Nautica Impressions HKG to ATH

[merryecho]

Jack (and anyone else interested) I am fuming. As of this morning we had not been contacted by anyone from CDC, Delta, or Air France about DH's trip with the Tuberculosis patient. I called CDC and was told that they didn't get a flight manifest until yesterday afternoon! This flight occured May 12th, and has been on the news since early this week. They now say chances of catching anything are miniscule, so I guess we should just consider ourselves lucky. But I hope they improve their tracking methods before this happens again, possibly with a more virulent bacteria.

[cathi]

Jack - it can't possibly be your last post!! Cruise critic is addicting and I'm sure we will be hearing from you on whatever cruise you chose to do. I, too, hope that our paths will cross sometime. It will be a pleasure to meet you & Ty!

Sukey - no fair!!! Another cruise before you join us in April!!!! Wish the family would let me do a holiday cruise!!!

Merryecho - lots of people are saying that airplanes will carry the next big "virus" around the world in a flash. Hope it all works out for you guys.

[molomare]

Jack, It doesn't look like this board is going to let you take leave so fast. We will all have withdrawal symptoms at the thought of not hearing from you again! I am elated for the both of you that Ty's news is so good. Please enjoy the rest of your life and I know you will continue to be the attentive son to your wonderful parents - something that was reborn on your cruise. I admire you so much. The very best to you and Ty. We look forward to your published edition. Marcia

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Happy sailing, Jack, Ty, and your folks.

[lahore]

That's great news Jack. I think if I were you I would have strangled him for not telling me the second he knew though: but you obviously have better karma than me:)

[Toranut97]

Jack, your excellent travel writing crossed my mind as I traveled with my husband over the last couple weeks + on a river cruise in Europe. More than anything, though, I was praying for good news for you and Ty (along with several others I know who are having health scares). Now this good news makes me very happy and relieved (a fraction of what you all are feeling, I know). So plan that next trip together with joy and verve -- I know you will!

 

Donna

[Lauren Spray]

Jack and Ty,

 

So happy that the tests came back negative! Life is precarious and precious! I can see you intend to live life to the fullest and I hope you have many future travels together. Oh...and that you write about them, too.

 

Lauri

[Lauren Spray]

Merryecho,

 

I sincerely hope your husband is okay. What a scary thing to have happened to him, or to anyone else on that flight. No fair!

 

Lauri

[merryecho]

Thanks Lauren- it looks like Sparks was not really in a communicable stage of the disease, so everything is probably fine. What really scared me is that the flight was May 12th, the news broke about the 25th, and the CDC couldn't get the passenger manifest until May 31st! Something is seriously wrong here.

[meow!]

Purely out of curiosity, I checked the availability of this same 35 day voyage next Spring (2008), and it was practically fully booked, except for a few non-balconied cabins. How much of this is from the "JackfromWA" effect? Perhaps Jancruz can let us know!

[tak2]

I checked three days ago on O site and there was nothing left!

That's why on a post elsewhere I had suggested that O deploy their new ship to run this route.... for the almost double passenger capacity and also larger staterooms for the longest journey they offer. Hopefully, FDR reads this and gives this some consideration.

[cathi]

Hey, Jack sold this cruise to a lot of people who didn't think they could do this long of cruise. He made the whole thing look good and Oceania would do well to sign him up as a serious rep for the company!

[Jancruz]

Purely out of curiosity, I checked the availability of this same 35 day voyage next Spring (2008), and it was practically fully booked, except for a few non-balconied cabins. How much of this is from the "JackfromWA" effect? Perhaps Jancruz can let us know!

 

Im not sure about the "Jack effect" as this cruise was sold out for 2007 in 2006..any one who wants this cruise should call a travel agent..I am sure you can still get space..

Jan

*****

[JackfromWA]

Tonight my mom, dad, Ty, my nephew Peter and I enjoyed a great dinner and celebrated Mom’s 70th birthday. Both of my parents are officially septuagenarians. Many of you have seen pictures, and know my mom certainly doesn’t appear to be 70, but she was born July 9, 1937.

 

Waves are crashing out in front of our beach house and the view through the living room window is just like a balcony cabin; a sliding glass door, a small deck and ocean as far as the eye can sea.

 

I left my parents home alone—they have good friends coming over to wish my mom happy birthday—and Ty took my 16 year old nephew Peter to our other house since I need to be here in the morning and Peter needs a ride to work. So I am sitting here alone watching the sea and the sun and thinking about my mom, my nephew and the past year. It was a good year. The best year I recall ever spending with my parents. It is a good summer. I enjoy having my 16 year old nephew here for a few months. He is full of life and I appreciate the opportunity to listen to him and answer his questions. He admires me and whether I like it or not he looks up to me. One of the byproducts of getting older is I have become an “example” to the next generation of my family. Ready or not here it comes.

 

Driving home I thought about why I love my mom so much and why I love my nephew (and other nephews and nieces who aren’t here) so much. Forgetting their personalities and character traits for a moment, I love my mom so much because some day I hope to be 70 and she represents the life I hope to have. I love my 16 year old nephew so much because looking in his eyes I remember my life at 16. He represents the hopes I had in 1979 and reminds me that with age comes wisdom, change and a greater depth then I had as a teenager. In a way loving both of them is loving myself—both the person I was and the person I hope to be.

 

All of this isn’t why I posted though. I posted because the books are done! They left the printer today and UPS is supposed to drop them off on Friday. I emailed Sukey the tracking number so she could follow them with me. Sukey did so much work, and while it is true I wrote the book, without Sukey’s tremendous time consuming efforts there would be no book.

