(1 )- Horn Player
The ship orchestra has the rather odd 7-person lineup of one bassist, one guitarist, one drummer, one (mostly useless) percussionist, one pianist, one synthesist (who would rather be the pianist), and one sax guy. One reliable source told me that the reduction in horn players is Holland America’s attempt to look and sound “hipper”.
The acronym for this cruise line is HAL (Holland America Line) and the orchestra is called the HALcats. In fact every HAL ship has a band called the HALcats. Every HALcats band reads music and backs up the comics, singers, ventriloquists and other such “guest” entertainers that perform in the main Showrooms.
The Maasdam HALcats are sometimes deployed to a lounge up on Deck 12 called the Crow’s Nest where they get a chance to demonstrate their hipness. A young black female singer is added to the group, they read her charts. They are then billed as “Kalyka and the HALcats”
Oops. Make that “Marisha and the HALcats.” Kalyka got off the ship recently.
(2) - escalators
An up/down pair running from Deck 5 to Deck 6 near the middle of the ship. Passenger escalators are rare on ships, so it‘s very cool if you happen to be in that area. I like it because there never seems to be any waiting time, you just hop on. And you don’t have to hear inane elevator talk from confused old people from Iowa.
(3) - sunny and clear days that I’ve seen in the 38 days I’ve been on this ship
Not the ship’s fault of course. But don’t ever visit Nova Scotia in May or June.
(4) - stripes on the shoulder of an IMPORTANT officer.
There’s only a handful of these 4-stripe guys - the staff captain, the hotel director, the chief engineer, and the master of the vessel…. Basically the equivalent of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty. (was there a piano bar on the Enterprise?)
(5) - departments the passengers are asked to evaluate at the end of their cruise
Food and Beverage
Culinary
Housekeeping
Front Office
Entertainment
Yeah I know “culinary” sounds like it belongs with “Food and Beverage”. But culinary is responsible for how the food tastes. Food & Beverage has to do with how it’s served.
(6) - pianists on the ship
The two aforementioned pianists in the HALcats, plus the Filipino pianist in the ballroom dance group, the chamber group pianist, the piano bar guy, and one “utility pianist” who get deployed here and there to do cocktail music.
(7) - pianos
Rembrandt Showroom (black)
Rotterdam Dining Room (black)
Explorers Lounge (dark blue)
Crow’s Nest (black)
Ocean Bar (raspberry)
Piano Bar (raspberry)
Half Moon Room (black - nice practice piano, room not used much)
(8) - Whistle blasts signaling the general emergency drill (7 short blasts followed by one long blast)
First day of every cruise - 4:15PM. Put on life jacket with “Traffic Director” apron, go to stairwell that almost nobody uses during this drill. Bring written song lyrics to memorize, to break the boredom. Whole thing last 45 minutes.
(9) - Bars on ship. Best one of course being the piano bar
(10) - Minimum hours worked per day by cabin stewards, culinary and bar/food svc. people. These Filipinos and Indonesians don’t get much time off. “10” is also the typical month-length of their contract.
(11) - Deck 11 - the Lido deck buffet, where all musicians go to eat and angst over the tons of food available there
(12) - laps around the walking deck, amounts to a 3-mile walk
Almost every day - my way of dealing with the abovementioned angst
(13) - decks on the ship
Actually, there’s a deck 14, but only because the labeling system skips “13” -- same triska-deckaphobia (get it? triska - DECK -aphobia ? HAHAHAHAHAHA) that you see in NYC buildings.
(14) - ships in the HAL fleet
The newest, called the Eurodam, just hit the water two weeks ago
(15) - age of the Maasdam
Christened by “godmother” June Allyson in Fort Lauderdale in 1993.
16 - tons, whaddaya eat?
Another year of this, I won’t see my feet
Monday, June 23, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Liferaft 15
Today was liferaft day. Once a month we have to put on our lifejackets and go to liferaft training. It’s in the morning, and invariably I find myself rushing up to deck 6, half-asleep, without my first morning coffee. So despite the many liferaft drills I’ve attended, I don’t feel like I’ve retained very much, and wouldn’t be particularly useful in a genuine emergency.
