Goodbye To a Gentle Giant - Reminiscing (Part 1)

This is a series (probably just two parts, but it may end up as more) I'm writing solely to try to give myself a sense of closure over losing one of my favourite singers and a person I considered a friend.

George Donaldson - a gentle giant, Scottish singer, father, brother, and son - passed away March 12th. This post is me reminiscing about how I came to know of Celtic Thunder, and, through them, George. You don't have to read it, but I'm putting it up anyway for the few people I know would want to read it.

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I first came across Celtic Thunder (and consequently, George Donaldson) in either late 2011 or early 2012. Up to date, 2012 was the hardest year of my life. I was looking for some Irish music in the CDs at the library, and I happened across a CD called, "Celtic Thunder: Act II". I looked at the front and saw several men on a stage, wearing kilts. I thought it looked interesting, so I took it home.

I was immediately hooked. The wide array of music captured my heart; all sorts of genres of music were meshed together. As I listened to more and more of the Celtic Thunder CDs, I found more and more genres - hymns were sang, original songs written by the singers, rock 'n' roll, pop, old ballads, country music, and, of course, traditional Irish music. And best of all, most - if not all - of the songs were clean.

In 2012, I had turned away from God. As a result, the only things keeping me from giving up on life were my friends... and Celtic Thunder.

Yes, I had other music, but it was full of depressing things, some of the songs had cursing in them... basically, most of what I listened to was horrid. But not Celtic Thunder. They sang songs that taught me determination ("Ireland's Call"), taught me about history ("Christmas 1915"), taught me about the love of fathers and children ("The Old Man" and "My Boy")... taught me a lot of things. And it kept me going.

Okay, skip ahead. In 2013, I met my mentor (though he wasn't my mentor right off, obviously) and new friends that were godly Christians, and I found my way back to God through them. But Celtic Thunder remained and remains a huge part of my life.

I love all of the members, past and present, for different reasons. When I first found the band, I probably talked more about the younger men of the group, obviously... I was a silly teenage girl with her priorities in a mess.

But George Donaldson always had a special place in my heart. He was the kindhearted one... the wise one... the fatherly one.

I don't have a good relationship with my own dad. So I tried to fill the dad-shaped space in my heart with other people; George was one of them. Listening to his interviews and watching him sing made me feel like he'd be a wonderful dad.

As I said, though, in 2013 I met several older, godly men, my mentor included. Now that I had father figures to look up to in my life, I no longer needed to cling to my daydreams of what it would be like to have George as my dad. But I still looked up to him; his generosity and kindness was inspiring.

In November of 2013, I was blessed enough to go on the Celtic Thunder Cruise. I never expected to get to know any of the band members... but to my joy, I met George not once, but three times. I talked to him a little more each time.

When I asked him for a photograph with me, he readily agreed. I was shaking; I had had a rough night before, and was homesick and anxious. George noticed. He has his arm around my shoulder in a side-hug, and when he felt me trembling, he tightened his hug reassuringly, smiling that smile of his - a warmhearted, sunshiney smile.

I thanked him, and left. I met him again later on, outside of a lounge. I said hello, and he started a conversation. We were headed the same way, and instead of trying to get away from me, a random fan, George walked with me and continued talking for a short while before we had to part ways.

Finding out about his death felt like a physical punch in the gut, and I'm still kind of in denial about it. The funeral services were held today, about a week after George passed away. I had gotten to know him through social networking and on the Cruise, and I felt like I had just had a friend taken away from me.

In a way, I have. He was one of the people who kept me going in 2012, and he was the one I looked up to as a father figure for so long. He was the one who helped me relax on the Cruise and feel less homesick.

I miss him so much more than words can say; I'm heartbroken, and I know that not many can understand why. You don't have to; just understand that I am.

This blog is actually sort of named after him - once, he was talking about something called 'Of Songs and Stories'. I loved the phrase, and used it as the name of my blog; 'of songs and stories' in Irish Gaelic.

George was a man with a huge heart, and that showed in everything he did and said. He is known among the Celtic Thunder fans as 'the gentle giant'; a big man who would have been intimidating, if not for his warm smile and gentle nature. He invested time in all of his fans, and when he was with his family, he spent every moment with them. His daughter Sarah was 'the light of his life'.

From my experiences, and from stories I've heard from others who have met and known George, he was a caring man. He was always smiling, and never passed up the chance to give people a hug and chat with them. And as he comforted me when he noticed I was shaking, there are several others who have had the same experience - they've been anxious or panicky about something, and George would comfort them until they were calmer, no matter what was going on or where he was. He was always gentle, humble, and considerate.

I hope someday to see him again. Until then, I won't ever forget him. And if you're reading this... remember to spend time with your loved ones and let them know you love them. You never know when God will take them Home... you never know whether you'll have the chance to say goodbye.

"He was with his family one night...
Times of love and laughter and light.
Heaven needed a new angel that day,
God called the gentle giant Home, and now he's gone away.

His heart was full of love
And no more could it hold
His heart took the wings of a dove
And flew Home to the streets of gold..."

God bless, all.

~ Theodora 

The Celtic Thunder Cruise 2013 - Day 6

November 6^th, 2013

At Sea

Today has been stressful but so. much. fun.

We didn’t do much during the day but eat, watch TV, and wander around. The fun really started at around 2pm.

I went to one of the lounges to watch the musicians do a show. I opted out when I saw George Donaldson out in the hall; I went to talk to him instead. We chatted for a few minutes, and then he had to go. We were going the same way for a while, until two women stopped him. Then I lost sight of him.

Eventually, I went back out onto the Lido Deck. There was Irish dancing going on with the dance team. I watched that, and when Colm Keegan, one of the singers, got up on stage... well, a lightbulb went off and I told Mom I was going to go and stand close to the stage so I could possibly stop him when he left and ask (in a polite, respectful way; not throwing myself at him like everyone else, :P) for a picture.

I got tired of holding my laptop along with the camera though, so I decided to drop it off back at the room. On my way there, who should I see standing by the door of the lobby but Ryan.

I waved and said ‘hi’, and he said ‘hi’ back. I asked him timidly if he would mind taking a photo with me, and he said that was fine.

Looking around, I spotted a young guy standing a few feet away and asked him if he could take a photo of me and Ryan. He agreed—but couldn’t figure out how to use the camera. He had it on videorecording. I showed him how to change it, and then he took a picture.

I was delighted; Ryan had given me a one-arm hug, and I’d gotten a photo with him. I thanked both of them, and practically skipped away to the room. I went in, put my laptop down, and excitedly showed my mom the photo. (Her only response was to bemoan what a bad picture it was and complain about the cameraman’s skills. *rolls eyes*)

Me and Ryan Kelly. ^_^

Then I trotted back out onto the deck to take up my position next to the stage, so that when Colm left, I could ask him for a photograph.

