Stories: Cruisin' with George
by Lynn Meadows
Bob and I were celebrating our 25-year wedding anniversary in 1995. We decided to go on a 7- day cruise to the Caribbean with George and Deborah Mead. It was the first and last cruise for all of us -- we were curious about the whole cruising experience. It was quite an eye-opener, to say the least. We
visited seven ports in seven days, including the Cayman islands and Jamaica. We had special accommodations for George’s wheelchair and would exit the ship from the bowels instead of the customary stairway. It was always fun to travel with George; every time we were together felt like a gift. We made the best of every moment, were always cracking up and George was game for it all.
We got off the ship in Jamaica and decided to rent a van and get out of the city and into the hills. We had a fabulous driver who recited poetry and kept saying "no problem mon," every time we asked to take off on a back road. He showed us nutmeg trees and all kinds of native plants.
We finally made our way down to the shore to hang out and swim. Deborah and I went down to the water and George sat up behind us near the van. When we returned from swimming there was George getting his beard braided from this beautiful Jamaican woman. They were laughing and carrying on. It turned out that he paid her $20, which was way over her price. That was a lot of money to George since he was a thrifty fellow. Later he said she was telling him the story of her life and that she was a single mother trying to make the money to feed her children. Poverty in Jamaica is a big problem and he wanted her to have enough for her children.
From that time forward we were quite the spectacle on the ship. Our elderly distinguished looking companion with the braided beard. On the cruise there are a few formal dinners and George wore his tux from his days in the Masons. That is how we have a photo of George in a tux with his beard braided.
