Baaa Haaabaaa

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Today we had a beautiful, sunny, warm day in Bar Harbor, Maine. We wandered the picturesque downtown shops and looked at souvenirs and art and ice cream. There was rumor of lobster flavored ice cream, but we did not search for it. It seemed better left a myth. Louise fulfilled her desire to have a lobster roll in Maine. Win.

We took a bus tour of Acadia National Park. We started by going to the highest point on the eastern seaboard, Cadilliac Mountain. It is a “bald” mountain (are you now humming Night on Bald Mountain, because you probably should be), with a rocky top. We scurried with the short time our tour allowed – we all agreed we could have admired the view for quite a while. Our ship looked just little from 1500 ft up. Our bus continued the 27 mile drive around the park, while David, our very competent guide, told us about the history and lore of the park. There were many people to thank for donating land to the park, but John D. Rockefeller was integral to the building of the roads and carriage roads and making the park what it is today. Thank you, JDR.

We enjoyed riding on the top of the tender boat back to the ship. The sun was setting and we had lovely views. Keith did not fall in the water (and sink), which is always what I think is going to happen if he rides on the top. The water was smooth as glass, so there really wasn’t a lot of worry about, but I am an excellent worrier and rarely needs facts to back it up.

After a dinner of superior ordering (a starter, soup, pasta, and main!), I ordered the Italian trio (tiramisu, pistachio something, and a tiny little ice cream sandwich made with interesting chocolate cookies) and the pear flambe – FOUR desserts, I was ridiculously full. It was pretty great. We went to see our piano lounge guy to an Elton John show. The old lady in front of me was looking at her phone (email) when the show started. I assumed she would stop. After the first song finished, I looked over her should to see what was so important. She was looking at a chit chat email. I know because she was holding it up and I read it. She switched to paging through news and whatnot during the second tune. She started waving her phone up and down, so her husband could see the news as well. I waited until after the third song, when apparently this was going to go on for the whole show, to lean forward and say, “I’m sorry (but really, was I? No), but would you please dim your screen?” She flopped her hands down like the end of the world was happening and I almost laughed out loud. This was an OLD LADY, not a 9th grader (sorry, 9th graders. I am throwing you under the bus just because it is easy). Of course, I felt terrible, and spent at least the next 15 minutes telling myself I could have just closed my eyes or tried harder to ignore it and that I should respect other people’s right to BE RUDE.

Seriously, that is how I ended up. She was rude, and I felt bad. We are all busy supporting everyone’s rights to be themselves to the point that people think that they can do whatever they want regardless of how it impacts anyone else. Then I had to have a conversation with myself about how judgy I was being, and maybe I made her feel sad, and maybe she is mentally handicapped or ill and I just made it worse. Maybe I was being self-centered, and this was all my problem and I should feel bad.

Then I forgot about her and sang my La la la la laaaas like a good audience member.

After a couple more songs, the woman in front of the couple in front of me decided she needed to record the piano guy by holding her phone way up. She recorded about the first minute of each of the remaining songs. Why? Who wants to hear part of a song? Just when you would be starting to sing along, it would end. I would not do that. Anyway, near as I could tell, her phone was just really, really right in the way of the lady I told to dim it up.

I really loved that.