Ryan was up on stage dancing when I went back, along with Belinda Murphy, another dancer, and two lucky women who had been chosen to dance with Ryan and Colm. I watched, and got a few minutes of video of Ryan dancing with none other than Colm. XD

Then Colm and Ryan left the stage. I had been prepared, and was standing next to the steps they had to use to get down. I asked Colm if he would mind taking a photo with me, and he was very sweet and said he didn’t mind. I handed the camera off to someone... and they still couldn’t figure out how to use it and stop videorecording.

I fixed it, apologizing several times to Colm, who shrugged it off with a smile. Then I got my photo, thanked him and the photographer, and left. And then a bunch of people who had been on their way over swamped him and Ryan. More of those women who have lots of money and have met all the singers before. :P

Me and Colm Keegan. :D

I stood closer to the main part of the deck, where Ciaran (the handsomest dancer, I must say. *pokes Everly and giggles* ;) ) and a few other dancers were dancing in the crowd of people. I danced for a little while. Another woman took my hand and had me be her partner for a while (it’s not weird; there’s a shortage of men on the ship, so sometimes girls have to dance with each other. :P).

I spotted Damian (remember the cute little boy from earlier?) dancing. I was going to go ask him to dance with me, but several girls had already asked him to be their partners, so I didn’t. He’s a very popular little guy, I have to say. XD

In a lull, I leaned over and asked my partner if Ciaran would mind if I asked him to dance with me. I was kind of joking, even though secretly I’d like to dance with him (mostly because no one has ever danced with me before, besides my mom and brother when I was about five) but she said, “Oh, not at all!”

I stopped short, and then giggled with an, “Oh, goodness, but I’m shy...”

To my chagrinne, she called out, “Ciaran!” He looked over, and she gestured at me, saying, “Dance with her!”

Ciaran gave me this grin and beckoned me over. I hesitated, then laughed sheepishly and tentatively walked over, apologizing to him for some random reason. He sensed my nervousness, I think, and gave me a huge hug.

There was single dancing for a few minutes... and then you had to dance with a partner.

I think I stopped breathing for a second when Ciaran took my arm and started dancing with me (as I followed the steps as best I could); I stopped breathing because he suddenly spinned me extremely fast, and it was a bit of a surprise to suddenly be moving that fast. XD

Then it was single dancing. Another partner dance came up, and he again spinned me around so fast my feet nearly left the ground. I was laughing now, and when he stopped, I stumbled dizzily. He quickly put an arm around my shoulder, steadying me. Then he carefully wrapped his arm around my waist and dipped me back, which made me even dizzier but very happy. XD

I asked someone if they would film me dancing with him, but she didn’t know how to use my camera either. :P I explained to Ciaran what I was doing; he had come over to ask me if I was alright. I think he was afraid he had spinned me a little too quickly.

He understood and attempted to hold the camera, hold it out, and film while he danced with me. He spun me around, occasionally shouting in an exaggerated voice, “Yay!” Then he stopped, steadied me, and said, “A kiss for the pretty little lady.” Then he gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I think my face went bright red, and I giggled. He gave me a big hug again, and handed the camera back. I thanked him, and walked off.

There was more dancing, and it went on for a while. I had a lot of fun; even when one of the female professional dancers grabbed my hand and pulled me into the ring of dancers. I felt my face go hot and protested, “Oh, goodness. I don’t know how to dance!”

She said, “Oh, sure you do!” and proceeded to do the Irish version of a polka, I think, with me. I was embarrassed, but happy.

Shortly after, the Ceilidh dance was over. I returned to my room, passing Mom on the way. I spoke a mile a minute, telling her about the video—but when I tried to show it to her, I found that Ciaran must have shut the camera off very early on, by accident. There was only two seconds, not enough to even show the dance.

I was very upset. But he and the other dancers will be around again at two events tonight. I hope to ask him to dance with me again at the karaoke (or ask him at the quiz before, if I can dance with him at the karaoke); he’s sweet enough, I’m sure if I explain that the video was cut off early, and I want to show the video to my family, he’ll understand. It won’t take longer than ten seconds or so to do a quick waltz.

Besides, I think I have a bit of an advantage in that I’m younger than about 95% of the people on the ship, as well as far more modest and respectful. Rather than demand they do something like take pictures, like everyone else here, I actually ask, “May I please [such and such]”, or “Could you please [such and such]. And he might also realize that the reason I don’t have the video was because he couldn’t use the camera too well.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun with that. I’m very happy; I have pictures with all but two of the Celtic Thunder lads, pictures of me with a few other people, I danced with someone for the first time in my life, and I got a bunch of hugs and a kiss on the cheek—and might again tonight.

I’m also stressed out though. :P My brother has gotten worse and worse on this trip—impolite, withdrawn, snappish.

And he’s also acting very suspicious with this new friend of his, the girl who calls herself Sprite (yes, like the soda).

He keeps asking to go find her, but when Mom tells him to go say hi when she sees her, he refuses. Then, this afternoon after I came back from the dance, he said he wanted to go wander around the ship.

When Mom asked him ‘why’, he refused to give a straight answer. She asked where he would be, and he avoided the question, several times. Finally, Mom said, “You’re going to go look for Sprite, aren’t you?”

He finally admitted that he was. Mom told him to go and just stay in sight on the Lido Deck. He flopped over and grunted, “Forget it.”

They kept at that for a while, and when she asked why he refused to go when she was with him or when she knew where he was, he said, “I just want to be...” and trailed off.

She demanded, “Alone with her?” He stuttered, and then fell silent. I buried my face in my hands. He finally caught his bearings and protested, but it was unconvincing. I shook my head.

So now we’re both paranoid about him. :P

But anyway. In about ten minutes, I’m going down to the lounge where some of the dancers will be doing a quiz show. I’m hoping to catch Ciaran and ask if he could re-film that dance with me, at the karaoke. If he’s not there, I’ll ask one of the others to please ask him if he would. If I don’t catch him, I’m going to show up at the karaoke anyway and try to find him there. I’m keeping my expectations and hopes as low as possible so I don’t get discouraged and disappointed.

Well, this is actually being typed on the 7^th, since I ran out of time to type last night. But I can remember the happenstances of yesterday well enough.

I did go to the quiz show, as a matter of fact. It was a lot of fun; I wasn’t on a team this time. I was just sitting by myself, since the main reason I was there was to talk to Ciaran afterwards. It was still fun though to listen to the questions being asked and the lads and lasses play around. There was a lot of Dublin-accent-and-slang imitations going on. A few videos shall be here shortly. *grins*

I knew the answer to one of the questions that most other people didn’t know—that ‘dulaman’ means ‘seaweed’ in Gaelic. *grins* My Irish translating comes in handy. I also knew the answer to some of the more ‘complicated’ questions, judging by how few people answered them correctly. Not that that’s anything for me to be proud of, because I didn’t know the answers to most of the ‘easy’ questions. XD

A few minutes before the game ended, I walked up to Belinda Murphy—the teacher and dance choreographer, which makes her Ciaran’s and the others’ boss—and asked her if she minded me standing next to her, because I wanted to talk to Ciaran. She said it was fine, so I sat down next to her.

