Some Memory Clips

The cruise was a time to "veg out", but some things did implant themselves in my mind. For example

Ft. Lauderdale has to be the cruise capital of the U.S., if not the world. There were about 10 ships boarding passengers when we arrived at the terminal. If each ship's capacity was 1500, there were 15,000 of us signing on to our ships. Yet, actually getting into one's cabin was not too big a deal; it took us about 30 - 45 minutes and I walk very slowly.

I traveled with my eldest son, who is up on today's gadgets, otherwise known as cell phones. He knew that our phones would not work on the ship without some adjustments AT&T, our provider, would make. So, he arranged for these adjustments. The problem was that the adjustments did not work on the high seas, they only worked in port. However, texting did work on the high seas and I found myself committing the sin of texting. I do not have large hands;I found texting a pain in the arse.

I did not take my computer as the cruise line was offering a "deal" of 55 cents per wireless minute. I was not that interested in looking at my e-mails at a price I considered usurious.

I did have my Kindle and was able to read a book I had downloaded. However, I could not download anything else until I got back to Ft. Lauderdale. It's obvious that cruise lines see technology as a profit center.

I learned that my brain has regressed in that I found it difficult to write anything without having access to a keyboard. Of course, when I started writing back in the 20th century, I wrote everything longhand and had it typed by a secretary. Gradually, I began to use keyboards but, for a long time, I would write extensive outlines by hand. Gradually the outlines became less extensive and, in fact, I ceased writing them. Now I was stuck with access to a writing device other than my hands. I was too lazy to use those hands to write. Hopefully, I would know how to really use them if there were a need to do so.