In a genuine emergency, the passengers get the lifeBOATS, crew gets the lifeRAFTS. LifeBOATS are a) easier to enter and exit, and have standing room b) are motor-driven you can get the hell out of the way of the sinking ship. The lifeRAFTS have two friggin paddles that are so short you could play pingpong with them.
The rafts initially are deflated and packed into a white plastic cylinder about the size of your average garbage can, along with the paddles, flares, K-rations, and a bunch of other survival needs I can’t think of right now. They are then suspended off the side of the ship not far from the lifeboats.
There’s a certain rope you pull that makes the plastic can “explode” and the raft automatically inflates. Then there’s series of procedures for getting the damn thing onto the ocean, with 25 crew-people inside.
Today they had a raft opened up and sitting on the floor in an open area, and my “Liferaft 15” cohorts and I piled into it. It was crowded and uncomfortable, and really made me dread the idea of a genuine emergency.
Speaking of which, I’m still trying to get recruited as a tour escort for an excursion in Halifax, Nova Scotia, called the “Titanic Tour”. Like millions of other people I have a morbid curiosity about the Titanic story. And this tour is as morbid as it gets. Many victims of the disaster were taken over to Halifax, which was the closest port to the spot where Titanic went down. So the tour includes a cheery visit to a graveyard.
The only “intact Titanic deck chair in the world” can be found in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, also included in this tour. So this is a very in-demand tour, and I’m running out of chances to see it as a tour escort.
Ship musicians are intrigued and amused by the story of the noble classical quartet who were ordered to get up on the outside deck of the sinking Titanic, and play cheerful music to all the people who were freaking out. Apparently they did this as long as they could stand upright. I really can’t picture myself with a keyboard on the open deck of a sinking ship, playing “Runaround Sue” or whatever. Procedures have improved since 1912, and happily I’d be in
Liferaft 15.
Today is day 32, this gig is 1/3 over.
In a genuine emergency, the passengers get the lifeBOATS, crew gets the lifeRAFTS. LifeBOATS are a) easier to enter and exit, and have standing room b) are motor-driven you can get the hell out of the way of the sinking ship. The lifeRAFTS have two friggin paddles that are so short you could play pingpong with them.
The rafts initially are deflated and packed into a white plastic cylinder about the size of your average garbage can, along with the paddles, flares, K-rations, and a bunch of other survival needs I can’t think of right now. They are then suspended off the side of the ship not far from the lifeboats.
There’s a certain rope you pull that makes the plastic can “explode” and the raft automatically inflates. Then there’s series of procedures for getting the damn thing onto the ocean, with 25 crew-people inside.
Today they had a raft opened up and sitting on the floor in an open area, and my “Liferaft 15” cohorts and I piled into it. It was crowded and uncomfortable, and really made me dread the idea of a genuine emergency.
Speaking of which, I’m still trying to get recruited as a tour escort for an excursion in Halifax, Nova Scotia, called the “Titanic Tour”. Like millions of other people I have a morbid curiosity about the Titanic story. And this tour is as morbid as it gets. Many victims of the disaster were taken over to Halifax, which was the closest port to the spot where Titanic went down. So the tour includes a cheery visit to a graveyard.
The only “intact Titanic deck chair in the world” can be found in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, also included in this tour. So this is a very in-demand tour, and I’m running out of chances to see it as a tour escort.
Ship musicians are intrigued and amused by the story of the noble classical quartet who were ordered to get up on the outside deck of the sinking Titanic, and play cheerful music to all the people who were freaking out. Apparently they did this as long as they could stand upright. I really can’t picture myself with a keyboard on the open deck of a sinking ship, playing “Runaround Sue” or whatever. Procedures have improved since 1912, and happily I’d be in
Liferaft 15.