After the game ended, a group of people walked up to the miniature stage and asked for pictures, signatures, etc. I waited patiently for them to finish, though I was getting a bit anxious—dinner was going to start very soon.

I timidly walked up to the stage when most of the people had dispersed. I ran into Sammi; I tried to tell her in excitement about how I had gotten pictures with Colm, Ryan, and Keith. She didn’t even respond; she heard me though, because she started bragging about all the pictures and signatures she had gotten last night. :P She’s very competetive and a bit of a braggart, sadly.

She got her signatures from the dancers, and then left. I waited until people stopped approaching Ciaran, and I hesitated before walking up to him.

I think he greeted me with something like, “Oh, it’s the lovely dancer! How are you? Having fun?”

I said ‘yes’, chatting with him for a few minutes before saying, “I hate to harass you again, but when you were filming earlier, the video didn’t work, and I was wondering if you would mind dancing with me again just for a few seconds later, so that my mom could film it.” Yes, I really did use that sort of run-on sentence. :P

He was very friendly and said ‘of course’, and I asked if tonight at the karaoke would work. He agreed to that, and told me to be all set up by the time he got there. I said ‘okay’, and then hurried away to my room to get ready for dinner.

While we ate dinner, since it was the last night of the cruise, Mom talked about what she had learned. Basically, she has learned that she should never, ever leave home, and that if you don’t have money to go on tours at port, don’t go at all. My brother learned... something silly, like ‘don’t go on ships’ or something.

As for what I learned, well... that shall be saved for my final blog post on the adventure. ;) Wait patiently, lads and lasses.

When we left the dining room, I quickly shook one of our waiter’s hands. He was a very sweet guy, but I can’t remember his name—it was long, and he was from somewhere like the Philippines. He gave me a smile, thanked me, and let me follow my mom, who was rapidly exiting the room.

After dinner, Mom had to go call Guest Services. Earlier, she had seen an email from our airline, but had been unable to read it before the WiFi died. As a result, she was going to talk to Guest Services and ask them for their help.

I wandered over to one of the entrances to the Caribbean Lounge, which was a short distance away from Guest Services. While I stood there, I watched Celtic Thunder perform their show. I didn’t really need to watch it; they were going to do a second, identical show later on for people in my seatings (my family and I were Red Seatings; half the ship is assigned Red, and the ther half is assigned Blue). But I didn’t have anything else better to do but wait nervously for the karaoke to start.

Eventually, I left and went to sit at the bar a few feet away from Mom—no, not because I wanted a drink. It gave me a good view of the pianist and drummer playing behind the bar. :P

Finally, Mom got off the phone. It was 6:50pm. I told her I needed to run up to the room and grab my camera and one of my three program books—I was going to get the dancers’ signatures when they showed up for karaoke.

So we ran up the stairs to our room (yes, we’re crazy and take the stairs rather than use the elevators). I grabbed my camera, put its battery back in, and looked for a program I hadn’t highlighted events in. I found it and took it too. Then I realized I couldn’t find a pen. I rummaged through drawers, unable to find it. Eventually, Mom discovered it on the floor next to my bed. *facepalm*

By this time, it was 6:57pm. I told Mom I was going to run down to the casino (where the karaoke show was) and try to get a good spot, and that I would wait there for her and Larry. She agreed, and I made my way down three or four flights of stairs.

No one was at the karaoke stage when I showed up, so I stood there awkwardly. Soulman—the really sweet Filipino man in charge of the karaoke nights—approached me and asked if I was going to sing something. I shook my head with an awkward smile and told him I was no good. He kept trying to convince me, finally walking a few feet away after saying, “Well, just think about it.”

Still no one showed up, besides one or two people who sat down next to the stage rather than stand. I believe Soulman came up to me one last time and asked if I had decided to sing something yet. I shook my head, and he told me, “Aww, come on, what songs would you like to sing?”

I said that two songs I liked a lot were Katie and The Rocky Road to Dublin, both by Celtic Thunder. He said apologetically that he didn’t have those songs in his CD case at the time. A few seconds later, he told me that if I chose a song he knew, he would come and sing along with me. I smiled and shrugged in a ‘maybe’ gesture.

A song he liked came onto the speakers by the karaoke stage. So he jogged over, hopped up onto the stage, took a microphone, and began to sing along.

Let me tell you, he had an amazing voice, no joke. I greatly enjoyed hearing him sing. I just stood there with this huge grin on my face, and when he caught sight of that, he smiled a big and bright smile back at me.

A few more people gathered around by this point, but the Gaelic Rhythm dancers still hadn’t arrived. Soulman stopped singing at the end of the song, and came down to take slips of paper from people who wanted to perform in the karaoke. I walked up to him when he finished with that and told him he had done a really good job. He thanked me, smiling.

More people gathered, just as another young woman got on stage and started to sing. Mom came up to me, and for a little while, tried to talk me into singing again. I kept protesting, coming up with excuses like ‘I’m waiting for the dancers’ and ‘Maybe I’ll do it if Ciaran gets here’.

I said that last one because Ciaran is very, very good at convincing people to dance or sing, and I knew he would try to convince me. :P

Austin, a young man who was at the last karaoke session (and who also has an amazing voice), overheard us and said, “They’ll end the karaoke at 8pm, whether the dancers show up or not.”

I frowned, but cleared it after a few seconds and thanked him for the information. Mom continued trying to talk me into it, saying that if I did Matchmaker, Matchmaker from the Fiddler on the Roof movie, she would sing it with me. I was leaning more towards Michael Jackson’s Thriller or Relient K’s Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been.

I finally, after much more convincing from Mom, told her I would do the Relient K song, scrawled it out on the slip of paper Soulman had eagerly presented me with (writing things in the wrong spaces and thus causing much crossing out and mess-making of the paper), and handed it to him, admitting, “I’m scared to death.”

He smiled encouragingly and told me I would be fine, and that I would have fun. He went to put my slip of paper with the others he had collected.

Just as another gorup of singers got onto the stage, Gaelic Rhythm finally showed up. I spotted them and grinned.

I walked up to someone and tapped them on the shoulder, only to find that it was one of the Irish performers I had talked to during the last karaoke session—the one who looked so similar to Ciaran, I got them confused. :P Luckily, I just said ‘hello’ and chatted for a bit, rather than ask him if he was still going to dance with me; because, obviously, he would not have understood what I was talking about. Fortunately, before I asked him about the dance, he left to go sign some autographs.

