own city- what are the biggest and grandest buildings? Churches? Banks? Insurance buildings? Or former famous folks homes?

   Same with buildings – some represent the Power of God, some the Power of the King/Pharaoh/Raj/Shah/Khan – some the power of Religion, and some the Power of Government – and some represent the power of Individuals, or Heroes.

   In France – when they built Versailles – The King of France was (by far) the most powerful King in Europe. So much so, that he built a palace with no moat, guard towers, or drawbridges – “Come and get me. Here I sit in the middle of the country side.” Is what Versailles seems to state.
  Just like the Gothic Cathedrals state: “Man is insignificant to God. You are less than nothing when you enter here. You are small and puny”. Then there are the Renaissance Chapels – filled with light and archways – much, much, smaller than the Gothic/ Romanesque Cathedrals. They are man friendly places, their delicate proportions in lockstep with their man sized hallways, doorways, and promenades. They seem to echo that famous retort:
“Man is the measure of all things”. He is God’s perfection on earth. Art had gone from the Divine; to a sign of the Divine; to being ascribed to Man’s Genius.

   No one knows who did the Venus De Milo – having seen both David and Venus – I am going with her; as the greatest Art ever sculpted by man ( or maybe a woman, no one knows) . I will put a video clip up on the Mobile Me gallery of her in the Louvre – stunning, simply stunning. For me, there is no more beautiful piece of Art in existence.  No painting, drawing, or sculpture – has ever moved me like the Venus De Milo. No building, no statue, no painting – she is unique. Art does that – in different ways, to different people. Some Artists like to use color, or depth, or landscapes, or architecture, or oil, or marble, or ceramics – all ways to capture that most ethereal combination – Beauty and Genius.

We have seen so called “primitive art” ( Sand paintings, Body paintings, pebbles and beads, woven onto threads) that was as beautiful as any painting – just using different materials. Then – as you travel, you see the way that Art never fully escapes from the culture that it emerged from- or the Rich who commissioned the Art and who acted as Patrons.

   You see mankind move from stone, to drawings, to paintings, to mixtures of both (Frescoes and Icons. Then watch as Artists experiment  working with metals, or clay, or porcelain – and how some societies favored one form or another. The old Dutch Masters – who were forced to use just “light” to express emotions – because the droll and fundamental Religious views of the time, forbade “color” as sinful. Then when color exploded on the scene – like the Sistine Chapel ( it is almost Disney like in its blues, and reds and pinks and purples). The true colors of The Sistine Chapel , are not the colors you saw in old textbooks – where the color was damped by years of smoke and the patina of age – if you have not seen the true colors of the Chapel – since the Japanese invented the process of cleaning the priceless paintings – it would be worth your while to visit an Art Book or google how it looks now – gorgeous!)

  Then folks like Van Gogh – put mood in color with Starry Night and Sunflowers – and common people. Then the impressionist folks – who really, really studied light! Then buildings as Art; like the Giant Versailles like work of the Hermitage; and old Christopher Wren’s Buildings in Bath in England – to the Frank Lloyd Wright’s “falling waters” – and that Frank Gherrey building in Spain (Bilboa) and that cool place in LA he built for Disney – and don’t forget that Japanese Guy who did the Bird-nest for China)

Art in every form, for millennia – preserved in Museums – or collections, or some like Stonehenge – just the very spot itself is preserved. The Obelisks  and Sphinx’s, here in St. Petersburg, are over 7,000 years old – and in a museum just a few yards away – you can see Art by Andy Warhol.
 Travel shows you a whole lot of History through Art and Architecture. The little mermaid, as originally conceived in the fairytale – a tiny figure, contemplating the choice of giving up her voice, to have legs – so she can marry her Prince Charming – then just a mere hundred years later – see the same “little Mermaid” – except this time through the eyes of a society that believes and expresses woman’s sensuality and power! The two statues are products of the same story -, not the same Artists.Nor are they the expression of the same societies! Compare and contrast – with some Art, that is easy to do.

