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Feel The Force Chubaka
Finally, here’s the first of two posts about our recent trip. This post is about the ship, specifically. And the shot above is of the sunrise over the ocean, which I took from our room’s verandah.
I know cruises can be expensive, but if you have children and the opportunity comes along to go on a Disney cruise, go. For the love of Christ, go. I mentioned my dad and stepmother were with us. They are experienced cruisers and they pointed out that no other cruise line so fully accommodates families with children.
I was concerned about Disney overload, but the decor of the ship was cruisey, not cartoony. The only evidence of Mickey and his cohorts came in the form of characters who would pose for photographs with people in the lobby. Even that was on a schedule, so if you absolutely did not want to see Chip and Dale or Belle, you could avoid them.
There was one place on the ship where Disney was kinda crammed down your throat — the Goofy Pool. And that’s because a massive screen towered over the pool showing an endless cycle of Disney films and cartoons at top volume. But, we just avoided that part of the deck. It helped that the boys were too young for that pool.
There were areas where kids of pretty much any age could go sans parents. Upon arrival at either the Oceaneers Club or Oceaneers Lab, the children are fitted with a little scanner bracelet. They get scanned in, they can’t leave without a guardian’s permission and that guardian must know a family password.
On a ship, dinnertimes are pretty strictly scheduled. It’s the only way to feed 4,000 people or whatever. So, unless we wanted to fend for ourselves, our family’s dinnertime was 6:45 each night at one of three different restaurants. On a Disney cruise you have the same servers no matter where you dine. I guess this is unique to Dinsey cruises and it was especially helpful when it came to our boys. The servers go to know them and vice versa. My guys loved seeing them each night and at the end of the cruise they gave our servers Rose and Victor a warm hug goodbye.
There were movies, live shows and other fun family activities for the few days spent at sea. And there were adult-only activities, as well. My favorite was the tequila tasting, which got a little rowdy. (Seriously, when some parents are without their kids, they act like frat boys. And yes, I’m talking about myself.) My wife and I even took an afternoon to ourselves by the adult pool. We felt like real humans for a while.
Kickass Dad of the Day: When Stuart Chaifetz learned that his 10-year-old son, Akian, was being violent and disruptive in class, he was puzzled. He knew Akian, who has autism, to be mild-mannered and sensitive, and had a hunch that something more was going on. But after several meetings with a team of school officials created to help special-needs students, nothing changed. So Chaifetz did what any concerned parent would do.
On the morning of Friday, February 17, 2012, I wired my son and sent him to school. That night, when I listened to the audio my life changed forever. I heard my son being bullied by his teacher and aide. The six and a half hours of audio I had proved that my son wasn’t hitting the teacher because there was something wrong with him — he was lashing out because he was being mocked, mistreated and humiliated. His outbursts were his way of expressing that he was being emotionally hurt at school.
The New Jersey father has since launched a website full of damning evidence and aFacebook page, and he is petitioning the state to change legislation so that teachers who bully children are immediately fired. The aide has been fired, but the rest of the staff have merely been relocated.
“I seek a full and public apology from all those adults who were in my son’s class for what they did to him,” Chaifetz says. “It is also far past time that these issues are allowed to be hidden from public view.”
[vvv]
Fuckin’-a, dude. Fuckin’-a.
Mom, can I get down now?
Is that the Space Shuttle Columbia guiding Discovery Home?
"We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it's falling apart because of single moms."
That would be GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, during his first US Senate campaign in 1994. That actually might not be the worst thing he said.
God, I love this stuff. All the GOP candidates are slowly imploding. And these gems from Santorum’s past are priceless. Just priceless. Single moms (and dads) are just as capable of raising children as anyone else. Those who truly disagree are brain-damaged cavemen.
In related news: Santorum, you can go fuck yourself… Oh, wait. No, you can’t. The Bible says it’s wrong. Well, whether you thinks it’s wrong or not, you keep fucking yourself anyway.
Excuse me. I’m going to go laugh for 20 straight minutes.
Can you hear me now?
