Good afternoon everyone
DH John is still up in the air (he had a stop-over in Detroit then continued on to Portland) and should be landing within the next couple of hours.
I have a meatloaf in the oven (special request by the kids), and I'm almost done reading a book that I started before the cruise.
Andy: Robby used to take music lessons right next to a pizza parlor and after the first couple of weeks I decided that on music-lesson night, I'd be bringing home pizza for dinner! There's just something about the smell of fresh pizza that is irrisistable!
I hope Angelina can find comfortable shoes, they will make all the difference in the world to her, comfort-wise.
Elaine: Yes my big strong sons are being helpful around the house today; Robby is cleaning his room and doing a few loads of laundry, and Craig (he's not feeling well this weekend, he's been in bed all weekend) put away the dishes for me. He was getting sore from being in bed so much so he decided to get up and walk a little, so I had him put the dishes away since he was on his feet anyway.
Oh...and Mushu is also being helpful by helping me to get some exercise today - He threw up in the hallway so I had to bend down and clean it up.
Good job on your signature, by the way!
Regarding the young man with half of an arm: I know who you're all referring to. I saw him many times on the ship. I can see where, at first glance or even after an encounter with him, he'd be construed as being "annoying", but I could tell that he has some sort of disability. I hope we all have compassion for someone like that. I did see him with a group many times, looked like a family group. From what I know, all of us on this thread have healthy children, I can't imagine how the parents of that young man must feel; wanting their son to have as normal of an experience on the Best cruise ship in the world, but since he's apparently 18 years old, they let him venture off on his own.
I don't know... I can understand where the "annoying" part comes from especially when Jeff was trying to enjoy a quiet moment, but we're all human beings, and a little understanding and compassion for someone like that can go a long way, not only towards the way we treat someone like that, but how it makes us feel ourselves. Maybe it's because when I was a teen I was a camp counselor at a summer camp for Brain-Injured children, but I can spot people with handicaps like that a mile away, and often times at first glance, or even second glance they don't LOOK like they're handicapped, but they are. They don't function the same way we do. They don't pick up on non-verbal cues the same way we do, such as when someone rolls their eyes they don't realize it means that they're annoying someone.
Also about the other topic which many of us are carefully trying to avoid: I have to be totally honest and say that I see it from both sides. Things in life are so often NOT "black and white". Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances to a situation that another party may not realize. I can see why some older teens would be upset or confused as to why
DCL would allow a 17 yr old guest to remain in RBD. But I know the other side of the situation, too.
I hope I don't make anyone upset with all I've just said, but there it is. It's how I feel. We've become a fairly close-knit group over the course of the past 3+ years, and I hope we remain that way. I sincerely enjoy the company of each and every one of you, whether it be in the form of a post, a brief conversation on the ship, or telephone calls, emails, DIS brunches, etc.
I want to add one final comment: I want you all to know that I respect all opinions, even those that differ from mine. We all have a right to feel how we feel, about all different subjects. I just felt it was time to share how I felt about some of these.
That's me on my Harley!! Can you have dinner at 7PM?
Pirate's Night, and that's just a clip on, not to mention, plastic!!! 
