Cut to the next captain’s cocktail party. Once again I was faced with the familiar challenge of getting officers to mingle and make small talk with the passengers. I made my weekly trek to the laconic officers’ throng to drag one or two away and, this time, my hand fell on the arm of the ship’s doctor. I hauled him over to the nearest group of grinning passengers and introduced him. I then said, “Just last week Dr. Rossi saved the eyesight of a seaman on another ship after a dramatic midnight rescue. Dr. Rossi, I’m sure these folks would love to hear about it.”
It was like a magic wand. To my amazement, it was as though Dr. Rossi was blessed instantly with the tongues of angels. His previously monosyllabic broken English became thickly accented eloquence. He recounted the entire story for the growing group of passengers gathering around him. I left the throng that Dr. Rossi enraptured to pull another officer over to an awaiting audience.
I grabbed the captain’s stripe-covered arm, dragged him over to another pack of smiling passengers and said, “Captain Cafiero, why don’t you tell these folks about the dramatic midnight rescue you made last week?” The cat released Cafiero’s tongue and he was off and running.
Back to the throng to get the first officer for the next group. By now I knew I had a winner. “Signor Salvago, why don’t you tell these folks how you awakened the captain at midnight last week for the dramatic midnight rescue?”
By then it was time to go back to extract the ship’s doctor from the first bevy and take him to his next pack of passengers. It worked even better the second time. He happily commenced his Encore! for the second audience. As he chatted away, I raced back to the captain to pull him away for a second telling with another throng. I felt like the circus juggler who keeps all the plates spinning on sticks. Just as I got one conversation spinning, I had to race back to the first speaker to give him a whirl at another audience.
The captain’s cocktail parties were a breeze for me for the rest of the season. The three officers loved telling the same story of their heroism to new people every cruise. The only problem was I noticed the stories getting longer and more elaborate each time. I had to adjust my timing in getting them to do a repeat performance for the next audience.
It was like a magic wand. To my amazement, it was as though Dr. Rossi was blessed instantly with the tongues of angels. His previously monosyllabic broken English became thickly accented eloquence. He recounted the entire story for the growing group of passengers gathering around him. I left the throng that Dr. Rossi enraptured to pull another officer over to an awaiting audience.
I grabbed the captain’s stripe-covered arm, dragged him over to another pack of smiling passengers and said, “Captain Cafiero, why don’t you tell these folks about the dramatic midnight rescue you made last week?” The cat released Cafiero’s tongue and he was off and running.
Back to the throng to get the first officer for the next group. By now I knew I had a winner. “Signor Salvago, why don’t you tell these folks how you awakened the captain at midnight last week for the dramatic midnight rescue?”
By then it was time to go back to extract the ship’s doctor from the first bevy and take him to his next pack of passengers. It worked even better the second time. He happily commenced his Encore! for the second audience. As he chatted away, I raced back to the captain to pull him away for a second telling with another throng. I felt like the circus juggler who keeps all the plates spinning on sticks. Just as I got one conversation spinning, I had to race back to the first speaker to give him a whirl at another audience.
The captain’s cocktail parties were a breeze for me for the rest of the season. The three officers loved telling the same story of their heroism to new people every cruise. The only problem was I noticed the stories getting longer and more elaborate each time. I had to adjust my timing in getting them to do a repeat performance for the next audience.
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