Count your blessings

Sunday, April 05, 2009 – at sea in the Red Sea headed to the SUEZ CANAL
We are 30,472 nautical miles from New York! Perfect summer day with sun and blue skies

Work did not progress as smoothly today as there were all kinds of distractions and disturbances. S L O W email connections, no replies to phone calls, I took another Arabic lession…one of those days. We did have a fun lunch with new friends; he had been the General Manager of an ABC-affiliated radio station in DC and we heard many interesting tales.

I was slightly frustrated. I needed to get out and be a “passenger”. So I took a walk around the deck and we have the Sinai Peninsula on one side and Egypt on the other. There are oil rigs and pumping stations around us (I had no idea Egypt had so much oil) and helicopters landing on the oil rigs.

And I stopped to watch the people -- mostly older folk who have worked many years. What a life they are enjoying today. What a day to be alive…lounging and relaxing in the sun by the pools, no rush hour traffic to contend with, no worry about their next meal (we have at least four venues at any given time to choose from), no family problem to attend to at the moment and they are just enjoying the moment. I hope they take the time to look, pinch themselves and realize how truly fortunate they are.

What a glorious afternoon.

Formal night and Masquerade Ball tonight! We enjoyed a great dinner with our tablemates and saw the VANITY FAIR production with the Cunard singers and dancers. Tried to work on the computer again and bed very late.