 

So, all of you who ordered books can expect them to ship out sometime next week. There is a great cover, pictures and a wonderful transcription of our thread. I think you’ll like it.

 

I hope everyone is having a great summer.

 

Jack

[tak2]

Jack, it is so good to hear from you again. Your writing is so heart warming that it's always soothing to read before bedtime. The perfect relaxant.

 

Happy birthday to your mom. I admire your contentment with life. There's a chinese saying, " Contentment is the root of happiness ".

 

Tak

[Aussie Gal]

Jack,

 

Great to hear from you again. Please wish your Mother a very happy birthday, especially this very special one. We do have another thing in common - my husband Peter's birthday was only last Wednesday, July 4th, your Mum is only two years older than him. Both are Cancerians and they usually love their family, the sea and are very gentle people.

 

I am so looking forward to receiving a copy of the book. I will treasure it and refer to it constantly as the months are going by very quickly and it will not be so long before we will be on that wonderful cruise.

 

We have just returned from a great 3 weeks away cruising from Tahiti to Hawaii on the Tahitian Princess and enjoying some wonderful warm weather. We are in the midst of a very cold winter this year. It will be interesting to compare how Oceania differs from Princess as the two ships are identical. I am expecting a huge difference in both service and food.

 

Best wishes to you and Ty.

 

Jennie

[wildduck]

Jack, It is great to hear from you again. I am looking forward to your book also. I have read over many areas of your journey while planning our cruise next year.

Happy Birthday to your Mum. I too am a cancerian my birthday was the 6th July, I turned 58 and although my 2 sons were not here to celebrate, it still was very special.

Best Wishes to you and Ty.

Judy

[seasoned]

A very happy birthday to Ann!

 

Like the rest of us, I'm eager to get my hands on The Book. There's only so much enjoyment one can get from staring at a computer screen. I'm sure everyone who gets a copy will be absolutely powerless to resist the urge to sit down immediately in a comfortable chair and leaf through the entire work.

 

Jack has achieved a remarkable milestone for a writer: his first book. Congratulations, Jack!

 

-Sukey-

[LHT28]

Tonight my mom, dad, Ty, my nephew Peter and I enjoyed a great dinner and celebrated Mom’s 70th birthday. Both of my parents are officially septuagenarians. Many of you have seen pictures, and know my mom certainly doesn’t appear to be 70, but she was born July 9, 1937.

 

Jack

Wish your Mom a belated Happy Birthday!!!

 

Hope you have many more happy trips planned with your parents .

 

Lyn

 

P.S.My mom just celebrated her 85th July 9th also

[scdreamer]

Good to hear from you once again, Jack ... every so often a reflection or word-portrait from one of your earlier posts will surface in my mind, and it almost always makes me smile. I am glad to hear you and your family are all well, and that you are enjoying your summer.

 

We are getting very excitied, anticipating our first Oceania cruise coming up in October. We have added four days in Athens prior to the cruise, and an extra ten days in Venice and Paris afterwards. Can hardly wait!

 

Looking forward to vicariously "re-living" your own amazing voyage when the book arrives ... thanks!

 

Leslie & Wayne

[meow!]

Happy Birthday, and may peace be with us all. This thread is so close to 300 replies, a real record on this Oceania column, so let us top it up!

[cathi]

Jack - can't wait to get my hands on that book!!! Congrats to your Mom on her 70th! My Dad turned 90 this year and it is so amazing to still have him with us.

I truly know what you meant when you said that different generations make us reflect on our own lives. sometimes it's all a little overwhelming but just spending time with my grandchildren is an adventure each and every time!! Although they do make me realize I am getting older, they also amaze me with their outlook on life. They truly see things in a different way. A few years ago (well quite a few years ago!) my Dad was very distraught about a couple of things and my son who was 3 or 4 at the time sensed this and walked over, wrapped his arms around my Dad's legs, and with all the wonder of a child, looked up and said "Grampa, I will always love you!". The immediate affect on my Dad was wonderful to see and it calmed him down. I think we all realized at that point that the day to day "****" doesn't mean a lot in the long run. To quote a very old saying - it isn't how many breaths we take, it's how many breathtaking moments we encounter.

[Aussie Gal]

Jack,

 

Fedex just delivered your wonderful book to me a few minutes ago.. It is Thursday morning here and I am dying to sit down and read it but am off to a "Christmas In July" lunch at my Mother's Retirement Home. She is 91 years and is in brilliant health so the book will have to wait until later on today.

 

Thanks to you for writing such a wonderful story and to Sukey for the brilliant organization of putting it into book form. I will send a donation later on today to the Olivia Newton John Fund for Cancer at the Austin Hospital here in Melbourne.

 

Jennie

[JoePDX]

Jack,

 

Wow - the book arrived today here in Portland. I'm thankful we are so close! It's a REAL book everyone - not that I expected anything less! I've been flipping through the pages all during dinner. Tonight, I'll be doing more serious reading (after Samantha Brown of course...) :)

 

Congratulations Jack!

 

Cheers,

Joe & Jeff

 

P.S. A nice donation was made to Medical Teams International back in June. MTI is headquartered here in Portland.

[wynkys]

Jack,

 

I also received my copy of the book this morning and congratulations to you and Sukey for a job well done.

I will be making a donation to Medicins Sans Frontieres in thanks.

Take care,

Wayne