{"id":100838,"date":"2024-03-20T06:03:18","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T10:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=100838"},"modified":"2024-03-20T06:03:18","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T10:03:18","slug":"the-old-coot-gets-a-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/03\/20\/the-old-coot-gets-a-workout\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old Coot gets a workout"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Merlin Lessler —<\/span><\/p>\n

I was recently on a cruise in the Southern Caribbean. It wasn\u2019t my first rodeo. I\u2019ve been on a ship or two or three over the last 30 years, but I was a youngster when I started, in my early 50\u2019s. A lot has changed over those 30 years, but this isn\u2019t a documentary about the evolution of cruising. I don\u2019t know what it is. <\/span><\/p>\n

Anyhow, I\u2019m usually off my leash in the early morning hours. I\u2019m at breakfast as I write this. It\u2019s a cafeteria deal, with islands of food items, not one long line. You scramble from place to place. Cereals here \u2013 custom cooked eggs there \u2013 meats at another station- toast and bread off to the side. <\/span><\/p>\n

You weave through a mass of people like an NFL running back, trying to avoid tacklers. No small feat for an octogenarian with balance issues. <\/span><\/p>\n

On this day I actually remembered to grab a silverware pack (knife and fork wrapped in a cloth napkin) and shoved it in my pocket. Unlike the day before, or several days before, when I located an empty seat, sat down to eat, and realized \u2013 NO UTENSILS!<\/span><\/p>\n

This day, with a knife and fork in my pocket, I headed to the toast station where you wait while the bread you select runs through a car wash like a toaster conveyor. I decided to come back in a few minutes and moved on, grabbed a juice at the beverage corral, found a table and plopped down my stuff, marking my turf. End of trip #1. <\/span><\/p>\n

Then I grabbed a large plate and a bowl and put the bowl on the plate. Did I mention that there are no trays to purvey your selections? Not anymore. <\/span><\/p>\n

I went to the cereal station and deposited a splash of Cheerios into the bowl; then to the fruit island to add watermelon, cantaloupe, and two strawberries to the plate the bowl sat on. My solution to the no tray situation. I put the goods on my table. End of trip #2.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Trip #3 – back to the beverage corral to snag a coffee and said, \u201cSorry,\u201d to the nice little old lady I nearly knocked over when my balance issue hurled me into her. I sat down and breathed a sigh of relief, opened my napkin and discovered just a knife and fork, no spoon. <\/span><\/p>\n

This started trip #4. I went back to the cereal island and grabbed a spoon, thinking, \u201cThis is it; I can finally eat my breakfast.\u201d Oops! Not to be, I had forgotten to pour milk on my cereal; grabbed the bowl of Cheerios and went back to the cereal station where there were pitchers of milk and cream. Trip #5.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2018d forgotten to pick up the toast, but decided I\u2019d had enough exercise for one morning. Maybe tomorrow. I hadn\u2019t tripped or bruised too many passengers in the process. <\/span><\/p>\n

Someone is sure to ask what I did on my cruise. I\u2019ll simply say, \u201cHad a good breakfast. And, I got a lot of exercise.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Comments? Complaints? Send to \u2013 mlessler7@gmail.com<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Merlin Lessler — I was recently on a cruise in the Southern Caribbean. It wasn\u2019t my first rodeo. 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