Luckily, the actual dancers gathered around the stage. I watched them for a while, as Ciaran got on the stage and sang along with the family singing currently.

When they stopped, and someone else got on the stage (that ‘someone else’ being Austin), I finally decided that Ciaran was busy. Instead, I asked Alan, one of the other very sweet dancers, if he would ask Ciaran (when Ciaran was available) for me whether he still was able to dance.

To my complete shock, rather than waiting, Alan just walked up to Ciaran (who was standing at the edge of the stage), tapped him on the shoulder, and whispered something in his ear. Ciaran glanced over, saw me, smiled, handed his microphone to Hayley-Jo (one of the other dancers), and walked over to me.

He took my hand, and I nodded towards Mom so that he knew who would be filming. I expected him to lead me to the back of the room, where the crowd was much thinner (it had gotten quite thick in front of the stage by this point), dance with me for a few seconds, and then go back to what he was doing.

Much to my embarrassed surprise, he instead led me out to the empty-ish space in front of the stage; in very clear view of both Austin, who was singing, and the crowd standing a few feet away.

I couldn’t very well refuse now that he had done that, so all I could do was let him hold my hand and start dancing with him. I still didn’t have all the moves memorised, so I just followed his movements as best I could.

I felt very awkward, but was having a wonderful time. I won’t explain exactly how the dance went, because... I have a video, which I will show right... now. (I would have embedded it, but it wasn't working. :P)

My dance with Ciaran Keating of Gaelic Rhythm.

After the song ended, he gave me a hug and kissed my cheek again (you may be able to see that, in the video, though not too clearly) before escorting me out of the crowd and to the back where I had been before.

In the excitement of the moment, I hadn’t been paying attention to Hayley-Jo, who had just announced the next singer. Suddenly, Mom poked my shoulder and said, “Teddy, it’s your turn!”

My eyes probably widened an insane amount, and I spun around to look towards the stage and towards where Ciaran and Soulman were watching me expectantly. I stared, and finally Ciaran came forward, murmuring, “Do you want me to announce you?”

I nodded dumbly, unable to even think  about what to say, because I was so scared. He escorted me to the stage and helped me up onto it, and then introduced me (Hayley-Jo had only called out my name, not introduced me).

The music started playing before I even knew what was happening. To my horror, it wasn’t the Relient K song I had heard so many times... and thus, I failed miserably, even worse than I would have if it had been the right song. :P But I tried and didn’t die, so I did fairly okay in that regard.

I have a video, but I'm afraid to show it. One person already teased me to death about it, and it wasn't my brother. XP If you really want to see it, let me know in the comments.

My hand holding the microphone was shaking uncontrollably, and according to something Mom said later, Ciaran most likely noticed it. He stayed by my side the entire time; as emotional support, I guess. He goofed around a bit, urged the crowd to clap... 

(And yes, right after he finishes an odd, little dance and puts his arm around my shoulder, he does indeed give me another kiss on the cheek. He seemed very perceptive, and appeared to realize [like several of my friends know] that hugs help me to calm down, and physical touch is my love language, which means hugs and hand-holding and such makes me feel much more relaxed and safer.)

After that, I got off the stage. Soulman was right there to congratulate me and take my hand to help me off the stage. Mom said it was time to go and get ready to watch our seatings’ Celtic Thunder show, but I told her to wait just a few minutes longer while I got the dancers’ signatures.

I took my program and pen, and then approached Alan and handed him the book, asking if he would mind signing the page at the back (which is notebook paper, basically). He was happy to, asked my name, and then wrote a note addressed specifically to me.

After that, I went up to Hayley-Jo and got her signature. Then I got Aoife’s. It went on like that until all I needed was Ciaran’s (and one other guy’s, but I don’t think he was present).

I waited until the end of the song, and until he had time, and then shyly went up and tapped him on the shoulder. It was loud, so I just showed him the program and the paper with his fellow dancers’ signatures on it, and gave him a questioning glance.

He nodded and scrawled out a quick message. I took the moment to talk to him one last time, since I knew I wouldn’t see him again. I told him something like, “Thank you for dancing with me. You really made this cruise the best time of my life; you’re the one person who has been friendly to me the whole time during this trip, and the one person I really felt like I had made friends with. So... thank you.” And I meant it.

He smiled, seeming touched, and said, “Aww... thank you.” He gave me a hug, and I said quietly into his shoulder, “I’m going to miss you.” I meant that too.

I don’t think Ciaran knew what to say to that, so he just said ‘thank you’ again. I shook his hand, and he held it for a few seconds longer than a normal handshake, telling me to take care. I told him to do the same, and then ran to catch up with my mom and brother.

We made our way to the Caribbean Lounge to watch the Celtic Thunder show. I spent a good few minutes looking at the signatures the dancers had made, and looking forward to seeing how much of the dancing my mom had gotten on film.

While I waited for the show to start, I glanced over to see the women next to me looking at a flyer of sorts. I saw the words ‘Celtic Thunder Cruise II’, and asked them what it was.

As it turns out, a cruise is planned for next year. No, I don’t plan on going. :P My mom would never let me get away with it. Besides, after how homesick I was this time... I dunno if it would be a good idea until I know how to get off on my own without having panic attacks every few minutes. *rolls eyes*

Anyway, after about a half-hour, the show started. It was amazing. They played all of their best songs—meaning, the ones that are liked the most. I was proud of the fact that I knew the lyrics to all but two or so of the songs, and could sing along quite easily.

At the end, Mom went up to the room. Me and Larry stayed to listen to the Celtic Thunder band talk and thank the audience for things, and Sharon Browne talk about the next cruise and introduce every performer who had performed on the ship this week—Gaelic Rhythm, Goitse, Michael Londra... lots of people.

(The Celtic Thunder singers had been wearing captain-style hats at the end of the show, and had thrown them out into the crowd. Sadly, I didn’t catch one, but that was okay.)

Then everyone bowed, the chorus of Ireland’s Call played again, and then all of them left the stage. Me and Larry made our way back to our room, where we cleaned up and got ready for bed. I typed a bit before going to sleep.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 7

The Celtic Thunder Cruise 2013 - Day 5

November 5^th, 2013

Grand Caymans (At Port)

Today was amazing—up until the late afternoon. Then it got better again.

I took a lot of pictures of the sunrise! Here those are.

The sunrise as viewed from the back of the ship, I believe.

The water with the sun making it all blindingly bright.

Wasn't the sunrise gorgeous?!

I don't know if you can see it, but that's a rainbow! :D

This is the sunrise picture I'm most proud of. ^_^

I woke up and, as per usual, spent most of the morning eating breakfast and watching TV. I was looking forward to another day of wandering the ship looking for singers, dancers, musicians... I also was looking forward to talking to Sammi again.

