During dinner, I would walk around the tables to see how everyone was doing.. Remember when I told you about the man with silver nails? I passed by a table and he was sitting there with a wig, full makeup and a gown. The ladies at the table loved him . Later they re-did his make up and brushed out his wigs to be more current.
One evening I did not come down for dinner. Linda told people I was not feeling very well ….but that was a lie. I was in my room putting on a disguise. I had a brown wig that was straight and combed to the side. I also put on a mustache. One of the busboys gave me his uniform to put on. It was black pants a white shirt a black vest and black tie. When I looked in the mirror I said, ”Who is this looking back at me?”. Lol.
I went to the dining room and took on my busboy duties. I picked up the water pitcher and filled everyone’s glasses. I would fill their glasses to the rim so there was no way they could drink from the glass. They would have to lean over to sip some of the water. Then when their entree came I would get everyone’s order mixed up. They would say this is not my dinner and I pretended not to hear them. One of the ladies went to the Maitre d to complain about me. I would take their bread away when they were not finished eating the bread. I would have to go back to the kitchen and laugh. I went to my room and changed and then went back to my table. I could still hear some of the women complaining. They never knew it was me.
On the cruise we would stop at ports Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Mexico City, St Thomas, and St Croix in the Caribbean. On our cruise to Alaska we stopped in Anchorage and Juno.
One day when I got back on the ship a lady and her husband were walking towards me. “Hey there is that sissy you workout to.” His wife was in shock. His wife said, ”You apologize to him right now.” and she hit him on his shoulder. Every time I saw them on the ship he would always say, “I am sorry for what I said.”
After a tiring day, I would go back to my room. People would find out where my room was and slide letters underneath the door. Even though I was exhausted I would sit on a chair and read them all. These were very emotional letters. I would cry so much that my ribs hurt. Do you know how hard it is to try to go to sleep while you are still crying?
On the last day of the cruise, the ship threw a farewell party for us. A guy in the kitchen created magnificent Ice sculptures. The one I remember most was a four foot seahorse. It was an emotional evening for everyone. By this time I knew everyone’s name.
That night I went back to my room and the door across the hall was open. A lovely couple that evidently had watched me and my group gave me a compliment. “You really do good work Richard.“. Who were these people? Rene Zellweger’s parents. I had met Ms Z while shopping one day. What a great academy award winning actress.
Then the cruise was over. In the morning I would open the door to my room and people came in to say goodbye. Over the years I did 30 cruise to loses. I still hear from past cruisers. I know when these messages are posted the cruisers will think about all the amazing times we spent together. Over and out.
