Argentina Water

March 12, 2010
Friday, 8:08 A.M.
Home

Ah, this is nice. It's FRIDAY morning and I am at my home computer, enjoying the start of a sorely needed day off from work. How fortunate I am to have a day job that allows for vacation and personal days! Already, this morning, I have done my bookkeeping work and read my e-mail. I was hoping for some sunshine today and I'm hearing my hopes will be dashed for the entire weekend. As a matter of fact, I may have to take a rowboat to class tomorrow!

A friend of mine, a very talented piano bar entertainer, is currently contracted for six months on a cruise ship in South America. He has had the good fortune of seeing many amazing things, including Antarctica and the Christ the Redeemer statue, the icon of Rio, a 130-foot structure standing on top of 2300-foot Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro harbor. He maintains a blog keeping all of his friends abreast of his travels. Occasionally he lucks out and an excursion falls into his time constraints. Such was the case when he booked what he hoped would be the excursion of a lifetime, flying over the Iguazu Falls deep inside Argentina. *("This Natural Wonder of the World had been described by the Port Lecturer as “Niagara Falls on Steroids”. A four-hour pilgrimage of bus - then airplane - then train was required to reach this place, an all-day affair that would put me back on the ship at 8PM, in time for the night’s work.") I've spoken to him often of his travels and this is probably the most excited he has ever been. Long story short, it didn't work out and the excursion was cancelled.

I found myself feeling badly for him. Then I found myself shaking my head. Carol Ann is dying, I am struggling with crushing loneliness, earthquakes are devastating the hemisphere, people are without work and in fear for their families' futures and I'm feeling badly for someone, who is cruising around the world, because he didn't get to see some stupid water in Argentina. Ain't life a bitch?