Not much happened until we left the ship to go to port; there were no events going on since most people were leaving for port. We waited until everyone else had left so that we could leave without being jostled by crowds. When we left the ship, we had to board a smaller boat that the crew called a ‘tender’.

There isn’t much to say about the Grand Caymans; I took pictures, but the town was pretty boring, and the pictures weren't any good, so I'm not going to show them. XD About 50% of all the stores were diamond or jewelry stores. We weren’t even approached by any interesting characters. We ended up going back to the tenders after about an hour.

Then we had to sit and wait for enough passengers to return so that the tender could go back to the ship. To my happiness, Goitse was sitting in front, and I could see them. I wished I could go talk to them, but I respected their privacy and stayed where I was. I just sat there and watched Tadhg smile. XD It wasn't creepy; I was just shocked that he could be so happy when it was so hot and humid. o_O

Eventually, we got back to the ship. I went up to the front so I could be prepared to leave the tender boat. I was acutely aware that Goitse was right behind me, and struggled not to look over my shoulder and say hello.

Then, a few minutes later, I was back on the ship and heading for our room. We cleaned ourselves up, and then headed out onto the Lido Deck to watch Goitse play their music. I found Sammi, and we chatted. She asked me if I would later photograph her and the Goitse band, and I said I would.

This is a life preserver I took a picture of; it was hanging on the wall next to one of the pools.

Lo and behold, a bit later, she spotted George Donaldson, the only Scottish singer in Celtic Thunder. She asked if he would be weirded out if she went and said ‘hello’, since she knew him so well (she does know him fairly well), and I said he probably wouldn’t. I asked if she would mind me tagging along and getting a photo, and she said ‘not at all’.

We made our way up to that section of the deck, and stood there, waiting for other women to stop talking to him. Sammi said hello to him, and they chatted for a few minutes. When they stopped, I tentatively moved forward and asked if he would mind taking a picture with me. He said he didn’t mind, and I gave Sammi the camera.

George is 42, and a very fatherly guy to most people. I was apparently no exception—he put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a very tight side-hug. It was tight enough that I had to rest my head on his shoulder so it wasn’t quite as awkward. Sammi snapped the picture, and I thanked George before leaving with Sammi again.

Me and George Donaldson! ^_^

(Side-note, but the hug wasn’t inappropriate at all. :P One thing I’ve noticed about the Irish and Scottish guys is that they tend to hug people a lot, no matter who they are, and usually pretty tight. It doesn’t mean there’s anything creepy going on, and it didn’t now.)

I showed Mom the picture, and then went back to listening to Goitse. After they finished, Sammi gave me her camera and headed up the stairs to get her picture taken. I followed, and snapped photos of her and each of the musicians individually.

Colm Phelan had mentioned his full name before the show. So after I took the picture of him and Sammi, I just had to do it. I asked, “Your last name means ‘wolf’ in Gaelic, doesn’t it?”

He gave me an honest-to-goodness grin and exclaimed, “Very good! It does indeed! How do you know that?”

I shrugged in a shy way and explained that I study both names and Gaelic. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “So what does my first name mean?”

I had looked it up before, but I didn’t remember what it had meant. He gave me a hint by pretending to fly like a bird. I ran off a list of guesses—eagle, hawk, falcon, etc.—but none were right. He said something I couldn’t understand, and didn’t understand when he repeated it.

Then he told me, “Bird of love. The dove; ‘dove’.”

It all came back to me and I nodded, grinning. “That’s it!”

After that, I headed back to the room to get ready for Keith Harkin’s solo show. Last minute, I decided to go up to the top of the ship to see what happened with George Donaldson’s mini-golf tournament—I was planning on just staying there until 3pm, when I would head down to Keith’s show.

Here be the mini-golf course.

Sadly, George didn’t appear until after I left. I chatted to someone for a few minutes; just a random woman whose shirt looked very nice—as it turns out, she had made it herself.

I gave up on waiting for George and headed for the stairs. As I did so, I spotted one of the employees who worked on the ship. His nickname, which had been given to him on the previous cruise ship he had worked one, was Sassy. His real name—or, at least, the name he was using for this cruise—was Kevin, but since I already know a Kevin in person, the name Sassy stuck and was easier for me to remember. That’s what I continue to call him.

I had wanted to take a photo with him for a day or two now, but hadn’t seen him until now. I hesitated, and then headed down the stairs for the Lido Deck.

Halfway there, I changed my mind and ran back up the steps, telling Larry I was going to get a picture taken with Sassy and that I would meet him and Mom back at the room. I walked onto the mini-golf course.

Sammi, who was up there by this point, asked me if I had changed my mind about Keith’s show and was going to stay. I told her I wasn’t, that I was just going to take a photo with Sassy. She readily held out her hand, and I gave her the camera.

I waited for Sassy to get off of his phone, and then went up and said, “Excuse me.” He looked down at me and gave me a bright grin, asking, “Yes?”

I said something like, “Some people call you Sassy, right?” I wanted to make totally certain he was the guy I was looking for, even though his unique voice told me that.

He explained that that had been a nickname of his on a previous cruise. Sammi piped up, “Meaning, ‘don’t call him that anymore’.”

I laughed, and then explained, “Well, I was wondering if I could take a picture with you?”

He looked surprised for a split second, then pleased, and then said, “Of course. I’m not Celtic Thunder, but I can try.”

Sammi cut in again as I stood next to Sassy; she said, “You’re not, but she loves you anyway!”

Sassy put his arm around my shoulder, and a few seconds later, Sammi snapped the photo. I thanked Sassy, then Sammi, and then headed downstairs to go to Keith’s solo show. 

Me and Sassy. XD

When I reached where it was, I found that it was a big theatre. The reason I had wanted to go was because I wanted the chance to take a picture with him. When I found out it was in a huge theatre, I was a tad disappointed but listened to the music anyway.

I know it's a horrible picture, but this is Keith in his solo show. :D

Then someone behind me mentioned that Ryan Kelly, one of the other singers, was doing a pub quiz in one of the lounges—a much smaller space. I asked Mom if we could just opt out and go there instead; I could listen to Keith’s music any time, and always could pay for concerts later on in life. How many chances did I get to listen to Ryan host a quiz, or chances to take photographs with a singer in a smaller room (meaning less crowding than a theatre)?

She said she would check on Larry (who had decided to go back to the golf tournament) to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble, and then if I wanted to, when she came back, we could go to the quiz.

When she returned, I was waiting for her by the door. We headed to the Ionian Lounge to watch Ryan’s quiz. I had to walk up to the ship employee at the front of the room to ask him if there was a group that still needed another team member. He turned to his microphone and asked if any teams needed another member. Someone raised their hand, and I made my way through the small crowd of people towards them.

