The Straight of Malacca

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April 19, underway heading north toward Phuket. I was up at 6am for my morning walk on deck ten. I love to watch the sun come up. Sunrise is a reassurance that I have another day. Once the sun comes up I am quite certain that it will go down again in the evening. Whether it rises next morning is never assured until I see it. That’s a basic philosophy of my life that I follow and it is why I consider myself more of a sunrise type of person rather than a sunset kind of guy.



Anyway I was presented with a real treat today. It was early dawn when I started round the track. The sky was dark with rain bearing nimbus clouds (more about that later). There had been rain during the evening, but none yet today. Just at the time the ship’s record told us to expect sunrise, the clouds parted at the eastern horizon over Malaysia and a huge half golden orb appeared slowing rising as the earth turned toward the east on its axis. The sun’s light spread a bright reflection on the almost completely calm sea directly toward the ship. Then as the full circle of the sun rose above the horizon it disappeared behind a cloud bank. What a glorious way to start the day.



The Malay Peninsula lies off the starboard side. There are mountains barely visible in the distance and many low lying islands quite near the ship’s course. These latter are hard to see because of low clouds and fog. The whole picture is very exotic. Not so exotic but quite interesting are the 30 to 40 ships I can see from my stateroom deck on the starboard side. They range in size from small freighters to enormous container ships transporting all manner of goods and raw material. The Straight of Malacca which we are transiting is quite narrow and is a major shipping lane. Once again I am struck by how busy, busy, busy this part of the world is. That and the sense I get that the countries I have visited here in the Far East are advancing into the 21st century at an unbelievable rate. The evidence of commerce and industry, the modern state of their infrastructure and the futuristic nature of their architecture in the cities is unbelievable. I fear that the United States, once the leader in these areas, is quickly being left behind. The reasons for these are complicated, but I believe have something to do with our current fixation on two things: An irrational refusal to combine resources, usually through taxation, to fund major projects such as transportation systems, improve education, and provide health care, and the present state of politics where the focus is on irrelevant issues like marriage equality, women’s reproductive rights, and various religious and social nonsense. I remain a practicing Roman Catholic, but stubbornly ignore the irrational dictates of the hierarchy. Spirituality is a very person matter and it should forever remain that way.



Now to the matter of nimbus clouds. I am told that the word nimbus comes from the Latin and refers to a halo of the kind we associate with angels and other heavenly beings. Apparently, at least some folks question whether I’ll ever be entitled to wear one. A nice older lady (actually they are all “older” on this ship) was chatting with me the other afternoon after our trivia team wrapped up for the day. With a distinctly Australian accent she said, “You have the appearance of such a nice, innocent young lad, but I sense that you really are a quite naughty, naughty boy.” Fortunately she said it with a wry chuckle and a wink. I can’t imagine how she came to that conclusion, though it could have something to do with my ribald sense of humor. It could also be because I have told some jokes that I remember from the vast trove of Mr. Waldo Henning, a co-usher at Benaroya Hall. I have also added a few stories related to me by the Rev. George Smith, though these are of a much tamer variety indeed. The truth of the matter is that her perception is laser sharp and right on the mark. It is a burden I am delighted to bear.

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