Today is day 32, this gig is 1/3 over.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Broadway Lyrics Quiz
pick a) b) or c)
1 - first line of “Send in the Clowns”
a) Isn’t it rich, my faulty air
b) Isn’t it rich, aren’t we queer
c) Isn’t it rich, I feel a pair
2 - first line of second verse of “Some Enchanted Evening”
a) Some Enchanted Evening, you may see her crossing
b) Some Enchanted Evening, when you find her laughing
c) Some Enchanted Evening, you may hear her crapping
3 - first line of second verse of “Surrey with the Fringe”
a) Watch that horse and see how it stutters
b) Nosey pukes will step in the gutter
c) Watch that fringe and slip on the butter
4 - Last verse of “What I Did For Love”
a) Kiss today goodbye, and point my way tomorrow
b) Kiss today bye bye, the sweetness that I borrow
c) Kiss the way goodbye, and point me toward the sorrow
5 - first line of second verse of “Cabaret”
a) No use in sitting alone with a broom
b) Put down the kitten, the duck and the groom
c) No use forbidding the book in the tomb
6 - first line of second verse of “My Favorite Things”
a) Cream collared Coneys and warm woolen kittens
b) Boys in white dresses and crisp satin strudles
c) Girls in white dresses and new spatzen lashes
All are somewhat incorrect……but all were heard, simultaneously no less, from patrons at the piano bar during the “Broadway Singalong with Steve” a few nights ago. To make matters worse-- there were other tunes I tried where I myself wasn’t certain about the lyric, but I tried them anyway -- unrealistically thinking that the requesting patron(s) would know all the lyrics and cover for me. Which He Did Not….. and I wound up singing things that were just as inane as the above lyrics.
Broadway tunes are wordy, yet people request them, without any intention or ability to sing correct lyrics. So the Broadway Singalong will be seriously trimmed down to Tunes That I Absolutely Know All the Words To.
1 - first line of “Send in the Clowns”
a) Isn’t it rich, my faulty air
b) Isn’t it rich, aren’t we queer
c) Isn’t it rich, I feel a pair
2 - first line of second verse of “Some Enchanted Evening”
a) Some Enchanted Evening, you may see her crossing
b) Some Enchanted Evening, when you find her laughing
c) Some Enchanted Evening, you may hear her crapping
3 - first line of second verse of “Surrey with the Fringe”
a) Watch that horse and see how it stutters
b) Nosey pukes will step in the gutter
c) Watch that fringe and slip on the butter
4 - Last verse of “What I Did For Love”
a) Kiss today goodbye, and point my way tomorrow
b) Kiss today bye bye, the sweetness that I borrow
c) Kiss the way goodbye, and point me toward the sorrow
5 - first line of second verse of “Cabaret”
a) No use in sitting alone with a broom
b) Put down the kitten, the duck and the groom
c) No use forbidding the book in the tomb
6 - first line of second verse of “My Favorite Things”
a) Cream collared Coneys and warm woolen kittens
b) Boys in white dresses and crisp satin strudles
c) Girls in white dresses and new spatzen lashes
All are somewhat incorrect……but all were heard, simultaneously no less, from patrons at the piano bar during the “Broadway Singalong with Steve” a few nights ago. To make matters worse-- there were other tunes I tried where I myself wasn’t certain about the lyric, but I tried them anyway -- unrealistically thinking that the requesting patron(s) would know all the lyrics and cover for me. Which He Did Not….. and I wound up singing things that were just as inane as the above lyrics.
Broadway tunes are wordy, yet people request them, without any intention or ability to sing correct lyrics. So the Broadway Singalong will be seriously trimmed down to Tunes That I Absolutely Know All the Words To.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Enough about Filipinos
I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of many people shouting out in the main corridor of B-deck.
B-deck is the first non-passenger deck below the guest area, containing some crew cabins, but also dining areas, bars, loading areas, offices, etc etc
Anyway, I rushed out of my cabin and found a huge throng of people surrounding a tug-of-war, with five “tuggers” on each side of a very thick rope, the kind they use to tie the ship to the dock.
Someone mentioned that it was Philippine Independence Day, thus the festivities. It would’ve made more sense if it were Filipinos in the tug-of-war. But on one end of the rope was orchestra musicians and stagehands, on the other side were sailor/mechanic types who worked down on D-Deck. There was a Filipino who served as “starter” of each contest. Perhaps the Filipinos were too slight of build to seriously contend?
This got old very quickly, so off to the Lido Buffet I went. Filipinos have a lock on all the bartending jobs on this ship, as they did on the Ryndam last winter. In fact, one of the Ryndam bartenders turned up on this ship four days ago, having spent 4 months back home before signing on for another ten months.