The quiz was fun. Ryan had fifty questions, and he sat on a chair at the front of the room by the microphone. He asked each question, and as I found out, the goal was to write your team’s answers down silently—not shout them out. *goes crimson* In my defense, lots of others were doing that too, not just me.

This is Ryan Kelly, reading out one of the questions.

Ryan smiling. ^_^

So that’s what we did. At the end, after the winning team (not mine) received their prizes, I started for the front of the room to timidly ask Ryan if he would mind getting a picture with me before he left.

That’s when the fun started. *sarcasm* :P

All of these elderly women (though some were in their forties), who had lots of money and—as many bragged—had seen Celtic Thunder in concerts more than five times, and had lots of pictures of themselves with the band members, started shoving their way past me to get to Ryan.

I’m not used to this sort of thing, so I was quite confused, and my polite side kept wanting to shut me up and let everyone swarm past. I tried my best to get through. Poor Ryan’s bodyguard/agent eventually had to usher him out.

I left the room to go with Mom back up to the room. I was now feeling rather snappish—I was tired, stressed, and annoyed.

See, as I later explained to Mom... I have a bit of a problem when it comes to elderly, privileged people. :P I don’t hate anyone, certainly not. But when elderly people who have tons of money to spare and have already used it to receive all sorts of crazy things act like each opportunity—no matter how many times they’ve taken the same opportunity—is brand new.

In other words, I can’t stand it when they use their money to meet celebrities, and then have the audacity to shove past other people who can’t go to concerts that often to do the same thing they’ve done dozens of times. :P

I know, I’m dumb. But hey, I have my pet peeves, same as anyone else. Mine are just... a lot more stupid than other people’s.

Anyway, after my mom found out why I was snapping at her and Larry, she stopped getting upset with me. We spent the rest of the day wandering around, as far as I remember. Then, after dinner, we made our way to the Caribbean Lounge to watch Celtic Thunder Feud—the ship’s version of the popular game show, Family Feud.

The Celtic Thunder Feud screen.

The entire Celtic Thunder group - Keith Harkin, Emmet Cahill, Ryan Kelly, Colm Keegan, Neil Byrne, and George Donaldson.

Keith giving the audience a silly look.

The Celtic Thunder lads waiting for the other team to answer.

It was hilarious, though some of the questions ended up as typical boy humour. :P Hey, what can you expect from six men who travel with each other several months nonstop out of the year in a tour bus doing concerts, huh? Especially when 90% of the crew is also men.

Anyway. XD I got some of the game on video, and I will go through the videos and attempt to figure out which ones are appropriate. Then I’ll upload those to YouTube along with all my other videos.

After that, we went back to our room. I ‘had school’ to do... really, I just wanted to talk to one of my best friends.

The problem? I only had fifteen minutes left. I rushed through the assignments I had to do, simultaneously chatting with my good friend. But then Mom wanted me to get off and save more than five minutes so she could check the email before we disembarked the ship.

I was waiting for my friend to say goodbye, but Mom was in the background snapping at me. I finally had  to shut down the internet... leaving only four minutes to use to check the email.

She realized I had been chatting to someone, and I got a much-deserved yelling-at. :P I can be a fool sometimes, and I know it. After that was over, we decided to go wander the deck. At... I think 10pm... the Celtic Thunder musicians (not to be confused with the actual singers) would be in the Thunder Pub, and I wanted to go to see if I could possibly get my picture taken with them as well.

An adorable folded-towel-elephant that Samuel, our steward, made for us while we were at dinner.

The Celtic Thunder screen out on the Lido Deck.

Me being a moron and taking random selfies. :P

My brother avoiding the camera, as usual, only this time it was Sherlock Holmes style.

Some yummylicious-looking chocolate rum fudge I wanted to buy but knew I couldn't. XD

We sat out on the Lido Deck for a while, and then made our way to the Thunder Pub. The musicians weren’t there yet—but a lot of people were. There were no nearby seats left, so I stood and leaned against the wall, fiddling with my camera.

Shortly after, one of the employees approached me with a chair and set it down, saying, “Here you are, ma’am.”

I felt all warm and fuzzy inside, thanked him, and sat down. Then I went back to fiddling with my camera.

My hand, along with my brand-new bracelet. It says 'Theodora'.

The pretty shamrock pattern on the carpet. XD

The musicians arrived and started tuning their instruments. Then Mom came up to me and sat down in another chair that the employee had provided.

A few minutes later, she nodded to a point across the room and whispered, “Isn’t that one of the singers?”

I strained to see through the dimly-lit atmosphere, and was shocked to see none other than Keith Harkin standing across the room. I think I may have placed my hand over my mouth and murmured, “Oh my gosh, I cannot believe this.”

She urged me to go up to him quickly and ask for a picture before everyone noticed and mobbed him. I hesitated, reluctant, but got up my courage and walked up to him. I tapped him on the shoulder, and when he looked at me, asked him if he would mind taking a photo with me. He said, “Of course not!”

I pointed across the room to where Mom had the camera ready, and then stood next to Keith. He put an arm on my shoulder, and Mom snapped a photo. Keith said, “There ya go.” I thanked him and went back over to Mom.

Me and Keith Harkin! :D

Unfortunately, people then started approaching Keith. :P He wasn’t mobbed, but one person after another kept coming up to him. Eventually, he hid behind one of the columns in the bar so that people walking past in the hallway wouldn’t notice him (they kept noticing him from out there).

Then he inconspicuously sat down at the piano bar where the musicians were playing. Everyone was so focused on the musicians, they didn’t even notice that one of the singers had sat down across or beside them.

I filmed a bit of the musicians’ show, and then Mom said that we should go. I had already gotten the one photo Sammi had told me I would never get—one with Keith—and that should be good enough. (Yes... Mom is very competitive. :P) I rather wanted to stay up later and wait for the musicians to finish, but I didn’t dare argue. I followed her back to the room, where I immediately uploaded the videos and photos to my laptop and typed in this journal until bedtime.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 6
Day 7

The Celtic Thunder Cruise 2013 - Day 4

November 4^th, 2013
Ocho Rios (At Port)

Today has been amazing fun so far, although my mom hasn’t enjoyed it much today.

We went out to the buffet so I could get some hot chocolate, and then we came back to our room and watched TV. Then we went out and got breakfast... and then came back and watched TV again. We were basically just killing time until the ship landed in sunny Ocho Rios, in Jamaica.

I'm telling you, the hot chocolate on the Carnival Victory was AMAZING.

I was very excited, because I love Jamaican accents. *grins* I always have, since I was little—it was always the Jamaican, Irish, Scottish, and English accents that won my heart. Jamaican probably sounds rather strange grouped up with the United Kingdom accents, but it’s true.

But anyway, at around 10am, it was time to go. We waited for a while; we didn’t want to be crowded, so we decided to hold off until most of the other people had gotten off the ship.

