LIFE: observed: American Roadtrip: Day 6 - Friends, Reunions and Conclusions

Monday, August 29, 2011

American Roadtrip: Day 6 - Friends, Reunions and Conclusions

After a visit from friends the night before, I wiled the morning away sitting on deck reading the paper and watching life on the river.

I forgot what it felt like living in a city that is closely tied to a body of water. There is something about it that just slows life down and brings a calmness to the soul.

Three different United States Presidents have sailed on the Delta Queen: Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, and Jimmy Carter. The Queen recreated historic steamboat races each year during the Kentucky Derby Festival, when it raced with the Belle of Louisville on the Ohio at Louisville in the Great Steamboat Race. The winner of the annual race would received a trophy of golden antlers, which was mounted on the pilot house until the next race. They also raced during the Tall Stacks festivals celebrating steamboats, held every three or four years in Cincinnati (the Delta Queen's former home port).

Next it was off to The Stone Cup, a local coffee shop to have a small Mercy Ships Alumni reunion for our ex-crew members in the area. Here is one of the reasons I love my job. These people have either never met or had some rudimentary relationship with each other. Their service spanned 13 odd years over two different ships, yet within seconds they were chatting and comparing stories like nobody's business. It was awesome. I could hardly get a word in edgewise! They also started our first official Alumni chapter. Thanks Amy (and sorry you left before the photo was taken, Amy) and well done Chattanooga!

Back to the boat to have a friend take some photos for her fair trade hammock making initiative called Color Cloud Hammocks. Every hammock is made by a team of skilled seamstresses in a family-owned business in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Knowing it costs more to pay someone fairly, they believe that it is worth it to have a safe and beautiful product. The hammocks are beautifully made so, support their effort by clicking on the link above!

What a trip! Early morning start for the 11 to 12 hour return drive to Texas and I will be sad to leave Tennessee. A great, diverse and oh-so-talented state and I have massively fallen in love with it! Thanks for a great time Tennessee and I will return!

Source: Wikipedia and Color Cloud Hammocks

No comments:

Post a Comment

Caution:

My ramblings might not inspire you.

You might not be emboldened to attempt anything more than making a fresh pot of coffee. There are plenty of blogs out there written by very courageous souls who have poetically broken away from main stream society to achieve their goals.

I am a South African serving with Mercy Ships currently stationed in the United States. Mercy Ships, a global charity who has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978, is following the example of Jesus, by bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide, and serving all people without regard to race, gender or religion.

This blog is simply the ramblings of a middle aged man viewing life from the sidelines and might not always be about my work with Mercy Ships.

Disclaimer: I serve with Mercy Ships. Everything here, however, is my personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships.

Frequency

I will put some things "up," so to speak, on some days, and on other days, I will not put things up. Whether or not I put things up will depend largely on whether, on a particular day, I have anything to put up. For example, let's say that on Monday I have something which I want to put up. On that day, I will put that thing up. On Tuesday, though, I might not have anything to put up. I will worry for a moment about not having anything to put up. "Oh no," I might say, "another day has come, and I have nothing to put up. What will happen if someone visits this site and there is nothing new to look at? Will people be angry?" But then I will realize that, chances are, people will not be angry -- that, chances are, people will understand. Most people are pretty understanding. Then again....