Tag Archives: Debbie Davies

Palpable

\ˈpal-pə-bəl\, adjective
14th century Middle English, from Late Latin palpabilis, from Latin palpare to stroke, caress, feel

It surely does – hold on tight and enjoy the ride!

That is one true word, for what is going on in the Bluescruise Framily, as we draw down to the final week before embarkation from Fort Lauderdale to the islands of the sunny and warm Caribbean. I say these words as I am torn between tending to the work in front of me, or repeatedly going over the schedule of events, or re-checking our stack of luggage to be sure the toga in tucked away (along with the wig for ‘Soul Blues/Wig Night’ night).

Seriously, how can one actually decide on which show to see. Yeh, the artists are scheduled over the seven days and at each of the five venues. But how do you choose between Zydeco master Terrance Simien at the Showroom at Sea main stage, or The Otis Taylor Band on the Pool Deck?

Always THE thing to do. Set your alarm, have a roving knocker wake ya, or just stay up, but be there.

This conundrum is especially acute for the virgin cruiser. I recall my very first year getting on the shuttle bus to the ‘dam boat’ with my little list all sorted by venue, time, artist feeling very much in control and confident that I got this bull by the horns. Suddenly someone asked if they could see my list, and they immediately pronounced me a virgin. BUSTED! Some good natured chiding and loving advice that as good as my ‘list’ was that once I was on the ship it would be pretty useless. They were so right. There is so much going on, where do we stay, what shall we see, do we get off the boat, why is this cruise different from any other cruise, who are all these crazy people and will I fit in? There is a ‘sunrise party’ and Virgin party, Returnee Party, the Facebook/Chatboard/Sail Away Party, ahh yeh really. Ya won’t know half of what’s going on till you are on the boat and start schmoozing with all of us.

What we have here is truly an international family gathering, a tribe of non-affiliated, non-related, non-members who are brought together by their love of the Blues. We will be blessed to have ‘The Vikings’ on board for this cruise – look out for these folks, they party like Vikings and are some of the nicest peeps ya ever wanna meet, but beware the CAN PARTY. There are also the world-traveling Aussie contingent, who usually win the award for farthest travel to get to cruise, unless someone comes from Mars, and sometimes it sure feels/looks like that has occurred..

FOMS

/’fah-ahms\, noun, acronym
22^nd century Cruiserism, Fear Of Missing Something

With so much to do, Wendy has given us a great assist for keeping track.

I do not know who first wrote this word down but it is one of the most appropriate words in the world of Bluescruisin’. I saw it first on the old Bluescruise chat-board, yes before the days of FaceBook. It was from a mysterious cat named ‘Lester Leaps In‘ as he had been known to appear out of nowhere and into a topic discussion offering sagely advice to all. This is a very real state of being, the fear of missing something, and it is a condition that just has to be dealt with.

The solution is such -
There is no way you can see or hear everything that is going on, nor can you be everywhere you want to be (you are not a VISA card). This January (like next week) there will be approximately 20+ bands/performers scheduled to appear throughout the week. This is not counting the spontaneous jams that occur on the ship, many of which happen at the Piano Bar (and usually after 2:00 AM). OK, it’s impossible, there are indoor and outdoor venues, pick one, if it doesn’t float your boat switch you will have another chance to see the act elsewhere during the week. Be happy with where you are enjoy the moment and know that it was the best there was.

Oh yeh, these 20+ or so acts are just the main acts, the names, the performers the pros – - – then there are the amateurs. The amount of talent on the dam boat is unparalleled – many of these players are top quality players who just happen to be doctors, writers, railroad engineers, chefs, and domestic gods/goddesses. Do not miss the Pro-Am jams, swing by and at any moment you may see some seriously good music being put down by your cruise brethren. A great aspect of these jams is that often the ‘pros’ will show up to just ‘play’. Entire horn sections have been know to join in with the ammies, and at one amazing point from a few January’s ago, ‘Junior’ from the ‘dam boat’ showed up with his Steel Drum. I won’t even tell you how good that was. Please make an effort to stop by maybe once each day/night to see what is going on at these jams that are hosted by some of your fellow cruisers, hey ya never know !

Sleep

Folks take their costumes seriously here, enjoy each parade.

As the late great Warren Zevon sorta said ……sleep when your dead….It is overrated, get it when you can, or need to. If you pass out on the Pool Deck someone will throw a cover over you to make sure you don’t catch a chill.

The Bluescruise will be departing Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, January 20 to the Caribbean, you can learn more by going to www.bluescruise.com. Oh yeh if ya can’t make it you can watch us leave Fort Lauderdale here: http://portevergladeswebcam.com/

Until next time,
Love, Peace & Chicken Grease

chefjimi
©Blues411.com 2013
Where Blues Thrives
Photos: Blues411

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