Then we made our way out into Jamaica. It was humid, but not too hot; it had been hotter up on the ship’s deck. We had to show our key cards and IDs, and go through metal detectors, before we could leave. A person next to us said they do that to make sure we’re not smuggling contraband out of the ship. They do the same when we return to make sure we’re not smuggling it into the ship.

There was a woman outside taking pictures with each passenger; a Jamaican woman. She asked us to, but we said no—the photographer makes you buy the photos just to acquire them, so there was no point in that.

My family and I walked along the docks and up onto the shore. We planned to go and sit on the beach, but when we entered the town, there were a lot of shops. So we decided to look through them first.

(Added note: here are pictures of Jamaica that we took from on board the ship!)

Two birds; there were birds everywhere on the ship once we got closer to land - even one flying around one of the stateroom hallways!

Jamaica... and lots of random passengers who were with us on the ship. XD

Jamaica.

So prettyyyy...

It was so /green/! o.o

Another snapshot of Ocho Rios.

Ocho Rios.

The water and the sky.

More of the water and the sky. XD

Ocho Rios again.

The very first thing we saw that caught my interest was a table under an awning. A young Jamaican man was making bracelets. There were a plethora of pre-made ones on the table, and looking at them, I could not believe the guy’s talent. I found myself very much wanting one.

We left to keep looking at what there was to see. I talked it over with my mom; I wanted to buy two bracelets—one for myself, and one for someone else. That would cost twelve dollars. I was willing to pay her for it; she said she would think about it.

Then the one event that kept happening to make my mom very annoyed came around.

There are a lot of men standing around out on the streets. They drive cars and take you on tours. Well, every single time we would walk past any of them, they would immediately start walking alongside us and tell us about how wonderful and cheap their taxi services were.

And the one-sided haggling was ridiculous. When my mom said we weren’t interested, and that we were planning to walk, every taxi driver would immediately say, “Oh, alright, you look like a nice person, I’ll lower it to fifty per person. Fifty dollars per person.” Mom would say ‘no’, and he would say, “Okay, okay, just for you, I’ll lower it to forty-five per person. Forty-five dollars.”

I don’t know whether I should admit it, but I didn’t mind them ‘hounding us’, as Mom said. I was willing to just stand there and keep saying ‘no, thank you’ until they left me alone. That was the first thing about Jamaica that caught my eye—everyone was so friendly, even though they were also very insistent. I even told Mom when we got on the island, “If it wasn’t so hot here, I wouldn’t mind living here—everyone is so friendly!”

Anyway, that happened on and off throughout our trip. My mom gave up on being polite and would just ignore whoever stopped her and walk off.

Me? Well, I’ve always been taught never to ignore people, so I couldn’t get into the habit of it. If someone talked to me, my immediate response was to turn to them and say, “No, thank you, sir.”

According to my mom, that was me being gullible and inviting them to come talk to us. I was completely confused and asked how being polite was me being gullible. I don’ remember what her response was; she probably didn’t say anything.

Most of the shops were similar, in that they sold pretty much the same stuff—most of the shops sold hats, bags, shirts, knick-knacks, and liquor. :P There were many jewelry stores as well.

Another thing people kept doing: women kept walking up to me and insisting that I let them braid my hair. My mom has wanted to braid my hair Jamaican-style for a while, but doesn’t have the ability to. But the amount they were charging—$2 for one row, which, with my hair, would end up $50 for the whole thing—was ridiculous, and Mom told about three women ‘no’.

But finally, a woman came to us in one of the stores and said she would braid the entire front and top of my head for fifteen dollars. Mom reluctantly agreed, and I was led into the back to sit on a stool.

The woman was very rough with my hair. I have a very strong scalp—I can endure a lot. I tend to basically rip my brush through my hair when I brush it, because it’s always so tangled. It doesn’t bother me.

But she was rough, even for me. It hurt so bad at times, I was blinking back tears. Again, my mom tells me I have a very high pain tolerance in general (as far as physical pain goes), so if something hurts me... it hurts. :P

I kept quiet, though, and after about thirty minutes (she kept getting approached by her co-workers; she was apparently taking too long), it was finished. She led me over to a mirror so I could see.

I rather liked it; braids in my hair, with green beads. My brother spent the next twenty minutes telling me how horrible I looked, but I ignored him.

Oh, yes. Before this, I had run into my friend Sammi. She walked up to me and said something like, “Well, hello, Stranger!”

We chatted for a few minutes; she was on her way back to the ship, I think, because she has already been to Ocho Rios before. I wanted to talk longer, but she didn’t want her grandmother to have to wait for too long. So, with plans to talk later on the ship, she left.

We continued walking around, getting approached by Jamaicans begging us to buy their stuff or take their taxis. I still didn’t mind all that much, but my mom and brother have tempers that were beginning to heat up. :P

(Added note: here are pictures I took on Jamaica. XD)

A view of the ship from the Ocho Rios docks.

Pretty pink flowers on vines above the water.

... I honestly don't know who these people were, but they were dancing, and when I tried to get a video, they insisted I take a photograph with them. XD

The fancy clock that I was much too fascinated by. XD

Lovely yellow flowers.

Random fountains...

A random street musician. XD

Beautiful red flowers up in the trees. o.o

The souvenir store.

The street leading into the town square.

Palm tree. XD

Delicate red flowers.

A random purple plant. XD

More red flowers.

Orangey-pink flowers.

A lone red flower.

A skinny black feral cat. I wanted to take it home with me. :'(

Returning to our floating home...

Our floating home in all of its terrifyingly huge and swaying glory. XD

After one woman, who came and matched pace with me, chattering on about her flea market and her ID (and having a bit of a stand-off with my mom about how her ID meant she wasn’t a shady person, because she had to take police tests or something) before leaving, Mom commanded me to walk faster, and my brother told me to just ignore anyone who talked to me. I still couldn’t though.

(While that lady was telling me about her flea market, Mom outwardly went up to another woman and asked none too quietly, “How do you get them to stop harassing you?” I was absolutely embarrassed.)

Mom asked someone where we could find the beach. The man directed us down one road, and then left us be. But even though we searched, we couldn’t find it. By this time, Mom just gave up. Larry was complaining, she was fed-up with all the people ‘harassing’ her...

I kept my mouth shut; I figured it was best not to tell either of them that I wanted to stay and keep wandering around. We started the trek back to the entrance to the town, continuing to be approached by taxi drivers.

Finally, Mom spotted a few elderly women from our ship and walked up to them. She said something about harassment and asked if we could walk with them. The women amiably agreed, and we walked almost the rest of the way with them.

They had been to Ocho Rios before too, so Mom apparently decided to use that as her new excuse—when people approached her, she would say, “We’ve been here already!”

