I went on my first cruise this summer and although I was originally very skeptical about the whole excursion, I am having a wonderful time: All-you-can-eat-food buffets, plenty of activities, as well as the option to do absolutely nothing. Thousands of people enjoy the experience, but I was originally worried about being sea sick, and there are those stories of people falling overboard...
Now I wasn't so worried about falling overboard, it actually sounds kinda tabloidish (the I-gave-birth-to-Bigfoot's-baby type thing). I do understand the drunk jokester taking an uncoordinated splash, and the angry spouse with the well timed push, but a fall of an innocent cruise line guest sounds unlikely. However, when I look over the railing, with the sunlight glinting off the water, the boundless horizon, it is all fully mesmerizing...
The voice that whispers, just do it, combined with the surreal nature of being on the ship is very discombobulating. I have empathy for Odysseus and understand why he had to lash himself to the mast to resist the temptations of the Sirens. I believe that I now have a better appreciation for the student, who for no apparent reason, pulls some irrational bone-headed stunt. He or she can not resist the urge.
Not that I'm blaming Walt Disney for being the impetus for juvenile delinquency, but checkout these lyrics from The Little Mermaid song "Under the Sea" (since they promote the promise of the counter culture):
The seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake
You dream about going up there
But that is a big mistake
Just look at the world around you
Right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things surround you
What more is you lookin' for?
~
Under the sea
Nobody beat us
Fry us and eat us
In fricassee
We what the land folks loves to cook
Under the sea we off the hook
We got no troubles
Life is the bubbles
Under the sea...
Please find a way to lash these students to your school, lest they make that mad leap and sink to the bottom.
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. Photo credit: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGC/StaticFiles/Images/Show/41xx/416x/4163_Man_Made_Worlds_Largest_Cruise_Ship-4_05320299.JPG
PSS. Lyrics: http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/classicdisney/underthesea.htm
