"Aboard" and "Port" are two terms which I heard in past days during my medical care: Routinly I am asked by the Cancer Clinic lab technician: "Do you have a port?" I do not. But at this moment I smile and I am tempted to say: "Yes, my port is Santo Domingo!" and I sense a bit euphoria: When I retired prematurely because I had become obsolete in my industry, I went for some out-time to Santo Domingo. That was during the final month' of the "last great party in the Caribbean", before the onset of the previous great new epidemic which changed the way of life around he world. Many Europeans came during the "last great party in the Caribbean" to the Dominican Republic to "live their Gaugin phantasy". The secret of Dominicans, is what the California psychologist Timothy Leary, a "counter-culture" guru once prescribed: "Avoid terminal adulthood !". They use their music, the "merengue" whose drum beat never becomes absent anywhere, anytime. (Internet 24 hours as: "tropical 100 merengue" ). Its best known musician, Joseito Mateo, gave his last concert at age 96 (video: Joseito Mateo concierto 2016 ) and he died due to CLL at age 98. - --- "Aboard": Yesterday I waited for the county disability shuttle to travel to my monthly lab at the cancer clinic. Evidently the shuttle "fleet" dispatcher could not reach me at my home phone because I was already on the road inside the shuttle. The shuttle dispatcher called the shuttle driver: (In frustration )" I could not locate him !" Response by the shuttle driver (in a tone of triumph. She is the commanding type...): "He is already ABOARD !"
"Sailing with CLL" - a sense of humor may help... - CLL Support
"Sailing with CLL" - a sense of humor may help....
Thanks, I am definitely smiling!
As a stimulating "avoid terminal adulthood" low volume background sound on internet: Tropical 100 merengue (24 hours on internet) . But to relax in the evening, very low volume background sound : tropical 100 boleros . Joseito Mateo at age 96: Video: JOSEITO MATEO CONCIERTO 2016 .
Very nice illustration of how our minds can help us play while we "sail" through the necessities. Still smiling.
Nice one! I’m in favour of any expressions that keep us buoyant and stop us sinking without trace. It why I like this site, there’s always a raft of good advice! 😄
Newdawn
Appreciate your coming aboard on this. Always good to hear from you as one that has not had a smooth sailing. 🙂
Random luck or being at the right place at the right time are elements of fate....
It's much better to be aboard than overboard 😀
The only ocean voyage I ever took was in 1960 on the "Covadonga" - a spanish ship that carried cargo as well as passengers. From Veracruz/Mexico to La Coruna/Spain. Mostly Spaniards who resided in Mexico and Cubans who came aboard at the only stop-over, Havana. From La Coruna/Spain by train (hard benches) to Algeciras and from there with the ferry to Tanger in Morocco....(Tanger had been an international city in the 1950's governed by a board of European consuls ). This was still the age before "mass travel"....
Being a long way inland, in the Peak District, these sailing terms leave me cold. All that glinting water on the coast reminds me of too much sun and skin lesions. Much better to be grounded, I think!
You are right: Exposing your skin to the sun on tropical beaches is dangerous. In tropical Latin America and the Caribbean, the people never exposed their skin on beaches. All wore long sleeve garments and hats: The "sunbathing" and laying around on beaches was introduced by the tourists from Europe and Latin America after the middle of the 20th century. Nevertheless, the "playa" (beach) always played a romantic role in music and poetry as the site where furtive lovers ment at night to "watch the moon". Look in the internet for all the renditions of "Vereda tropical" videos.....
To heck with Timothy Leary living la dolce vita with LSD..... hooray for 90 year-old Hugh Hefner!! 😀
Thanks for the uplifting post! José shows so much gusto and he doesn't even have any wrinkles! What an inspiration! Here's the video link: youtube.com/watch?v=AXpQo4b...
That was Joseito Mateo at age 96. His last public presentation was at age 98, a half a year before he died due to CLL. This was during a grand gala event sponsored by the Ministry of Culture with the interesting video title "EL MERENGUE SEGUN MATEO" - "The Merengue according to Matthew" - borrowed from "The New Testamet according to Matthew".... Dominican sense of humor and a homage to the cultural icon Joseito Mateo who in the late 1940's as radio singer had triggered the tsunami of the Merengue over the entire Spanish-speaking world with the song "EL NEGRITO DEL BATEY". For the gerontologist in us, there is another clinical video of Joseito Mateo at age 93 together with three other legendary "merengueros" - all past their mid-eighties and singing since the 1950's: See the video as : RESERVAS DE MERENGUE CANA BRAVA or as JOSEITO MATEO, FRANK CRUZ .
How did you find out he had CLL and not some other form of leukemia?
His death in May 2018 (he was born 1920 and sang on radio in 1938) was a national event and the press report stated that he died from leukemia in the "Hospital Militar" which treated him as an important national personality. You are correct -" leukemia", and not specific CLL as I had written. He sang, danced and joked only six month' earlier at the national hommage for him staged by the Ministry of Culture. The two hour video is in the internet as : EL MERENGUE SEGUN MATEO. Two hour video which is excellent therapy with the Caribbean joy for life and music as well ethno-cultural education. There was a ribald merengue "Don Alcides goes after females who could be his grand-daughters. But when he gets critizised by his family, he replies that they don't respect him!" Back up singers: " Don Alcides gets them ! " In the Caribbean, a man who gives up is seen as terminal case.... even lack of decorum. The music and the climate forbid "acting old"....
lol!! Thanks for the smiles & chuckles ✨
"Cana brava" was a radio ad jingle in the 1930"s: "Raw sugarcane" a rum brand. In 1985 Conductor Carlos Piantini took the melody and theme and composed it into a philharmonic classic. Look at all the videos under the title : CANA BRAVA and MERENGUE CANA BRAVA . Great for a therapeutic evening. 24 hour on internet radio the youth of today with merengue: TROPICAL 100 MERENGUE
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