Ten years of seeing of it, is not enough. I have no words to describe the massive papermache chandeliers in Catherine’ s Palace (nor her dresses – which are also Art) , nor the glass pyramid at the Louvre , not the Grand Hallway in Versailles, or Buckingham Palace, or the Swedish ship the Vassa – all ART with Capital letters !

  How do you make parquet floors out of now extinct exotic woods – without nails?  I hope you can travel, either in life, or through books and documentaries – and maybe see the Panama Canal in a new light – or look closely at the body paint on Amazonian Tribes Peoples – all of it contributing to man’s ability to express himself – both in the now – and for posterity!

Hugs to all. Kevin and Kathy – ten years and counting.

From: Kevin Hughes, kevin@staytogether.us
Date: July 22, 2009 4:00:18 AM EDT
Subject: Re: Still more about the Ten Years at sea – Today, some cultural stuff….Okay, I am American but, I can still recognize Culture and Tradition! LOL

Aloha All,

  Up here in the Baltic, they have a saying: ” Keep your friends wet.” It means to keep them drunk. In a land where the number of sunny days for a year – are double digit numbers – it makes sense that keeping people “wet”, may help fight off the doldrums from the endless parade of grey days. These are hardy people, but, there are many functional alcoholics.

 In Central America, we met a lady who teaches “jungle tribes” math. She got yelled at by a Chief for teaching kids big numbers; She told him: “You have to learn to count  to more than ten!” He yelled back: “If you have more than ten of anything, you have to many!”

Then there was this Gem, from a Mayan Indian in Mexico – “We have learned how to sell. Because the government tell us it is good for our economic situation. We do not buy, because of our economic situation.
    When the shops close, we trade – just like we always have.”

 This one from Finland: ” We don’t make small talk. That way, when we speak, everyone knows it is necessary.” Makes you think the country is filled with semi-autistic engineers! LOL

 In the Baltic, ogres, and trolls and all manner of dark deformed people; populate their fairytales. It is no wonder, with the rocky crags, blowing wind and rough water and terrible dark winters – that there would be little of brightness and lightness in their mythology.

 In small countries, like Estonia and Latvia and Lithuania – the Russians themselves are the subject of dark and fearsome tales. Little kids are frightened of the “Giant Russians” coming back. In Russia, the KGB filled the same mythical/mysterious role – except it was all too real.
  It is estimated that the KGB in a little over seventy – four years, eliminated or incarcerated more than 60 million people – most done under Stalin, but, the others were no slackers either. Kruschev over saw the destruction of the place where Tsar Nicholas and his family were killed. He later said in a speech: ” It was the single most outrageous act of destroying Russian history ever committed against the common People. ” Yet he did it.
    By the way, Russians lost many, many more people in the WWII, both Soldiers and Civilians-so be careful who you say “Won the War”, when traveling over here! I saw a T-shirt (in English) that depicted US Marine kneeling in front of a Russian Soldier. The Russian trooper was holding a bayonet to the marine’s neck; the caption read:
 ” 440,000 brave Americans lost their lives in WWII. All on foreign soil. 8 Million Soviet soldiers lost their lives – in their own country. Now, tell me again, who won WW II?”

  Makes you ponder, doesn’t it?

 The Germans carry the sins of their Fathers. Poland’s history reads like the prologue to hell. In all the border countries (Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia etc…), a growing rift between the young – who see the world as an oyster to be opened and enjoyed- and the elders, who want to go back to the “old ways”. As Serbia/Bosnia/Hergotzvinia showed us – even with few people alive who went through the old ways – people will still fight to go back to them!

 The History over here is dark and mysterious, and shrouded in claims and counter claims. What stands out is simply the old quote: “Never underestimate man’s inhumanity to man.”  Again, time to ponder.

 A subtle sign of changing times – Chinese is now the number one taught language in Russia. Students are giving up English to study Chinese and Indian languages. Their reasoning is basically this: ‘The West is dead. Capitalism only outlived Communism by a mere 20 years.”  I think I mentioned that both Mein Kampf, and The Communist Manifesto, are on the top seller lists over here, and in China. What that means for the future – I have no idea.

