cruise report
Greetings from the ms Oosterdam, approaching the Hecate Strait. Yeah,
there’s something hilarious about the whole idea of The Nation
cruise, but it’s pretty damn nice. The ship is pretty comfy, like an
upper middlebrow hotel that floats.
The crew - the visible staff, that is, upstairs, as opposed to the
invisible folks downstairs - seem heavily drawn from Dutch colonial
history, esp Indonesia. Apparently many stay on board for months or
years, sending money home.
Ralph Nader is here. Saw him walking down a hallway in a dark suit
looking like he missed a career as a funeral director. He introduced
himself at the briefing session for speakers as “a consultant to GM.”
The Nation cruisers seem like a very agreeable bunch - mostly fairly
old, and wow do they love The Nation. You do get asked questions like
“whose your favorite Democrat” [i.e., presidential candidate]. I’ve
got to come up with a better comeback than “they all suck.” Advice
welcome.
Doug