On both the Ryndam and the Maasdam, ballroom dance music was provided by Filipino bands. The current band, called the Basul Trio, led by pianist Raul Basul, has had their contract extended, so that they’ll have 14 consecutive months here before leaving. I noticed that they used to have a guitarist, who I suppose got sick of it all and left without being replaced.
I got this info from an outdated list on my cabin wall, which said that Raul Basul and guitarist so&so shared cabin 7043.
Raul now has his own cabin, and that in itself is a large incentive for reducing the size of your group from Quartet to Trio.
Enough about Filipinos. Yesterday’s highlight was a bus trip around Prince Edward Island, featuring a stop at Green Gables, which was the inspiration for a character/book named “Anne of Green Gables”
I missed the boat, pardon the pun, with this whole Anne of Green Gables thing, but Wikipedia tells me it’s been quite a big deal, for quite a long time. Lotsa books, movies, TV series etc. So the 45-minute stop at Green Gables involved strolling on this piece of property, through this little house that “Anne” lived in etc etc. It would have helped if I’d known something about Anne etc. beforehand.
Prince Edward Island and its beauty is the backdrop for the books. My God, it really is a beautiful place. It was formed delta- style, by deposits from the St Lawrence River over a gazillion years, and that somehow explains the red-”clay-like” color of its soil. This plus the 69 shades of green. The Tour Guide said some committee was paid to come and study the island’s colors and concluded that there were 69 shades of green. The Tour Guide was a tad sarcastic of taxdollar misuse as she said this.
Prince Edward Island is the “Rhode Island” of Canada -- a full-fledged but very dinky province, about the size of Long Island. It has 140,000 residents, but 1.4 million visit there in the summertime. This summertime crush of people is still a few weeks away I guess, and I think yesterday was a fine time to see the whole thing.
Anyway, happy birthday to the Philippines, noble provider of cruise ship bartenders and small dance bands.
B-deck is the first non-passenger deck below the guest area, containing some crew cabins, but also dining areas, bars, loading areas, offices, etc etc
Anyway, I rushed out of my cabin and found a huge throng of people surrounding a tug-of-war, with five “tuggers” on each side of a very thick rope, the kind they use to tie the ship to the dock.
Someone mentioned that it was Philippine Independence Day, thus the festivities. It would’ve made more sense if it were Filipinos in the tug-of-war. But on one end of the rope was orchestra musicians and stagehands, on the other side were sailor/mechanic types who worked down on D-Deck. There was a Filipino who served as “starter” of each contest. Perhaps the Filipinos were too slight of build to seriously contend?
This got old very quickly, so off to the Lido Buffet I went. Filipinos have a lock on all the bartending jobs on this ship, as they did on the Ryndam last winter. In fact, one of the Ryndam bartenders turned up on this ship four days ago, having spent 4 months back home before signing on for another ten months.
On both the Ryndam and the Maasdam, ballroom dance music was provided by Filipino bands. The current band, called the Basul Trio, led by pianist Raul Basul, has had their contract extended, so that they’ll have 14 consecutive months here before leaving. I noticed that they used to have a guitarist, who I suppose got sick of it all and left without being replaced.
I got this info from an outdated list on my cabin wall, which said that Raul Basul and guitarist so&so shared cabin 7043.
Raul now has his own cabin, and that in itself is a large incentive for reducing the size of your group from Quartet to Trio.
Enough about Filipinos. Yesterday’s highlight was a bus trip around Prince Edward Island, featuring a stop at Green Gables, which was the inspiration for a character/book named “Anne of Green Gables”
I missed the boat, pardon the pun, with this whole Anne of Green Gables thing, but Wikipedia tells me it’s been quite a big deal, for quite a long time. Lotsa books, movies, TV series etc. So the 45-minute stop at Green Gables involved strolling on this piece of property, through this little house that “Anne” lived in etc etc. It would have helped if I’d known something about Anne etc. beforehand.
Prince Edward Island and its beauty is the backdrop for the books. My God, it really is a beautiful place. It was formed delta- style, by deposits from the St Lawrence River over a gazillion years, and that somehow explains the red-”clay-like” color of its soil. This plus the 69 shades of green. The Tour Guide said some committee was paid to come and study the island’s colors and concluded that there were 69 shades of green. The Tour Guide was a tad sarcastic of taxdollar misuse as she said this.
