Debi and I are on a cruise which means I have time to blog. I’m working on a substantive posting on a book entitled Into the Region of Awe – a book that explores the teachings and experiences of C. S. Lewis on the subject of mystical encounters with God. In the meantime, I’m thinking I’ll try to put out some observations on various things that are striking me as interesting or curious. Here is the first installment of “Cruise Tidbits”.
(Note: The cosmetics of my blog site are looking a bit unpolished at the moment. One of my nephews is helping me create a more substantial presence for the blog. He has done his part but I have not yet had the time to do my part. So just ignore the look and feel for the moment and focus on the content).
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Running on a track on a cruise ship is quite an adventure.
Most of the people on the track are not running … they are walking. I’m constantly overtaking people and having to work my way around them. And it is amazing how much track width can be taken up be a single person.
The track itself is only about three feet wide. On the outside is a rail and fathoms of Pacific Ocean beyond that. A plethora of interior activity includes chairs, basketball courts and staircases – all of which tends to generate frequent track intrusions from people who are totally unaware of the significance of the yard-wide stripe encircling their area.
The typical walker is meandering back and forth in an unpredictable pattern across the width of the track like some dust particle exhibiting Brownian motion. I’m constantly trying to calculate whether to pass on the left (and risk an unintended pick with a basketball player) or whether to pass on the right (where an ill-timed bump could launch me on a 12-story journey to an encounter with massive quantities of salt water). Invariably, just as I start to make my move, the zombie-like stroller starts to drift in that direction. It must be some sort of Murphy’s Law of cruise ship tracks or maybe it is due to the subtle side-to-side swaying motion of the ship. Oh – and there is one more possible cause: excessive Margarita consumption (on the part of the walker, not me).
As if a single peripatetic nomad is not enough of an obstacle, I also have to navigate around couples strolling arm-in-arm or shoulder-to-shoulder or in the most challenging configuration of all which is the staggered couple where one is two or three feet in front of the other. It helps to get through the staggered couples if you have the skills of a NFL running back who can zig and zag around defensive linemen intent on tripping him up.
Now, in all of this, I am not complaining. Heck, Debi and I are on a cruise! Plus, this mine-field set up to the track gives me a great workout. My two-mile run probably equivalent to the calorie loss associated with the Boston Marathon. Life is good.
Dear Mike & Debi! I love your writing. It is so picturesque and visual that one feels like he/she is watching you from a corner of the deck!
Enjoy the trip and continue running marathons!
Helene
Hmmm… Is cruise ship running part of the “mystical experience of God”? Perhaps you should try the 12 story launch bit. That’ll get you there.
Mike, all I can say is that you are obviously not arising early enough to run unencumbered on the track. I exhort you to heed the words of Proverbs 6:10-12. No exception for cruises is found in scripture.