Kings Point-USMMA-The Jones Act

I'm not an Anchorman, I'm an Anchor,Man!

Visiting the campus of The United States Merchant Marine Academy, also called  Kings Point. I ran a few laps around their track. My pace is like Clapton's Layla, just the slower, raw heart-felt  unplugged acoustic version. 

 Mission Accomplished- I 've been a 1 man National Geographic on that everywhere trip. Now cancel my subscription because I am done with that "issue".

You Get What You Pay For

Qualifying for an MMD Card
was so much fun

99.9% of every cruise ship flys under flags of convenience, to save money,  but hires grads of the USMMA, who are some of the best trained navigators. 

June, 2007, I worked on the only American flagged cruise ship, the NCLA's Pride of America, I had to go to the Seafarers Academy, in Piney Pint, MD  to qualify for  a land-based SCTW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) aka,  a Z Card-a  US Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, even though I was in the Hotel Division of a cruise ship!

Young faces about to go out to sea.
Hay guys "During an disaster,
 what would a passenger
do on an Italian ship? ---
Easy, follow the Captain.

The Jones Act

You learn geology , the day after an earthquake. You learn about the Jones Act  the moment you miss your cruise ship's all aboard time and are stuck in the port of call  like Ensanada , Mexico  and have to take a bus  back to San Diego via   TJ (Tijuana), instead of chasing the ship in Cabo  San Lucas and re-boarding.

What? You can't win an earthquake and you can't win an argument with a Port Agent or Cruise line to get back on  a ship at another port of call

Let me splane

The Jones Act designed to protect American free trade and shipping, but it might be due for an overhall when it comes to cruising, or cleaning up oil spills, like the BP one.

The act forbids foreign ships, which includes most major cruise line fleets, to transport cargo or passengers between two US  ports without first stopping at a foreign port.


Class Dsmissed

 August,2012, I was sailing in Alaska on a Princess Ship, flagged for convienece in Bermuda, but manned with a UK and US Deck Department. We had to go to Victoria, Canada before dropping off passengers  in Seattle to comply with the Jones Act. On top of that, some of the  TCN's (Third Country Nationals) like my buddies from South Africa, weren't even allowed off the ship.

 The crew don't pay for tickets so who cares about the crews wants and needs, right?  What happens when PIF Paid In Full passengers  miss, for instance,  their all aboard embarkation Day 1 of a cruise.

Your plane is late, you  arrive in FT Lauderdale, and see the ship sailing away Bon Voyage waves and all.  You being resourceful  " Think  I'll chase the ship in Key West,  the next port of call", right? The Jones Act says  "NO you can't re-board in Key West because your  Carnival, Royal, or  fill-in-the-blank ship you are on is  foreign flagged, for convenience"-They are clearly an economic benefit to a cruise line but not to you. They are also a benefit to the flag states like Panama., Malta,  Bermuda and The Bahamas in  maritime registration fees, taxes, inspectors, agents  and lawyers.

I'm not a Businessman,
 I'm a Business, Man!

Old Dog New Tricks

The US law dates  from 113 years ago, and is called the "Passenger Services Act," but Senator Wesley L. Jones, who sponsored a 1920 Merchant Marine Act amendment relating to the shipping of MERCHANDISE, not passengers, has unfairly been tagged as the author of the restrictions on what a foreign cruise ship may do or not do in US waters. 

The basic rule is that "foreign" ships may not carry passengers (whether Americans or others) between US ports, subject to certain exceptions.

It's hard to disagree with the basic purpose of the Passenger Services Act (the "PSA") which the US Marine Administration Branch describes as,

"assuring reliable domestic shipping service that is completely subject to national control in times of war or national emergency." 

The Administration also states that

 "the money earned by these vessels remains in the national economy as opposed to being exported, while public revenues benefit from both corporate and personal tax receipts."

What's A Foreign Ship? 

If you're cruising on a ship such as the Carnival Spelndor, with 85% of the passengers being American, an American captain and officers, and an entertainment and cruise staff which is largely American, it's difficult to believe that this ship is "foreign."

