OnTheJourney

This is Marzi, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas...

Speaking of my Dad recently (relative to dementia), today 78 years ago he was captured in the village of Honsfeld during the 2nd day of the Bulge and spent the remainder of the war as prisoner. My Mom was expecting (with my older brother) at the time and had no idea if he was alive or killed. Can't imagine. May we continue to honor all still-living WWII vets and keep the memories alive of those no longer here.

True that. My Dad died from complications associated with dementia. It was a long and tough haul, with my Mom bearing the worst of it - she did her best for years - was his sole caregiver till she knew it was time for outside help. Would try to jog his memory with showing him picture albums, taking him places they frequently visited, doing simple math problems on paper (he was always a wiz with numbers), etc. It's so weird the way it works - like throwing every scrap of memory or knowledge from your brain into a big pot, stirring it all around till they're all mixed up. Then often totally unrelated and disjointed scraps of all that sometimes come forth as a partially coherent thought. Like a jigsaw puzzle where none of the pieces actually fit together anymore. My Dad once asked my daughter where she's living now, so she told him (she was still in High School), and then after he thought about it a bit he said, "I have a son that lives out there". NO connection between who she was and who I was. He used to say to me, "you're my buddy"...and, you know what? That became good enough. I think about him every day and simply know - from things that have happened since his passing - that it just seems he's watching over me. Some very uncanny things have happened over the years. He was a WWII vet, and German prison camp POW for the last 5 months of the war. One time he was at the dinner table and had that very thoughtful look on his face. Then after a good many minutes finally said, "well, I'll tell you one thing...war is hell". That was it. Nothing else. I guess that said it all. To this day I wonder exactly what memory he was experiencing right then.

It's true. I always think it's so strange to look at pictures of my parents or grandparents when they were far younger than I am now. Somehow, when looking at them, I still think of them as always being older than me. Weird. Oh my! How very tragic and sad.... I've heard it said, "Every day is a day of grace".

LOL...my Mom has been saying the same sort of thing relative to her recent 100th birthday. "Where did all the years go?" In the general scheme of things, e.g. the natural order and progression of the cosmos, geological time, etc., the span of a human life is so infinitesimally short. To quote the movie "Hearts in Altantis" (based on the Stephen King novel), "we're all just passing through..." So then I paraphrase another line, this one from the movie, "Titanic"....''make it count".

I suspect nobody does things quite the same way Disney does. Probably always at the cutting edge of what can be done with illumination, effects, etc.

JD....well said! BTW...Just noticed some really nice pics posted by "Radiationman" during a Northern Lights cruise. You probably saw them too - they come up on the sidebar of "new photos". Better pics than I got but then all I had (that worked to get much of anything) was my iPhone. Have a good one...Merry Christmas!

Thanks for keeping track of this. It will indeed be interesting to read a final report. Wouldn't it be cool to do another (far more informal) 'reunion' cruise at some point - not implying, of course, that Viking would be directly involved - since they've done way more than enough for us - but it'd have to start with a group of interested 'survivors' simply planning to choose and meet up on a cruise that would work for everyone. Likely turn out to be a fairly small group I suspect - much like a typical CC 'meet and greet'. I could see it now....the 2029 10th anniversary cruise of the Sky Survivors 😁 Get matching shirts for everyone..."we survived"..... My best to everyone and wishing you all a Happy, safe, and healthy Holiday season!

I thought so. Hope ours goes well. A bit longer trip than we typically do, after adding pre and post extensions. Just hoping for good weather (and good health...especially after getting covid during our most recent cruise). Not fond of traveling during the winter months. Getting snow and ice today but hopefully not much accumulation.

LOL...no problem! Yes...maybe meet up again on some future cruise. I believe you recommended the Cities of Antiquities to me? Unless I'm thinking of another of our Sky passengers. If it was you (I saved the quotes from CC but not who from) - the info mentions that it was on the Jupiter in March. Not sure what year.

Hmmm. Let me guess....Istanbul to Rome? If so, you get off and we get on for the Cities of Antiquities. Tell me you're on our sailing...that'd be so cool.

Exactly. Same for all the thousands of daily flights that you never hear about because all went well. Having been on the Sky when that '19 event happened, it has not stopped me from cruising.

I was going to reference the event but I see that someone already did.

Point well taken, but I'm sure Viking did their homework when they designed the Polaris. A rogue wave is not something one can easily plan for I'd think. Luck of the draw in how and where it hits the ship. That said, rest assured I do share your concern, given that I still have some reservations - despite all that has been said about it here and elsewhere - as to what should or perhaps should not have taken place relative to the Viking Sky incident.

Hate to say it, but this takes me right back to March '19 with being on the Sky, only this is far worse since there was a fatality. Likely wouldn't have happened had the zodiac incident not occurred. Just hearing about broken windows and water coming in brought it all back. Poor Torstein...probably thinking, 'here we go again...'

Most kind....thanks so much.

Wow! My wife had a relative like that - did not believe in any sort of investments or even putting money in the bank - had wads of it hidden out in a shed in buckets. Depression mentality.

Just now trying to catch up on the last several pages. I want to thank everyone who gave such lovely comments and liked the picture of my Mom's 100th birthday celebration a few pages back! Our family is truly blessed to still have her with us. So many people have often said she does not look like she'd be that old. She, herself, continues to be amazed and insists it can't be so. She'll frequently ask, "Where did all the years go?" Worked hard her whole life. Strong bones, strong will. If it wouldn't be for her severe memory issues, there's absolutely nothing wrong with her.

Sure hope so! We just celebrated my Mom's 100th. Had a great party for her at her assisted living center. Congrats on the 99th!

Good on ya for doing this! In retrospect wish I would have tied in some sort of hot tub when we put in our inground pool /decking back in '89. Would have easily had the room to do it. 20/20 hindsight. I'm sure you'll enjoy...

Ah..Graham. Can always count on you for a mouthwatering post and pics.

Just don't hire someone who plans on stapling light strands to the shingles.....😁

LOL.....good one.