Prince Edward Island is the “Rhode Island” of Canada -- a full-fledged but very dinky province, about the size of Long Island. It has 140,000 residents, but 1.4 million visit there in the summertime. This summertime crush of people is still a few weeks away I guess, and I think yesterday was a fine time to see the whole thing.
Anyway, happy birthday to the Philippines, noble provider of cruise ship bartenders and small dance bands.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Me Like de Ship
(to the tune of “Dayo/Banana Boat Song”)
Up to de Lido to munch Munch MUNCH
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Six course, seven course, eight course LUNCH
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Hey Mister Pianoman, play me de piano
(Me like de ship me no wanna go home)
Maaaaaaassdam…..
Ooh de Maasa de Maasa de Maasa de Maasdam
(too piercing, mon)
De nice young man from Polynesia
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Keep de room clean, for mi week of leisure
(Me like the de ship, me no wanna go home)
Filipino bar man mix mi potion
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Drink too much, an’ you fall in de ocean
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Maaaaaaasdam……
Ooh de Maasa de Maasa de Maasa de Maasdam
ME LIKE DE SHIP, ME NO WANNA --GO -- HOME
Up to de Lido to munch Munch MUNCH
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Six course, seven course, eight course LUNCH
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Hey Mister Pianoman, play me de piano
(Me like de ship me no wanna go home)
Maaaaaaassdam…..
Ooh de Maasa de Maasa de Maasa de Maasdam
(too piercing, mon)
De nice young man from Polynesia
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Keep de room clean, for mi week of leisure
(Me like the de ship, me no wanna go home)
Filipino bar man mix mi potion
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Drink too much, an’ you fall in de ocean
(Me like de ship, me no wanna go home)
Maaaaaaasdam……
Ooh de Maasa de Maasa de Maasa de Maasdam
ME LIKE DE SHIP, ME NO WANNA --GO -- HOME
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Red Alert.......
…..is an expression that I heard too much while watching Star Trek reruns the past 30 years.
There is a difference between “Red Alert” and “Code Red”
The msMaasdam is in a state of Code Red presently, which is a heightened health emergency due to widespread gastrointestinal disorder (“GID”) -- by “widespread” is meant only 1 to 2 % of everyone on board, but it’s enough to justify stringent measures to stop this highly contagious situation. Guys in surgical masks are 24/7 walking around with antiviral spray wiping down bannisters, doorknobs, pretty much every touchable square inch of the ship. The food in the upstairs buffet is now handed to the guests by gloved employees, transparent cellophane sheets keep the guest from touching the grub.
I sent an email to Dawn yesterday, mistakenly saying the ship is in Red Alert, conjuring images of a cruiseship battling Klingon spaceships in the 23rd century.
The GID crisis put a damper on tonight’s Name that Tune, conducted by Yours Truly in the Piano Bar. By the time the captain declared Red Alert, er, I mean Code Red, my name was already in the daily program >>“Name That Tune with Pianoman Steve” at 9:45.
But suddenly, the use of pencils and paper by guests in the PianoBar was a health hazard, now forbidden because of Red Alert, er, I mean Code Red. Instead of playing 20 tunes and having people write down their answers, it had to be a “shout out the answer” Name That Tune.
Using the theme of “Song Titles That Have the Name of an Animal” the tunes were --
Glow Worm
The Birds and the Bees
Yogi Bear Theme
Muskrat Love
Stray Cat Strut
Crocodile Rock
Hot Diggety Dog Diggety
Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer
“Rudolph” and “Muskrat Love” were the easiest, requiring only 4 notes each.
Prizes for these contests are cheapo -- coffee mugs, key chains, umbrellas (each with the ship logo)…….
…….tonight it was “squishy ships” -- little ship replicas, mad of soft solid rubber, fits in your hand >> supposedly you squeeze it to relieve tension…..they used to manufacture rubber balls for that purpose? Keep it in your front pants pocket? Is that a squishy ship in your pocket or are you happy to see me? (haha)
For the third time during this particular 7-day cruise, I’m being assigned to be a “Tour Escort” -- tomorrow at 10:30 AM. This Tour Escort thing is a VERY sweet deal. Excursions that guests pay for, I go on for free, in return for my critique of the tour. (how was the tour guide, how clean was the bus, were the guests annoyed about anything, what time did the bus arrive here, depart there, etc etc) I fill out a form provided by the Excursion Desk on the ship.