   We have found people in every country to be like people in our country. Some folks are kind, some are cruel, some are smart, some – not so much. In Latin and Central America, you see the power of the Church. In England and France, the power of tradition. In Russia, the power of a corrupt bureaucracy combined with the communist idealistic holdover. In the Scandinavian Countries-you witness the effects of Socialism – pervasive in every walk of life. By the way Socialism is not “free education, health care, etc…” they pay a heavy tax – which is used to provide those benefits. As one Finish man told me: “When you don’t build aircraft carriers and jet fighters, you can afford to build a clinic.”

   You get a glimpse of why “Americans” are so misunderstood, and why we misunderstand. We really are a cultural experiment – compared to the rest of the World; Change is coming, fast and furious all over the globe. Even here – where people have needs taken care of from Cradle to Grave – there are anarchists and malcontents.

   I have no idea what any of this means – you learn as you travel to say things like” “That’s interesting. ” Rather than, telling someone that their way of doing things is “wrong.”  Simple things become complex. Here is an example from the ship:

  Let’s say you have three people doing the exact same job on board the ship. One guy makes almost 2,000 pounds a month, another lady makes 7000 pesos, (about 700 dollars) another makes 14,000 Rupees (about 550 dollars).  Well, that isn’t fair you say – but, in Britain – 2,000 pounds is a barely livable allowance. In Pesos – as long as you are spending them in Mexico – you are at an above average pay scale.  In India, you would be the richest man in your village.
    So, what is a fair wage? How do you account for the local economy? If you pay everyone in US dollars, they lose to the Euro, if you pay them in Euros they lose to the Pound. If you pick one currency – let’s say pounds – and everyone gets the same pay: 2,000 pounds a month. The guy in Britain becomes just able to break even, and the guy from Mexico becomes upper middle class, and the guy from India becomes , well, off the charts!

You see little things like that ,all over the place, and you begin to find out that – in general – people in a country or region, have figured out a way to live in their part of the world, their own way – with their own ways. You learn to not judge as much, and be less intolerant. You just accept what you cannot change – and if you live in a country that has plenty (Like I do), you thank your lucky stars for being born there.

 On our ship, they have to give lessons some new crew members on how to wash there hands. In some of the cultures on board, there is no running water in most locations, and showers and baths, are a luxury. They quickly adapt, but, never quite lose their awe at turning a tap, and there is water!

 Food. Well, we have had curry dishes, octopus, buffalo, reindeer, crab- almost every imaginable cuisine in the world is presented on the ship or in the towns you visit. I am not a food buff, but, my son-in-law wrote about a great food he discovered in Prague. If you read his blog, you will see how happy that made him.

   I do not have an educated palate – but have eaten chicken mole (made from scratch and saw the chicken before she became supper!) to eating opii (snails that live in tidal pools), I have tried monkey, shark, octopus and every vegetable grown on this planet, and even a few kinds of sea weeds!  Unlike other members of my family who love discovering new foods and tastes; there were not many that I really loved! Mallasada’s – Portuguese puff pastries and Guamanian Panzit, are two that come to mind. But, for you food freaks, travel really does have a lot to offer!

  You come away with great appreciation for Mankind – Mankind is  a quarrelous, gregarious, gaggle, of talent, fun loving, curious individuals-with a dash of cruelty, mischief, and kindness thrown in the stew. We make Palaces, Cathedrals, Mega-Yachts and Skyscrapers- yet; some of us live in tents, hovels, and cardboard shanty towns. We own private jets, and ride at 600 miles an hour, and treat it like a buss ride.

   We complain about the time it takes to get to Paris from NYC , or Tokyo from Berlin, and yet it takes less than a day. We have millions who can’t get enough food, and millions more who are trying to lose weight. We have over 1,500 religions and maybe ten times that amount of private cults, and superstitions.

   We live near water, desert, ice, sand, and on mountain tops – in tropical heat and arctic cold- in short humans are everywhere – in every niche we can find.

  We form governments, religions, workers parties, unions as small as two people – and we have walked on the moon. Travel just re-enforces the awe at how complex and yet simple, human kind really is. In the next email, I will talk more about Art and Architecture – since travel is filled with both.

Aloha Kevin working on his second Ten Years at sea