Walla and the Perfect Foot, etc

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Random thoughts off the west coast of Mexico:



Walla Walla and the Perfect Foot



Among the more memorable fellow passengers I have met are two elderly ladies from Walla Walla, Washington. You know, the town so fine it was named twice. I met them the other evening when we were waiting for the evening’s entertainment to begin in the ship’s theater. I told them I probably wouldn’t remember their first names and asked them if they minded if I just called them Walla and Walla. I discovered quite soon that they have a fine appreciation of the arts and are long time patrons of the venerable Walla Walla symphony. They were interested in my connection to the Seattle Symphony. They have a cantankerous maestro who has outlived his usefulness and we in Seattle have just got rid of ours.



Then the conversation veered off track when I mentioned my recent visit to the Middle East and Israel. In answer to a question about whether I enjoyed my time in the “holy” land, I expressed my feeling that there was too much religion there; each one banging up against the other with no sign of mutual trust or compromise. To which one of the Wallas said, “Well that will be settled soon enough by the second coming.” I decided to quickly change the subject and luckily the show began. I didn’t think it was worth getting into a thorny and possibly unpleasant discussion of theology just before the curtain rose on a spectacular Broadway review.



At any rate the Wallas apparently were not put off and have been extremely friendly every time our paths cross on the ship. I think they like being known as Walla and Walla. Which gets me to the perfect foot. Today as I was immersed in my book in the shade on the pool deck someone whopped my foot with something as they walked by. It was the Wallas. They informed me that they had just had an electronic foot evaluation. The first Walla proudly informed me that her examination had revealed a “perfect foot”. Would I care to see it? “Not particularly” I said. But instead of tossing off a shoe she produced a computer printout of her feet which looked a bit like the foot print of babies seen on some hospital birth records. She pointed out how symmetrical her instep was and how the print showed perfect balance of the pressure points. I expressed admiration and told her she should have it framed and hang it in her living room. It would surely be a conversation starter for future company. When the other Walla was asked about her evaluation, she sniffed and said that if Walla one had had to be on her feet as much as Walla two had, her feet would be flat and out of balance too. I didn’t say it but I was thinking that perhaps the second coming will take care of that problem too.





Cabo San Lucas



I thought Cabo San Lucas, located on the Baja California, was mostly desert. It probably is most of the time, but not today, September 27, 2012. Low clouds dominated the horizon as Infinity anchored in the bay and we prepared to take a tender into the resort. Then the heavens opened. As my grandfather would have said, it rained like a cow pissin’ on a flat rock. It was incredible. Nancy, Bill, Sharen and I got absolutely soaked. The streets were muddy rivers of water too deep to even try and wade across. We located a Starbucks where we camped out for a while and I checked email. We thought the rain had let up and left to do some exploring, but the downpour started all over again, even worse than before.



Did we complain and bitch about the weather, yes, a little, but we found a nice little café and ducked in for beer and tacos. By the time we got back to the ship we were wet completely through. Nonetheless it was a great adventure. My clothes are now hanging out to dry on the stateroom deck and I’ve had a sit in one of the hot tubs. Now it is off to cocktails. I have nothing to complain of. But if I was one of the folks who are booked at one of the beautiful sea-side resorts I can see from my deck, I would be a bit upset. There is a river of mud coming in from what I suppose is normally a dry arroyo. It is bringing along all kinds of garbage and God knows what else and dumping it all along the beach. What would normally be clear blue Pacific surf is right now the color of dark coffee with a bit of cream. If they are smart they will stay inside and nurse margaritas until the weather clears up.

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