Tomorrow it’s a “2-hour coastal cruise on a beautifully restored 3-masted schooner” in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Remember that Dylan tune with chorus “Everybody must get stoned” ? Well I’ll be digging up the lyrics to that for tomorrow night, by request. It’s the latest in a string of artistic gems I’ve applied to this gig >> “Purple People Eater”, “Mustang Sally”, “If I had a Hammer”, “Zippety DooDah“. Coming soon : “Wooly Bully”.
As for that guitarist who died a few days ago, I know Diddley Squat about his music.
Lock in phasers, Mr. Sulu
There is a difference between “Red Alert” and “Code Red”
The msMaasdam is in a state of Code Red presently, which is a heightened health emergency due to widespread gastrointestinal disorder (“GID”) -- by “widespread” is meant only 1 to 2 % of everyone on board, but it’s enough to justify stringent measures to stop this highly contagious situation. Guys in surgical masks are 24/7 walking around with antiviral spray wiping down bannisters, doorknobs, pretty much every touchable square inch of the ship. The food in the upstairs buffet is now handed to the guests by gloved employees, transparent cellophane sheets keep the guest from touching the grub.
I sent an email to Dawn yesterday, mistakenly saying the ship is in Red Alert, conjuring images of a cruiseship battling Klingon spaceships in the 23rd century.
The GID crisis put a damper on tonight’s Name that Tune, conducted by Yours Truly in the Piano Bar. By the time the captain declared Red Alert, er, I mean Code Red, my name was already in the daily program >>“Name That Tune with Pianoman Steve” at 9:45.
But suddenly, the use of pencils and paper by guests in the PianoBar was a health hazard, now forbidden because of Red Alert, er, I mean Code Red. Instead of playing 20 tunes and having people write down their answers, it had to be a “shout out the answer” Name That Tune.
Using the theme of “Song Titles That Have the Name of an Animal” the tunes were --
Glow Worm
The Birds and the Bees
Yogi Bear Theme
Muskrat Love
Stray Cat Strut
Crocodile Rock
Hot Diggety Dog Diggety
Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer
“Rudolph” and “Muskrat Love” were the easiest, requiring only 4 notes each.
Prizes for these contests are cheapo -- coffee mugs, key chains, umbrellas (each with the ship logo)…….
…….tonight it was “squishy ships” -- little ship replicas, mad of soft solid rubber, fits in your hand >> supposedly you squeeze it to relieve tension…..they used to manufacture rubber balls for that purpose? Keep it in your front pants pocket? Is that a squishy ship in your pocket or are you happy to see me? (haha)
For the third time during this particular 7-day cruise, I’m being assigned to be a “Tour Escort” -- tomorrow at 10:30 AM. This Tour Escort thing is a VERY sweet deal. Excursions that guests pay for, I go on for free, in return for my critique of the tour. (how was the tour guide, how clean was the bus, were the guests annoyed about anything, what time did the bus arrive here, depart there, etc etc) I fill out a form provided by the Excursion Desk on the ship.
Tomorrow it’s a “2-hour coastal cruise on a beautifully restored 3-masted schooner” in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Remember that Dylan tune with chorus “Everybody must get stoned” ? Well I’ll be digging up the lyrics to that for tomorrow night, by request. It’s the latest in a string of artistic gems I’ve applied to this gig >> “Purple People Eater”, “Mustang Sally”, “If I had a Hammer”, “Zippety DooDah“. Coming soon : “Wooly Bully”.
As for that guitarist who died a few days ago, I know Diddley Squat about his music.
Lock in phasers, Mr. Sulu
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Down under and Up Above
Last night was Day One of cruise #3. Not much of a crowd -- typically, people are tired and retire early on Day One, after a long day of plane travel, dragging suitcases through metal detectors, customs, and other tedious crap…….
