We were very lucky when it came to
our tablemates, although they may have a different opinion of us. Gregg and Laura both work for
Boeing. He is with NASA’s manned
space flights and will retire after the final shuttle mission and I think Laura
does something with the international space station. As you can imagine, the conversations can be
enlightening. They are making this
crossing as a shakedown for a ‘round the world cruise. Laura’s need for a gluten-free diet
means we get advance notice of the next day’s menu, which is nice since eating
is one of the main events on a cruise.
Samuel
and Gordana are as mismatched a pair as you will ever see, and somehow make a
perfect couple. He is an 85 year-old
Jewish attorney who taught the philosophy of law and has had several other
careers, some lucrative and others not so much. He is a real raconteur and has a funny story for every
occasion. And he is as bald as an
egg! Gordana is an exotic
Serb, maybe in her forties, with a mop of blonde hair. She wears jewelry that she herself
designed, has a zillion recipes and seems to have lived everywhere.
Jan and Lois, women of a certain age, are traveling together. Jan is a widow in her 70s. She walks with a cane but loves to
travel and cruises are the perfect way for her to get around. Lois’s (second) husband volunteered her
when Jan was looking for a travel companion. She is an unbelievable 87 years old and is one of the most
interesting people I have ever met.
Her first husband was a military attaché and they raised their kids in
Turkey in the early 50s then moved to Germany. He died in his fifties on the tennis courts and she gave up
the game just last year. She and
Jan are impressed by our adventures but I can’t imagine what her life was like
before Europe was “discovered.”
When I grow up I hope to be just like Lois.
