The Fleet Report and Daily for Sunday April 28th, 2024

[RMLincoln]

2 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

Thought I would mention something about Kobe and the helpful people there.  About fifteen years ago our cruise ship stopped at Kobe and there was a shuttle to downtown.  There were some local citizens who had volunteered to show the tourists around.  Sara and I met a lady there who asked "What would you like to see?"  I mentioned that about 100 years ago my grandfather had died on a ship coming from Hawaii and was buried in Kobe.  I wondered if we could find his grave.  I gave her his name and approximate death date in 1912 or 1913.  She made a few calls and said that he was buried in the foreign cemetery in a park on a mountain outside of Kobe.  We hired a cab and she took us there and found his gravestone in the Russian section of the cemetery.  We took some pictures and came back to Kobe and took her to lunch.

Sometimes it is surprising what you can do on a cruise.

Ray

Stunning story of amazing and meaningful events in your life!  Thank you for sharing it with us. m—

[CrabbyPatti]

Good Evening!

       Thank you all who have contributed to the daily.  I remember reading it and thought what a nice group of people.  When they held the "Meet & Greet via Zoom, I joined it, didn't say much but is was fun to listen and meet people from all over.........it wasn't a "cruise", but in that awful first year of Covid, it was a fun activity that we did!  I would have never known that I would become adept at "zoom" meetings!  I know it surprised by kids and grands that I accomplish zoom meetings now.

        Love this fun group of people!

Denise

[RMLincoln]

7 hours ago, rafinmd said:

…..

What interested me most was a memorial to the city's 1995 earthquake:

 

 

and a nearby plaque:

 

 

The plaque is a bit blurry but here's the inscription in English:

 

This Earthquake took some things.
Lives, Jobs, Communities, Cityscape, Our Memories.

These things appear safe, permanent.
Even moments before, we cannot know,.

 

This earthquake left many things behind.
Kindness, Compassion, Human Bonds, Friendship

 

This flame links the lives which were taken away,
With our thoughts, the survivors.

 

Roy

 

 

Roy, I think this is beautiful. I’ve saved it. Thank you for sharing it. m—

[USN59-79]

2 hours ago, RMLincoln said:

Stunning story of amazing and meaningful events in your life!  Thank you for sharing it with us. m—

What I thought was amazing was how organized the Japanese are.  Could you imagine stepping off a ship in any American city and asking a stranger to tell you where your grandfather's grave is located?  The story we were told was that after WW2 and Kobe expanded, they removed all the graves from the city foreign cemetery and moved them to a park on the mountain.  There were sections for the different nationalities; British, Russian, etc.  I just found a picture of it.  He died 22 June, 1914.  The family immigrated from Siberia to Maui in the early 1900s and then to Honolulu.  His doctor told him that his heart couldn't stand the heat of Hawaii and that they should go back to Siberia.  He agreed, but died of a heart attack on the way back.  After going back to Siberia, the family then returned to Honolulu, where my mother lived until she finished high school.

Ray

[Haljo1935]

7 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

Thought I would mention something about Kobe and the helpful people there.  About fifteen years ago our cruise ship stopped at Kobe and there was a shuttle to downtown.  There were some local citizens who had volunteered to show the tourists around.  Sara and I met a lady there who asked "What would you like to see?"  I mentioned that about 100 years ago my grandfather had died on a ship coming from Hawaii and was buried in Kobe.  I wondered if we could find his grave.  I gave her his name and approximate death date in 1912 or 1913.  She made a few calls and said that he was buried in the foreign cemetery in a park on a mountain outside of Kobe.  We hired a cab and she took us there and found his gravestone in the Russian section of the cemetery.  We took some pictures and came back to Kobe and took her to lunch.

Sometimes it is surprising what you can do on a cruise.

Ray

What a great, heartwarming story. That is a fabulous cruise experience - I think you won the excursion lottery.