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once had a long talk about how we had no pride and if worse came to worse we'd be out on the street playing for quarters. Mark Nizer, perhaps the most inventive juggler I've ever seen, started on the streets and now plays big theaters.
I kept walking, getting hot and sweaty, and that's when I heard someone call my name. It was a new golf buddy from Montreal with his wife and another couple who'd just flown in from Vietnam. I wasn't up to meeting people in my unshaven, sweaty state, but that's the way it goes. We talked and they wanted to know about the tailor I'd recommended so we planned to go see him. Someone had told me about this tailor and when Jintana and I went on a cruise I went to him and had a suit made in case there was any reason to dress up on the ship. He made a beautiful suit and it turned out I didn't need it. So now I have the suit in my closet and the chances of wearing it in Thailand are zero.
The cruise? I'm glad you asked. I'd wanted Jintana to see what my life had been like on the ships so last year we booked a cruise out of Hong Kong to Japan and back. I had some trepidation, as the cruises I had worked were filled with conservative American passengers and I was afraid they'd all gone Trump and we'd face racist comments. As with 90% of my worries, it was silly because the ship was filled with Chinese people out of Hong Kong. Jintana felt they looked down on her because they thought she was a gold digger taking advantage of an old man. It's hard to tell 3000 people she worked at a university for 26 years, owns her own house, and was doing just fine before I came along. Ah, humans.
I loved being back on the ocean but the ship was huge and felt wrong to me. There was a feeling of being hustled, which is true of all cheaper cruises where they have to make up for the low fares by making money on board. It was understandable and I knew it would happen but it was still uncomfortable.
The other problem is Jintana gets motion sickness and the last two nights the ship rocked a bit. She wasn't sick but she wasn't happy either. All in all, it was a mixed bag. I'd like to take the kids on a cruise, but I'm not sure that's in the cards. No big deal, as I had twenty years of seeing the world on ships.
Back to the Walking Street, where I had to search awhile to find a trash bin for my corn cob. I didn't buy anything. After awhile I walked back to the car and stopped at Annie's Place where they have the open mic every Sunday night. I thought again about going, but the parking is awful and the setup not that great. I think it's more of a rock 'n roll situation and that is definitely out of my league. Noisy bar, drunk crowds, equals a bad night for me.
There were some comedians who could open for rock bands and they have my total admiration. That is a skill on a whole other level.
Wow, just had a memory of opening for Donna Summers in Atlantic City. She was a disco queen and if anything was the opposite of disco it was me. It was like having Bob Newhart open for Megadeth. I struggled mightily and got them