 But check the ship's "registration" - on the stern of the ship and on the lifeboats, it will say "Panama" or "Monrovia" (capital of Liberia), or "Bahamas" or somewhere other than the USA - meaning that the ship is registered in that "convenient" country, and therefore not subject, among other things, to American employment standards or US income taxes, despite the fact that (in the case of the Carnival Splendor), its ultimate owner is Carnival Corporation, a publicly traded company on the US stock market.

Read More

You Get Paid For The Waiting (Acting's Free)

On The Set of Lost  (November 2007)in Haleiwa--

As Terry O'Quinn's  Stand-In Body Double.

MY SAAB!

Michael Emerson and Ed Reif

Here with "Vincent The Dog", and Michael Emerson 

Read More

Shoveling Sunshine in Paradise-

In 1994 On Board The SS Constitution

My first extended stay In  Paradise was on America Hawaii Cruises. I just wanted a different experience, and I took the first job I could get, which was a deck hand. We sailed for seven  days and each day we had a port of call.

Starting off with an embarkation day at Aloha Towers in Honolulu, then a sea day, and we hit Kauai, Maui(Lahina and Kahalui) Hilo and Kona. It was the best! 

The weather was always temperate and I had the most energizing and spirtually uplifting time, enjoying the weather, the people, the food, the culture and the OHANA-family atmosphere of Hawaii. I have been hooked ever since on these beautiful islands.
The definition of ecstasy is that you are not doing your ordinary everyday ho-hum existence. Shoveling sunshine in Hawaii beats a day at the office.

Read More

Huna-Helped By Hidden Hands

I showed up In Hawaii and magical things began to happen. 
It all started with the simple decision-to go. 

Being T/here in Hawaii has put me in a unique space .. 

... that supports personal exploration, oneness and the mystical experiences of Huna, the Shamans about manifesting and tapping into "mana" "Chi" also known as the life force.

I have had a tremendous amount of good fortune, starting with this gig on the TV Show, Lost, and the teaching contracts I got, and my reverse commute from my condo in Ka-a-a-va (Yes that's how you spell it).

With Terry O'Quinn

 I am the hero of my own life.When I think of The Hero's Journey, refers to Joseph Campbell's basic pattern found in many narratives from around the world. The Bill MOyers Interview still rings in my ears....

It starts with sacrifice, from sacrifice comes bliss.My general formula for my students is"Follow your bliss." Find where it is, and don't be afraid to follow it. Joseph Campbell 

Bill Moyers: Did you ever have the sense of... being helped by hidden hands?

Joseph Campbell: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time - namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.

With Josh Holloway

Great Car I got!

Read More

Book Him, Danno! Is There life After Luau?

My Most Under -Rated Travel Experience: the Lahaina- Meat Grinder -Visitor Industry that took a chance on an unknown kid from Los Angeles and made an Aloha Graduate of him!

No Monster Waves until Winter ..but I did see Steve and Dano in Maui, complete with 4-year varsity letters, Portuguese last names and healed acne scars, handing out speeding tickets. Bad Cops. No Donuts. Hawaii 5 OMFG!

Is There life After Luau? An OOM "out of money" experience.

One of the best things to experience on your South Pacific vacation, is spending all your cash on things you don't need to impress people you don't know. It ranks as one of the Top Ten Best activities Hawaii has to offer, and Lahiana is no miraculous exception. Giving in to the urge of paying too much for things that comes with a side of Polynesian paradise is truely under rated.

Let's see who can hit this moving target. Let me display my skill--- that is no regard or knowledge for the unwritten rule of this place---take their money and run I'm just a volunteer salt of the earth rainbow lover, with a large supply of energy drinks who wants to dance the hula and be volunTOLD by mainland guilt, Pearl Harbor, Captain Cook, whatever to support the local economy.

Why is there no pine in pineapple? I don't know; but I did stay at a Holiday Inn and saved a ton on my car insurace by switching to Geico.
Lahaina. Even a caveman can do it.

The usual over priced rip-off francised suspects are hawaiianized.---Hard Rock Cafe, ABC Stores(Aloha Bring Cash). Starbucks Coffee. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Cheezy(Burger) in Paradise--- . Seeing the world through rose colored Maui Jim's, the surf and sun provide the perfect brain dump. I go into default mode of island wear. I'm " One of those tourists". a temporary colonists, like a carton of milk with an expiration date stamped right on my forehead.

