Ship Notes - Ducks

 

Ship Notes – Ducks

Noel Laflin

10-10-24

 

It's a busy morning in the buffet but I manage to snag a table in a corner that boxes me in on two sides quite comfortably, and yet still allows me a clear view of everything in front of me.

 

It's perfectly placed as two walls not only guards my back, but is frequently a front row seat to cheap entertainment.

 

Mine is a smaller table but the one a few feet away seats four.

 

It's quickly claimed by a couple of young siblings waiting for their folks, who must be foraging for food.

 

The girl sets a small multicolored rubber ducky on the table. Within a nanosecond her older brother picks it up and begins to pound the holy shit out of it. The younger sister is horrified and quickly grabs it back protectively. I bet the folks are going to hear about it when they return with vittles in hand.

 

For those unfamiliar with modern day cruising, the hiding and finding of small rubber ducks is kind of a big thing - especially for kids. Case in point: there was a youngster who gleefully filled me in on her lucky finding of ducks, as a multitude of us patiently waited for the main dining room doors to open on the first night aboard this particular ship last week. Just how many ducks had she found in her first four hours upon boarding the ship - Five, by golly!

 

She was pretty stoked. I was also impressed with her diligent sleuthing and told her so, just as the dining room doors swung open.

 

I remember the snickering behind me one afternoon a few years ago as we glided through the Inside Passage on our way to Juneau. I was reclined upon a very comfortable sofa in the observation gallery, lost in a fine book. When I decided to finally get up, I moved my arm across the top of the couch and found a bright yellow little duck that the one responsible for the snickering I'd heard just a few moments before had placed there, apparently. Now, how lucky was that! I wasn't even looking for a duck, but he found me in my near slumber!

 

A young Filipino waiter was watching, just a bit enviously, as I admired my new find, so I extended the duck in offering and he smiled in thanks as he accepted the gift.

 

"My daughter is going to love this!" he said.

 

"Does she have a brother?" I enquired.

 

"Yes," he smiled bashfully.

 

"Well, good luck with that then," I said, finger tipped to the bill of my cap in silent salute, wandering off in search of more hidden treasures.