Cruising

I dreamed last night I was crossing the Atlantic on the SS America. This was a voyage I really took as a newly wed in 1964 to join my Army musician husband in Germany.

My father had driven me to New York, made sure I was in my cabin, found a German woman to be my friend. She had moved to Miami with the intention of staying in the U.S., married an Army Sargent who was deployed to Germany. She was less than happy about going "home."

My father also arranged for my place at the dining table making sure there were other young people at the table where I would take all my meals. They were four-star restaurant quality.

I was taking his dream trip.

The trip was a week out of time. Despite being third class, the meals were wonderful and the entertainment on-going: movies, dances, games, library. I quickly made friends including the German woman who seems so much more sophisticated than I was.

Before boarding the ship, I had been over protected never being allowed into Boston, less than 12 miles away. Quite a contrast, especially since I would have to make my way from Le Havre, France to Stuttgart, Germany on my own without language skills. Exciting though.

I remember Dieter, also returning to Germany, pouring out his love for another passenger Kathy, the wife of an Army lieutenant also stationed in Germany. They shared a stateroom. He wanted her to leave her husband after we docked. I wish I knew what happened. Kathy acted very much like a spoiled brat in complaints about things that at their worst were luxurious.

The Twist, the Stroll were among the dances we did several times. One night the ship hit a wave and the drummer and his drums went sliding across the room. Some of us fell. It was a rough night until we found calmer waters. I tried not to think about the Titanic.

At the dances an older woman, traveling alone, got drunk every night and had to be helped to her cabin. I wish I knew more about her life and was it hard to be with so many young people with their lives before them.

We let passengers off in Ireland. Locals came aboard selling Irish knit sweaters. The next stop was the U.K. then across the channel where we disembarked for a train to carry us to Paris and my new life as a wife.

When ever I see a movie about an ocean cruise, I smile. With such a sheltered upbringing, it was an experience I never thought I would have. Most of my life turned out to be experiences I wanted to have but never dreamed possible.

Photo: S.S. America, the first cruise ship where the interiors were designed by women. Built in 1940 it was turned into a war ship in WWII. Sold and resold. It ran aground in 1994 and broke in two.