As the locals , indigenous and disadvantaged engage in some parallel hemp induced struggles, they look on in disguist, chin checking me with patronizing "Howz it's", and "Sup Brah" surfer dude speak. Way. No way. I don the loud expensive aloha shirt I charged $85 bucks two days before, at Hilo Hatties--- the Hamburger Helper for Mainland haole (pronounced howlie) Scum! It's just tuition for an Aloha graduate--- an edjamacated expense in a bowl of stupid. When I get home and get the bill--it's called the after life.

What they're really thinking is pu' insai,the contemporary pidgin-english slang term for having sex. literally meaning 'put inside'; getting screwed out of my hard-earned money.

Merchants put you through the meat grinder of souvenir turn and burn shops, with wampum and beaded shells made in Chinese and Cambodian sweatshops for ~$0.12/hour. Mahalo. I feel like I am in TJ, or some Mexican netherland border town. The rage subsides. After all, there is no place on earth like Hawaii. The best things in Hawain life aren't things, they're people---and I have been meeting some fantabulous people -a creamy blend of the fantastic and the fabulous, beyond belief and my wildest expectations....Lisa, Cheryl,Lauren and Chris, Nadine and Sherry, Martin, Javier, Rick, Matt, Zac, Keith, Kyle, Paul H-Tuna, Paul L and Johanna, David S. and others...


I love the smell of fractional real estate time shares in full bloom in the morning. It screams of "tourist trap" yet this ocean FRONT Street- is THE street on the west coast of Maui.

The ambassador of Aloha Don Ho, singing his lazy golden hits with the help of karaoke monitor lyrics was M.I.A. Today, it's the post humorous Izzy's "n Dis Life" soundtrack. Kamakawiwo'ole's tricked up lyrics:. "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" The vibe is the anti elevator muzac de jour.



Israel Kamakawiwo'ole n Dis Life Lahaina Hawaii 5 O Front Street Don Ho Maui
ed reif

Read More

Eat Drink And Be Maui

Sailed over to Maui. Docked in Kahului. Rented a PT Cruiser. On the road to Kihei...Then Big Beach..Aloha from:You'll GO YOUR WAY. I'll Go Maui. Didn't come all the way to Hawaii to eat great pizza--but we did---doubled back to Paia's Flatbread and Company, the accidental pizza maker. $40 Bucks---Why pay less. Almost Authentic Neapolitan New York Ray's; Almost Greenwich Village deep dish Stromboli's.
Hung out with, beautiful-as-god-made-her, Cheryl--- Barefoot, 25 from Petaluma, California. Had the Beach Boys Cali Girls on my iPod. Sang the lyrics to each other...The west coast has the sunshine
And the girls all get so tanned
I dig a french bikini on hawaii island
Dolls by a palm tree in the sand

I been all around this great big world
And I seen all kinds of girls
Yeah, but I couldnt wait to get back in the states
Back to the cutest girls in the world

I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california girls.
Let's build a bridge from California to Hawaii...
California Girls Beach Boys Paia Flatbread Company Pizza

Read More

It's Called The Big Island Not The Tiny Island

We're on the Big Island, the west side, at the local Starbucks,

 for some Kona Joe, sitting with our friends cream and sugar.

American coffee is "dirty water" and

 Instant coffee takes too long. Kona, however, is "Ono". Tastes good.

Shoveling Sunshine-My First Extended Stay In Paradise

  A Sophie's Choice meltdown over which island or for that matter, which town on the Big Island gets to check into Hotel @nyware--- my memoirs-- I'm  feeling like the Oskar Schindler of travel bloggers-Kona and Hilo , you were nice to me. You get to live in digital heaven-because we all know information on the web never dies.

Kona  has coffee; and where there is coffee there is caffeine, and where there is caffeine, there is (Starbucks) and the  opportunity to do stupid things faster;  and that's where the teachable moments are---because time doesn't exist in Hawaii but being stupid does (has its benefits). Ignorance is bliss. 

1994 Onboard The SS Constitution

As Joseph Cambell says, Follow your bliss"....The irony of Starbucks being everywhere, even in Kona, has its gravitational pull on me---exerting almost cosmic influence on my life! But I will forgo the free wi-fi, go unplugged.  My phone works here too  but so what...






