DAY 18, MARCH 18, 2024, HAPPY NATIONAL AWKWARD MOMENTS DAY!
Strange situations happen where there are no explanations. They are so incomprehensible that you believe you have been in the Twilight Zone.
I experienced such an incident ten years ago when my husband was living; we took a bus tour of fourteen days to the United Kingdom, Scotland, and Ireland. I was looking forward to the trip because I wanted to discover which part of Africa I came from. I thought I could find some records in York.
We decided to go with friends from his Law Enforcement club. We were twenty-five couples, and we met up at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (Frankfurt’s Main Train Station) at four o’clock in the morning to get on our tour bus and be driven to Bremerhaven, Germany, where we would take an overnight ferry across the English Channel. I had never been on a ferry before. My very first time. Whenever I went to the UK, I bought a flight ticket and flew with an airplane. I am not a swimmer. I can paddle the water, but a swimmer, I am not.
Thus, I avoid cruises. They are not my cup of tea. I didn’t know that the tour bus would also be loaded on the ferry and that the ferry would arrive at our destination the following day around nine AM. The tour bus would be unloaded, and we would get back on and start our trip.
Being self-employed, I had been working very hard before we left Grosskrotzenburg, and I was looking forward to finally getting on the ferry and then to our cabin.
We had a nice outside cabin. The ship’s kitchen was excellent. The chief cook and his crew served us well for the evening meal as we crossed and for breakfast. After the evening meal, we retired to our cabin, and I went to bed immediately; my husband said he might go to the deck and look around and talk with a few friends, and I mumbled goodnight. According to my husband, I slept like a log.
In the morning, I woke up, stretching my arms out after having a delightful sleep, and my husband was sitting up, already dressed, with a scared look on his face. I asked him what was wrong. I thought I had snored too loud. That was when he looked at me and said, “Now you wake up. Didn’t you hear that the ship was going under? The buses, cars, and trucks parked underground in the belly of the ferry crashed and shoved into each other like someone in the underground terminal was throwing them around.”
Shocked, I said No. The awkwardness of this moment was that everyone heard the alert from the captain over the PA system and was standing by, and I was the only one sleeping. I still laugh about this moment. In fact, I am laughing now. 😊
Let me say the ship wasn’t going under, but someone had forgotten to park his giant truck safely so it wouldn’t roll. Cars and motorbikes were severely damaged, but no one was hurt, and no one slept that night but me.😴
The couples who toured with us kept asking me afterward how I could sleep. All of them thought the ferry was sinking and their lives were over, and I was the only one who had the best sleep of her life going across the English Channel.
Have a lovely day!
Shalom shalom.
Pat Garcia
Pat, you truly were the lucky one on that ship. Nothing terrible really happened, and the ship’s captain terrified everyone else. I can’t imagine staying up all night waiting for the order to abandon ship. Your husband and all the other passengers must have been scared out of their minds.
Hello, Karl,
I can only say that I am thankful because I woke up happy and relaxed. I had one of the best sleeps in my life. 😊
Thank you so much for dropping by and take care.
Shalom shalom
I’m such a deep sleeper that I don’t hear anything or get startled awake unless my wife is kicking me under the sheets to investigate something she heard.
Hi, JP,
that is a good sign that you sleep well. I’m glad to hear you got Jan to wake you up when she hears something.
Take care and thanks for stopping by.
Shalom shalom
Hi, Pat! Your funny story reminded me of the Biblical account of Jesus being sound asleep when the storm nearly sank the disciples’ boat. When he woke up, he told the storm to dissipate and it did, and he said, “O ye of little faith.” It must have been terrifying for the other passengers, but God kept your spirit calm while he kept you oblivious to the danger. O ye of great faith! At the time, you probably didn’t even think about faith. I hope that careless truck driver didn’t get into too much trouble.
