The Best Christmas in Years!

Although I will never forget my first Christmas living on the boat, spent with my French friends, Josieanne and Jean, Bernard, and Peggy in St Martin, I think this year tops it -mostly because here in Honduras (Latin America and Mexico, as well), Christmas begins on the evening of the 24th of December and continues with gifts on the 25th, so I was able to celebrate for two days, instead of one. I cannot forget the open hearts and arms of my friends in SXM, though, who invited me to their tables so that I was not alone, and I love them and miss them.

Friday morning, I worked several hours writing a short all-denominational service which I had offered to anyone who cared to come by Annah Foster. But more about that later.

On the afternoon of the 24th, some of the cruisers met at the palapa restaurant, offered to us by the resort for the event, and began decorating. Below is Annie, who made all of the center pieces for the tables, as well as coordinating the whole party. Annie is one of those creative people who with some leaves, nuts, berries, and spray paint, can make a beautiful centerpiece or decoration. My friend Norma was chair, but Annie did a lot of the work, too. I am not so good at these things, but had donated 3 strings of Christmas lights. Later that night, I walked by and was amazed at how nice it looked. They returned the morning of the 25th and did even more. That's Annie, below.

Early in the evening I found my friend, Patty, and after talking a bit and having a drink or 2, I offered to take her out for dinner down the road at friend, Gary's restaurant, called The Deck Cafe. Not a very fancy meal, and I am a pathetic substitute for her friends and family, but I didn't want her to be alone, and we both had to eat something! You see, this is Patty's first time away from home and family at Christmas time, and since she has only worked here for a few weeks and lives within the resort, she hasn't had time to make many new friends. We agreed to a time. She arranged for a taxi to pick us up, went to her room, returned looking amazingly beautiful, and off we went for a nice meal - Gary's food is always so fresh and tasty. Patty's family and friends had not forgotten her and they texted her all evening, missing her. When we were returning from dinner in the taxi, I asked her if she wanted to be taken to the lobby, and she said No. Let's go to your boat. We took 2 Bailey's-on-the-rocks out to the gazebo, which is at the end of the point past the palapa. It has a platform at water level and ladder, and is a place where divers and snorkelers climb out of the water after a swim. At night the tarpon, baracuda, and sometimes a ray, will come in to feed on the smaller ones drawn to the bright lights. There we sat until 3 am, talking and laughing- it required a trip back to Annah Foster for a second round of Bailey's. While there, she received several phone calls and more texts - dinner and the celebration started at home at midnight and she was missed. Isn't she beautiful! With a beautiful heart.The following morning, I had to wake the old brain up and get my head cleared for the religious service I held at 10 o'clock. Only my friends Jim and Norma, and Patty had said they would attend, so I really didn't know if my idea would be a big flop (although, even alone, I always read the Christmas story in the Bible some time around the 25th, and would have done this regardless.) In the time prior to anyone showing up, I was able to contemplate, thinking of Mom and Dad - family and friends, counting my blessings.

Well, I never expected the crowd of folks who turned up. Let me try to count - OK, there were 11 adults and 4 young ones there - crowded into my cockpit, with my keyboard taking up space where 2 more could have sat. After we began, late arrivals started to come, hesitantly, and someone would wave them aboard, and everyone would scoot around and make room. When friend Nancy showed up about 10 minutes late, with a teenager and 3 children in tow, everyone welcomed them and squeezed together a little closer. I think everyone had a good time. I had prepared a formal program, trying to include parts that would be familiar to American Catholics as well as what I know from my Protestant upbringing. So we had a few carols to sing, a couple prayers, the Christmas story read from a Willis-family Bible - 1869 - that I have aboard, and when the kids showed up, we did some more carols for them - they are bi-lingual and knew the English words to the hymns. We concluded the service and passed around some nut bread that a couple had brought along and then sang some more carols. I am sure it lasted for over an hour, and almost every one of these folks came up to me later and thanked me for helping start off their Christmas day a better way and saying how much they appreciated it.

Patty lingered a while after the service and then left, promising to return to help me if I needed it, as I had 2 gag gifts to wrap, music and keyboard to pack up, and 2 pumpkin pies to bake. Well, the pies were a disaster! But I learned and will do better if I ever have to try again. One burned to the pan and the other was soupy!

When I first met Patty, and learned that she would be alone on Christmas, I asked her to be my guest at our Cruiser's Christmas party, although I was not sure if she would appreciate several hours with mostly old folks - mostly American, at that - who live on boats. She accepted. She returned from her room in time to wrap my rather bad choices of gifts for a "Chinese" gift exchange we held, which turned out to be a lot of fun. Her father had called and they talked for 2 hours. And then she helped me make the 2 trips to the palapa to take the keyboard, music, food, plates, and wine. And the party started. My friend Norma took this for us.

Skip and David played a couple high evergy pieces, to big applause, but I never played carols and traditional Christmas songs, as I had planned, mostly because our favorite bartender here was doing a great job DJ'ing the music for us, and mine would have dragged things down. Everyone was having fun.There were about 40 people who attended - Buddy Jim gets a lesson in the Blackberry from Patty. Sorry, Jim. You're too old to appreciate that modern electronic stuff.

Jim is an engineer, and amongst other international work he did in his career, he built railroads in Australia for several years. Hence, the train engineer's cap at the decorating 'party'. (He and Norma have decided to sell the boat and live on land again, making Roatan their home.)

I played the piano just enough so these 3 girls could sing a couple of carols again, with a larger audience. Here they were performing a dance routine they had prepared.

Jim and his love, Norma.

Steve and Cheryl - They were here when I arrived, and after she flew home for a few months, he showed me how to dink out to a channel marker, tie off, and snorkel the reef.

Jim and Norma and 'friend"

I cannot tell you what a wonderful holiday this has been. A piece of Paradise to enjoy. New friends. Some not-so-new. A beautiful friend, whose companionship I treasure, to share some time with. Some good folks who have not forgotten why we celebrate the holiday in the first place. Laughter. Fellowship. Fun. Quiet talks about life and Christmas mornings past.

I remember the last Christmas before Dad died -2005- when we were all together one last time as a family - and since then, Christmas has been a blur, as has been much of the rest of the calendar as the days flew by.

This was certainly the very best in a long, long while. Merry Christmas!

I am blessed!

Life is good!