Greetings from the Liberty of the Seas

We spent a delightful day aboard Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas. This ship has it all. From rock walls and flow-riders to quiet corners for those who just want to get away.

This is a Freedom Class ship and until the Oasis of the Seas (another RCCL ship) she was the largest cruise ship ever built with 15 decks she accommodates more than 4,300 passenger and 1,300 crew members. She is big, bold and beautiful.

But what I liked best about here was the fact that she in multi-generational. There is something for everyone from age 1-101. There are all the things RCCL for which RCCL is famous: Ice Rink, flow-rider, best children and youth programs at sea. It would be hard for a family to go wrong on this ship. Oh yes, and the food was great.

If there is a down-side to this ship it is the fact that like so many of the contemporary (formerly we called them mass market) cruise lines they nickle and dime you to death. Don't take a cruise on this ship or any other that appeals to the mass market thinking it is all-inclusive. It is not. You will pay extra for specialty coffees (RCCL things Seattle's best is a specialty coffee), all alcohol drinks, soft drinks, specialty dinning rooms, room service during the late night hours and a whole range of other things. Understand this going in you'll have a great cruise.

If you have sailed on this ship tell us what you think.

It Makes My Blood Boil

Society generally assigns responsibility for decision making in stages. From birth through 16 your parents make decisions for you; from 17-21 (18 if you are female) you are granted some additional responsibilities in decision making that do not require parental consent; after 21 you are totally responsible for all your decisions be they wise or be they unwise. However, is there ever a time when because of advanced age and diminished capacity you are not responsible for your decisions? Are are there circumstances under which such responsibility is reduced, diminished or abrogated?

Before you answer consider this: The fastest growing crime in America is defrauding the elderly. Malicious low-life's take advantage of the elderly to access their savings and lines of credit through a whole range of schemes that include phony sweepstakes & lotto's, charities, and a wide-range of other schemes. When it is all said and done these people are out their money and have virtually no recourse to recover their losses.

Beyond the despicable human vermin who perpetrate these scams there is the seeming lack of concern on the part of financial institutions (I suspect that Western Union is used more than any other to transfer these monies) and/or law enforcement. I cannot believe that they cannot find and prosecute these vermin. To my way of thinking they are at least equally as despicable as pedophiles and deserve to be treated no better.

I don't want to limit the right of the elderly to handle their own affairs. I do think that something needs to be done to rid the earth of these human (I would call them animals but I don't want to denigrate the animals) parasites. What do you think?

Why I Choose To Cruise

"I need a vacation!" Ever said that? I have. In my more than 35 years as a Baptist pastor I have said it often. Usually it is nothing but a safe way of saying the pressures of day-to-date life at work or home is getting too intense. Often we say it in jest but I believe there is more than a grain of truth in it because, "I do need a vacation!" I mean a "real" vacation . . . not some weekend getaway but a real vacation.

I am convinced that there is a direct correlation between taking vacations and our physical and mental well-being. There has been a myriad of studies going back to the 1940's that indicate this is the case. However, I don't need a study to tell me that I need a vacation because my gut will do that.

I have discovered that my mind and body react to lifestyle stresses and that a vacation is good for both. That's why I need a vacation. However, I have also learned over that taking a vacation can create it's own set of stresses . . . especially if it is a "family" vacation. But I'll save that discussion for another day because right now I really do need a vacation and for me that means a cruise.

I choose cruise vacations because while most are not truly "all-inclusive" they are "just about everything is included" and there is something about the sea that beckons and calms. Coffee just taste better no matter what the brand from your balcony overlooking the vastness of the ocean.

I'm not talking about one of those amusement park cruises. Now don't miss understand, I am not denigrating those cruises. I still take those kinds of cruises but what I want is a real "golden age of sailing" cruise where I can enjoy good food and conversation; quiet walks and private moments with the love of my life; explore exotic ports of call with both new and old friends.

The more I think about not only do I need a vacation . . . I want a vacation! I think I'll give my travel consultant a call. Oh yea, that's me.

It Was Really Among The Best Years of My Life.

A week or so I spoke about my deciding to attend my 45th High School Reunion and how I arrived at the decision to attend. Since graduation from Pasadena High School 45 years ago I have graduated from three Universities and Seminaries. All three of these institutions hold reunions and Alumni gatherings but none has a hook in my heart like the PHS Class of 1965.

It is fascinating to me the impact that those high school years have had on my life. To be sure, I did not know all 470 of my fellow graduates who walked across that platform in the Old Memorial Stadium across from the First Baptist Church and I did not participate in every activity available in my High School days. And yet, I recall with fondness virtually everything about those days. I would not say they were the best years of my life but they certainly rank up there with the best.

However, since deciding to attend the October 30th reunion I have been thinking about the direction our lives (mine and my classmates) have taken since that night when we walked across that platform and received those diplomas.

Of the 470 fellow graduates of the PHS Class of 1965 forty-four of us (almost 10% of our class) have completed their journey and are no longer among us. Some died young. I often wonder their lives would have been had they not left us so young. Others fought and lost battles with disease and a few in tragic accidents. I feel diminished by their passing.

Many of us went on to attend colleges and universities. Most of us found careers in which we have been to some degree successful. Others of us have struggled with life. Some have been blessed materially while some of us have managed to "get by." High school sweethearts married and some of us are still married to each other today. Many of us became dad's and mom's and have now graduated to grandparents. We represent virtually every aspect of American society and culture.

But the irony of my life has been that in spite of all that has happened in our lives since that evening in May of 1965 and sometimes in spite of what has happened since my fondest memories are of those days spent with my 470 classmates at Pasadena High School and you the Class of 1965. If I remember correctly our class song was "Moments to Remember" and remember them we do. I can still hear the Four Lads as they sing the song.

What was it about those days of our youth that so embedded them in my life. Was it because it was a simpler more innocent time. I have often said that my father, (who spent his childhood in the shadow of WWI; As a youth endured the Great Depression and; As man flew war planes over Europe from 1943-1945 during WWII), lived in the "Best and Worst of Times." In contrast I believe my high school years and the years that followed were the "best of times."

I really don't know why those days and these people are so near and dear to me --- I just know that they are. It is one of the mysteries of my life that I feel this fondness toward people many of whom I only casually knew in those days and have not seen since. Maybe after the 45th reunion I will come away with a better understanding . . . but somehow I rather doubt it. What I do know is this: I am thankful to God that I began my journey in life with this group of people. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Perhaps that's it . . . it was during those years and with these people that i realized my journey in life had begun in earnest . . . maybe.