The one time I crossed the English Channel, I had a bout of unexpected seasickness. Not fun. Sailing on my dad’s sailboat never bothered me, so I thought I was immune. The first time we went on a cruise, I had plenty of dramamine along. It was never even opened. I LOVE cruises! Lord willing, Bill and I are taking a seven day cruise in May, and I’m so looking forward to it. I sleep well on a cruise. I know the One who holds me firmly in his hands.
Blessings!
Hello, Patty,
I thought about that biblical story just this morning. What really got me was all of them parading around saying they weren’t afraid of anything and then something like that happened.
I still cross the channel and I have even took the ferry over to Sardinia.
No I didn’t think about faith. I was tired and I knew Jesus was with me. And I slept so good. I heard nothing.
Have a beautiful cruise with Bill. I know you will enjoy it.
Shalom shalom
It’s only funny because the ship didn’t go under. 😛 Thanks for the laugh, Pat! I love cruising. In fact, I leave for an 8-day Caribbean cruise this Saturday, and I am SO looking forward to it. And I sleep like a baby on cruises. 🙂
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
No, it was funny to me because they all claimed they weren’t afraid of anything while we were riding the bus to the ferry. Well, that ferry ride sure called them out.
Enjoy your 8-day Caribbean cruise. Have fun and laugh a lot.
Thank you for dropping by and take care of yourself.
Shalom shalom
Thank you so much for the pingback.
Have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
Hi Pat–That’s a good one! I don’t think I would have been able to sleep through that! So glad the ship didn’t go down!
I will never take a cruise. Ever. My father was a deep sea diver in the Navy. In 1959 (I think it was), he was called to consult when the Andrea Doria went down off the coast of Nantucket. I was only eleven years old. When he came back from that excursion, he made us three girls promise we would never go on a cruise. He used to take us down to the beach and have us tred water for a full hour (like they used to make him do during Navy basic training). I thought I was the only one who “got” it because my sisters were so much younger than me, but my youngest sister, who’s eleven years younger than I am, also has memories of that. I will never take a cruise. Ever! Look up the song “Pop Tarts and Spam” by Cheryl Wheeler on YouTube. You’ll understand even more why I hate the thought of cruises!
Oh, Wow, Wanda. I haven’t heard the song yet, but I will look it up on YouTube. If you gave your father a promise to never go on a cruise, then you shouldn’t break your promise.
Take care and have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
I’m chuckling as I write this. No need to feel embarrassed. Obviously your body was exhausted and you needed restorative REM sleep. Thanks for sharing, Pat!
Marian, that was one of the best sleeps, I have ever had. When I heard what had happened, I thanked the LORD that He had me in His hand.
Thank you so much for coming by, and have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
Great story, Pat! I wonder if your failure to wake up had anything to do with our Maker keeping your mind safe, especially since you were not a swimmer and you had previously avoided cruises. Yes, strange things do happen!😁
Hello My Dear Linda,
I KNOW it had something to do with the Maker keeping my mind safe and my body too. You can imagine that I thanked Him profusely for taking care of me.
Have a lovely day, and take care.
Shalom shalom
😂 It’s not funny, but it is!
Pat that is a funny story. It just goes to show that your body needed that rest and was going to get it no matter what. It reminds me of what happened to me long time ago on my job. I had partied all night and didn’t get much rest. When you keep up a pace like that too often strange things can happen. I came into work one particular morning feeling tired after one of those nights. I was sitting at my desk minding my own business and a colleague sitting across from me started laughing. I had fallen into a deep sleep in an upright position. She startled me awake. My body had just shut down. I was embarrassed but gave everybody a good laugh. How can you just fall asleep like that? It was wild! Everytime I think about that day, I just smile.
Hello, Shirley,
I know how you felt. Sometimes we just keep working and forget that we are humans and our bodies need rest.
Thank you so much for coming by.
Shalom shalom
Thanks for sharing a great memory, Pat!
My Dear karen,
Thank you.
Have a lovey Day.
Shalom shalom