…..but there were no less than six Australians sitting at the piano bar. A group of two and a group of four. When the two Australian groups were made aware of each other, there was no excited reaction. NO “wow you’re from Australia too”?
As I realized later on -- why should they get excited? If I’m on a ship touring Australia, would I be excited to meet a stranger from Chicago?
There were four Danish people at the piano also, and they thought that a rousing chorus of “Waltzing Matilda” would be a fitting tribute to the six “Down Unders” -- I was reminded of Derek’s rather “pitchy” rendition of the tune one Halloween back at the JS. Remember when he came in looking like an aged Paul Hogan? I think that was the year I came dressed up as Bob Marley.
Anyway I was not prepared for doing “Waltzing Matilda”, that is to say, I didn’t have any lyrics nearby, on paper or in memory -- but the oldest of the Australians graciously sang a few verses about jumbucks and billybongs.
Everybody jumped in on the chorus of course, and I think we’ll do “Waltzing Matilda” a few more times in the course of this week.
To Marianne: I didn’t know anything about Anne of Green Gables. But now that you mention it, one of the ports on this run is Prince Edward Island. There’s a guided tour that includes “visiting the homestead that inspired Canada’s most beloved fictional character.” So now I’m curious. Up to now I’d thought the most beloved fictional Canadian was Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
Didja ever see that Saturday Night Live spoof of the Wizard of Oz -- substituting a Mountie for the scarecrow, a hockey player for the TinMan, and a reindeer for the Cowardly Lion. Gilda Radner was Dorothy -- at the end, the four then skipped off to find Oz, singing “Follow the Yellow Line in the Snow”
I guess I shouldn’t say that into a microphone, Canadians might take offense, and their dollar is worth more than ours now.
This was a conservative group, susceptible to: (especially with alcohol in bloodstream)
You Are My Sunshine
Goodnight Irene
Blueberry Hill
King of the Road
Catch a Falling Star
Jamaica Farewell
Country Roads
Puff the Magic Dragon
Delilah
And of course Sweet Caroline with the “so good so good so good” etc -- maybe one of you can tell me how this goofy pianobar cliché developed.
…..but there were no less than six Australians sitting at the piano bar. A group of two and a group of four. When the two Australian groups were made aware of each other, there was no excited reaction. NO “wow you’re from Australia too”?
As I realized later on -- why should they get excited? If I’m on a ship touring Australia, would I be excited to meet a stranger from Chicago?
There were four Danish people at the piano also, and they thought that a rousing chorus of “Waltzing Matilda” would be a fitting tribute to the six “Down Unders” -- I was reminded of Derek’s rather “pitchy” rendition of the tune one Halloween back at the JS. Remember when he came in looking like an aged Paul Hogan? I think that was the year I came dressed up as Bob Marley.
Anyway I was not prepared for doing “Waltzing Matilda”, that is to say, I didn’t have any lyrics nearby, on paper or in memory -- but the oldest of the Australians graciously sang a few verses about jumbucks and billybongs.
Everybody jumped in on the chorus of course, and I think we’ll do “Waltzing Matilda” a few more times in the course of this week.
To Marianne: I didn’t know anything about Anne of Green Gables. But now that you mention it, one of the ports on this run is Prince Edward Island. There’s a guided tour that includes “visiting the homestead that inspired Canada’s most beloved fictional character.” So now I’m curious. Up to now I’d thought the most beloved fictional Canadian was Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
Didja ever see that Saturday Night Live spoof of the Wizard of Oz -- substituting a Mountie for the scarecrow, a hockey player for the TinMan, and a reindeer for the Cowardly Lion. Gilda Radner was Dorothy -- at the end, the four then skipped off to find Oz, singing “Follow the Yellow Line in the Snow”
I guess I shouldn’t say that into a microphone, Canadians might take offense, and their dollar is worth more than ours now.
This was a conservative group, susceptible to: (especially with alcohol in bloodstream)
You Are My Sunshine
Goodnight Irene
Blueberry Hill
King of the Road
Catch a Falling Star
Jamaica Farewell
Country Roads
Puff the Magic Dragon
Delilah
And of course Sweet Caroline with the “so good so good so good” etc -- maybe one of you can tell me how this goofy pianobar cliché developed.
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