Kona's ocean water almost always reflects a blue Hawaii that leaves me scratching my head thinking " Where is the ukulele and Elvis sightings-Ooh up ahead".  

What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas, I'm sure I'll  see an ABC (Always Bring Cash) soveneir   store soon.

The weatherman diety god Lono's breeze whispers cool, like a pat on the back  and blessing from  Captain Cook's spirit saying, 

SS Independence in Background

"Well done, you found out about this place. Now don't get yourself killed like me for being a stupid Haole.".

Kona is  very inviting, leaving me curious, and with no other option but to stay a while because it's not called the tiny Island, It's called The BIG island--Volcanoes, Waterfalls and Rain Forests. Bring it on!

I take in  the random  passion fruit and flower fragrances and the music and downtown farmer's market laughter barely audible as I tendered  from the mother ship.  It all gets sharper as I reach the dock to smiling locals. This is the not so Far East-Everybody speaks English.(well sort of).

This is not a state of mind like California. This is entirely different, a state of grace--I know they need our Yankee dollar but wait a minute, this is not some outpost, some colony, this is just as much America, or is it? 

My inner monologue, that voice inside my head wants to scream out to the first local-Hawaii is a former Leaper Colony on top of an active Volcano where the only show I liked Hawaii 5 O got cancelled , Mahalo for nothing! -But I can't.  This Samoan guy is part refrigerator, part Mack truck and can squish me like a bug. Besides,I think I'm just hungry.


 "Is it time for grilled and line caught  Mahimahi already? I ask myself a question I know the answer to-"Yes"

Hello Hilo

Hilo is so cool to sail to because, overnight, with a moon lit backdrop, we steam past  Kilauea,the  active volcano lava rivers  spark and spill into the sea, and leave its aftermath of molten rock at the waters edge.  Only the view from Maui's Haleakala offers such a once in a life time view of something you probably never have seen before.


Hilo is artistically bohemian, and in terms of authenticity, is the real deal-papayas, homemade jams, roasted macadamia nuts and koa wood carvings. The Banyan trees are worthy of a hug. It's the type of tree that moved me to tears of joy (For Real).   I've often biked to Rainbow Falls too. That whole area-the nature, the land, the people speak, and it's easy to listen. They seem more resigned to the way they have to live than New Yorkers like me do.

In fact, I  often  took my bike (that I stored on the ship-You could have a surf board or a bike-cool!) I soon realized  the terrain on the Big Island  is  a bit like the moon with all that  razor-sharp geo-volcanic rock. 

 I never asked myself "Am I there yet" on a bike, except for Kona and Maui--It only took  one time to  catch  a sliver of black volcanic rock and flat tire or  in Maui, it's these prickly seeds mixed in with the red clay sugar cane dust that get you.

I upgraded to flat-resistent tires and was good to go for the season and I was back to living happily every after in King  Kamehameha's Kingdom-Don't worry Be Maui...and in the tune of Happy Birth Day to you I sing ...Happy Kona to you,Happy Kona to you,Happy Kona to you,Happy Kona to you,

The Tour

The glamor of being a sailor had me concerned. "Repaint your entire house every month" Buy a Dumpster and live in it for 6 months" But this was going to be a cruise ship-It  was on America Hawaii Cruises. I just wanted a different experience, and I took the first job I could get, which was a deck hand. We sailed for seven  days and each day we had a port of call.

Starting off with an embarkation day at Aloha Towers in Honolulu, then a sea day, and we hit Kauai, Maui(Lahina and Kahalui) Hilo and Kona. It was the best! 

The weather was always temperate and I had the most energizing and spirtually uplifting time, enjoying the weather, the people, the food, the culture and the OHANA-family atmosphere of Hawaii. I have been hooked ever since on these beautiful islands.
The definition of ecstasy is that you are not doing your ordinary everyday ho-hum existence. Shoveling sunshine in Hawaii beats a day at the office.

Read More

You Do What On A Cruise Ship?

Working on Ships Has Been A Real Life Saver And Life-Extention

I had an expression  "I haven't been everywhere, but it is on my list."

Everywhere is no longer on my list, but somewhere is, As I belt out my best karaoke Somewhere Over The Rainbow, no wait that's too high-let's change that to Sinatra's My Way, I am looking at some of my adventures, which were nothing more than bad planning! 

But for those who like to connect the dots, and want to benefit from OPE, Other Peoples Experiences, may I suggest you Read-

Seven Cruises I Had to Go on Before I Died

These next three links, however,  are before my LEFT brain got good at telling my RIGHT brain what to do:

An I For An Island- Living Well Is The Best Revenge

I think of my job as Art Director  as leading people to those moments of awe – ecstasy that overtakes you when you encounter a new idea, or place.  After all, the definition of ecstasy is that you are not doing your ordinary everyday routine....essentially stepping into an alternative reality...

Let The Orinoco Flow- One Year @Sea

In answer to the Question, "How long has he been drifting?"Celebrating One Year at Sea this week.It started in Rome Sweet Rome, then Santorini...I haven´t been everywhere, but it´s on my list...

Tranquility Base The Ego Has Landed

Space travel sure is fun. Greetings from the user-friendly universe---The Peoples Republic of Santa Monica;Home of The Mac Store, and Apple, the forbidden fruit.

First in January, I was in the Majik Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a bit like Mars.

         Then in February, I went to The Land of Smiles, Thailand, and walked on the moon.

              Finally, in March and April, I had my head in the clouds with The Helium Report, winning and losing the American dream in Macau every night, playing high-stakes no limit- poker, on The Hong Kong Express...

The best ships are Entrepenurships---

There is an I in Team--Me!

SHIP Happens-Everything that happens once will never happen again; but everything that happens twice, will surely happen again...and again...and again.

Here Are Some Of My Best Ships

Costa Atlantica-Who is driving the ship Capo (Schettino)
if you are here toasting champagne?Va Veni-Microsoft!

Celebrity Solstice- That's Greek To Me

Pacific Pearl P&O Australia 

Crystal Serenity- Why Pay Less?

Azamara Journey-Check Please

Golden Princess- Nature is More Cruise Ship Less

Princess Cruises-Alaska The GR8 Land

Royal Caribbean-Oasis of The Seas-
An Embarrassment of Coconuts

Disney Magic- As John DeLorean said "I'm going to Disneyland."

On The Disney Wonder looking at last years ship
that I was on, The Carnival Splendor that caught fire,

MSC Poesia- The  YOUniverse

An I For An Island

I think of my job as Art Director  as leading people to those moments of awe – ecstasy that overtakes you when you encounter a new idea, or place.  After all, the definition of ecstasy is that you are not doing your ordinary everyday routine....essentially stepping into an alternative reality.

There is an I in Team Ed 

I feel that way about living and working on a cruise ship- hours of boredom tinged with moments of hysteria, and those moments are provided by Team Ed, fun informative and entertaining  special events.

With the energy and vision of an internet self-starter,  I create, manage and delegate, throwing it all up against the wall and seeing what gets to stick. It's always fresh, always new, some trial and error, but some things remain the same-Provide  Customer Service and  Drive Revenue.(I lifted those terms from my Linked In profile).

At  the beginning of the day,  I have a guy named Tim Gunn, (The Hotel Director)looking over my shoulder saying, 

"Make it Work"

Next, Rod Tidwell   (Fleet Operations) phones  from Shore side,  and   makes me shout out in my best Jerry Maguire,

Show Me the Money 2, Short

"Show me the money"

At the end of the day, after guests  feelings get hurt because I ran out of champagne or tuna fish sandwiches, or ran into overtime messing with the start of BINGO (That is an absolute no no-a double negative),  Bob Sugar Jerry's agent (The Revenue Manager) reminding me

N "It's not show friends, it's show business."

Rod Tidwell  sends Jerry ( Me)  a voice mail  after I barely  hit my sales target:


You are hanging on by a very thin thread.

"You are hanging on by a very thin thread and I dig that about you!"

Sure enough,  Dorothy Boyd (Jerry's Girl Friend)  An Assistant Cruise Director, (in my case,Sarah, the ships Nurse) who  likes  the show that we did, will smile, pat me on the back and say,

You had me at hello.
"You had me at hello"

I respond as Jerry would,


You complete me

"You complete me."

The Cruise Director reminds us, 

"Who cares what the crew thinks, they're not paying for the voyage, the guests are".

In some way or another it always does work! When it doesn't, we get to do it all over again. 

Then there is the travelling- the ports of call

There is no doubt about it, the exhilarating state of mind that travel can evoke, when everything seems suddenly fresh, vivid, intensely interesting, and memorable.

On An Island With the Two G's-Gandi and Gaugain

When I titled this "An I for an Island", I thought of getting even ( in terms of money lost playing poker) and the  famous Gandi quotes,

 Hate the sin not the sinner.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind 

I mashed it up  up to say 

Hate the Win, not the Winner, because bad beats are overhead, chips, the cost of doing business.

I wrote on my poker blog years ago. H8 the game, not the player, and my lessons of loss(es) learned from playing high stakes poker, winning and losing the American Dream on a Weekend.



Paul Gaugain, who was a mess physically and mentally is quoted as saying, 

 "Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge."

 I, however, wanted to get revenge on my own thoughts- the idea that my personal freedom was for sale, something I had to purchase, and that travelling took a lot of money. 

Every behavior has a positive intention, unfortunately,  playing poker is an "ify" proposition to finance world travel....although I did go to Macau.
 
I wrote this post: 

The United States of Unconscious Gambling

Poker without money is an opinion; and opinions about poker are just shovels we use to dig our own graves: because if you are not playing poker but thinking about playing poker you are already dead.

I still had "Juice" and "Skin" in the game, and didn't want to leave- You can only quit once and the science of happiness that Ken Keyes talks about  in The 12 Pathways To the Higher Consciousness Planes of Unconditional Love and Oneness, poker was messing with my Serenity. Going on the ships would be a forced exile, and recharge away from the roller coaster.

Impossible Is Nothing


Going out to sea is  the infinity of hope, the preview of life's coming attractions where you have final cut in your own movie.  You can lose yourself in the ocean's food for thought. Its  menu is the meal,  and itineraries are full of promises. It gives you a  sense of destination and the energy to get started again.

The weather is here wish you were beautiful

Call it faith!  A passion for the possible. I am full of it, and shooting from the hip that is to say,   as I stated, having an adventure is something more but nothing less than bad planning.  When I cold-called for my first ship job, and got it after a 12 minute elevator pitch, I began to trust myself, and my elevator pitch, and only when you trust yourself can you truly begin to live it up.


  

 In fact, the only thing you need if you work on a ship to finance your world travelling is a love  and passion for travelling and for what you do---- the time and opportunity is onboard the ship, and the money flows based on your commitment, focus and determination(if you are commissioned).  You get there. Your attitude will reflect your altitude. Instant gratification takes to long. You get there slowly. 


Jean Paul Sartre, the French existentialist said, 

Freedom is what you do to what has been done to you

 I would value-add that by saying ,

Freedom is what you do to what has been done to you by your own thoughts, words and actions.  (See my blog post As Seen On TV).

You Do What On A Cruise Ship?

Malcom Gladwell's 10,000 Rule  of  practice is required to achieve a level of mastery and being a SME, Subject Matter Expert, I put in the time. His   book is about outliers, about men and women who do things that are out of the ordinary. I would have to say, living  and working on a cruise ship, is somewhat extraordinary, and definitely unusual. 

Everyone has a photographic memory, but not everyone has film

 Thanks to digital, and my trusted camera, who cares. Just point and shoot, and you capture snapshots of moments. I'm an extremely talkative  person.  Yet photos speak volumes. I may not be a Master like Ansel Adams, but I agree with what he said---Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs. 

To take a photograph of yourself is to participate in your own  mortality, vulnerability, and mutability

2011 World Cruise

Wish Fulfillment  and The  Law Of Attraction

My definition of Thinking is when your  mind is separate from your  body: Some call it dreaming. I call it using your imagination. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. That's when you can leap long distances,  go forward and backward  in time, walk  through solid brick walls and never age, 

My definition of Magical Thinking,  or MT, is when we can manufacture experiences in our mind, and then later, attract these situations into our life.  The mind IS, after all, what the brain DOES. Put simply, you  attract into your  life whatever you consistently think about.  

I always go back to the importance of being Ernest (Hemingway) 

That is what we are supposed to do when we are at our best --make it all up --but make it up so truly that later it will happen that way. 

2010 World Tour Cruises

2009 World Tour Cruises


Hawaii 2007-2008

Read More