There was a sidewalk musician that I wanted to take a quick photo of, but when he saw me, he said I should take a picture with him. He took my arm, and I was about to tell Mom. She turned back and looked horrified—partly because he had my arm, and partly because I had yet again been ‘gullible’ and allowed someone to pull me aside.

She started to say, “No, we’ve been here already.” I said, “Mom?” She kept rambling, and I just started saying, “Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom...” until she went quiet and looked at me. I said, “It’s just a picture we want.”

Then she decided that was okay, and we got our photo taken with him. (Added note: two, actually. Here they be. Plus a few special photos of me with two policemen and a random animal guy that my mom wanted me to get. XD)

The street musician showing us how he wanted us to pose. I have a suspicion it was some sort of Rastafarian thing.

Me, the street musician, and my brother.

The animal guy showing me how to hold his bunny rabbit.

The animal guy, the donkey, me, and the bunny rabbit.

Me and the two policemen. XD

The elderly women stayed there so that they could catch their breath, so we moved on. We reached the stall where the bracelet-maker had been, and I asked Mom to let me get two bracelets; that I would pay her back.

She agreed, and I walked over to the man, telling him I would like two bracelets. He gave me a notepad and pen so that I could write the exact spellings of the names I wanted on the bracelets down.

Then he asked me what colors I wanted for the bracelets. I wanted the one for my friend to be blue, red, and yellow. He had to get new string for it (all he had out was red, green, yellow, and black), but was very nice about it. Then he asked what color I wanted; I went with the usual red, green, and yellow.

He had to make them right then and there, because he didn’t have pre-made bracelets with the names on it. I enjoyed watching him make the bracelets—I stood there the entire time.

This man was very calm and amiable—unlike most of the other people, he didn’t pull you aside and practically demand you buy something. He didn’t keep asking you. He didn’t talk a mile a minute. He was just very quiet, and waited for someone who was interested to approach him instead. I’d even venture to say that he was shy.

We were there for about a half-hour while he made the bracelets. Mom struck up conversation with him, and I sat there, enjoying hearing his accent. It reminded me of home.

Anyway, eventually he finished. We thanked him, and went to find Larry. He was on the other side of the awning, being chattered to by a man who apparently makes rings out of wire. Larry had rings on every finger of his right hand while the guy talked.

Mom walked up and said it was time to go. The ring man started chattering to her.

The bracelet maker came up with a red, green, yellow, and brown necklace and gave it to Larry. But this time, he wasn’t trying to be insistent—Mom had explained, when he asked her where Larry was, that he was bored and impatient. As a bit of a peace offering, I guess you could say, the bracelet maker gave him a free necklace (not a girly one) in an attempt to make up for taking so long on the bracelets.

While he did this, the ring man gave Mom a ring to give to me, saying something about a ‘free ring’ for his (Larry’s) sister—me.

Mom insisted to both of them that she didn’t have anymore money left, and couldn’t pay them. She said she didn’t want to waste their time if she couldn’t pay them, and to take their gifts back. The bracelet maker told her he was just trying to give Larry a necklace for being so nice about waiting.

I don’t know what the ring man’s excuse was. Eventually, though, we left with a free ring and necklace. I glanced back over my shoulder at the three men under the awning (the bracelet and ring guys, plus another guy) and waved, telling them all ‘thank you’. Then I ran to catch up with my family.

We boarded the ship again. After going back to our room, we went and had lunch. 

My yummylicious pastrami-on-rye sandwich and dill pickles. XD

Then we went back to our room. After a while, we decided that Mom and Larry would go walk around the deck, and I would go to Sammi’s room to see if she was there.

After I knocked, she answered the door. I walked into her room, and we chatted for a while.

It was so nice to meet a girl in person whom could go on silly rants with me about the Irish guys on the cruise, without being bored or teasing me. I’ve only run into two girls willing to rant with me—her, and my awesome lil sister Everly. *grins*

I was having so much fun chatting, I lost track of the time. She decided she had to take a shower, so I left. On my way up to the Lido Deck (the deck that’s on our floor of the ship), I ran into my mom and Larry.

I got an earful about giving my mom a heart attack (metaphorically). I had been gone for over thirty minutes, and she had been about to walk through every single corridor of rooms shouting my name.

After the lecture, I followed them out onto the deck. I sat with Mom up on a deck chair, asking her whether I could hang out with Sammi late tonight. We went back and forth; she didn’t want me to be alone, and I didn’t want to inconvenience her. In the end, we decided that I could go, but that I had to stay on the Lido Deck, and she would either sit on the deck or check on us every half-hour.

At about 3:30pm, she and I decided to go back to our room. We waved at Larry, but he wouldn’t move—we finally realized he was talking to a pretty blond girl. And he was smiling for probably the first time since we boarded the ship.

We motioned that we would be back in our room, and then left. I was giggling and grinning like crazy. Mom ordered me not to tease him, so I agreed.

But then, about a half-hour later, she went to go bring him back to the room to get ready for our next show. Lo and behold, she couldn’t find him. She came back in a panic, alternating between fear and extreme anger.

We couldn’t find him no matter where we searched, so she asked one of the waiters if there was a PA system she could call for Larry over. He directed her to Guest Services. On our way there, who should practically slam into us, but Larry.

I trailed behind as she began to quiet-yell (yelling in a way that keeps others from hearing you) at him. Eventually, she stopped, and we continued with our evening. We went to the comedian’s show. It was supposed to be family friendly, but... let’s just say it wasn’t, and we had to leave. :P

Shortly after, we went to watch Goitse, a traditional Irish band, play a sort of quiz game. One of the questions ended up inappropriate though, so Mom told us to leave. I knew the room would empty very quickly (because not many people were there to begin with), so I asked her if I could get the camera and ask Goitse for a photo. She said she would get it, but that I had to stay out in the hallway until the inappropriate question had been answered.

It was eventually. Mom and Larry hadn’t returned, but I timidly went back into the room. I walked to the corner where the band was and shyly tapped Conal O’Kane, the guitarist, on the shoulder.

He turned around and gave me this wonderfully friendly smile, inviting me to speak. I asked hesitantly if he and the rest of the band would mind taking a picture with me, when my mom returned with the camera. He said that was perfectly fine.

Conal told the rest of the band why I was standing there, and then introduced them. There was Colm Phelan, the bodhrán player and sort-of band leader. Then there was James Harvey, the youngest and the banjo and mandolin player. There was Áine McGeeney, the singer and fiddle-player. And last but certainly not least, Tadhg O’Meachair, the accordion player and pianist.

They were absolutely friendly, especially Tadhg. He chattered away to me, at some point telling me exactly how to pronounce and spell his name. I spoke up a moment later and and said I already knew how to pronounce and spell it (I did, too). Curiously, he asked how I pronounced it. I said, “Tadhg”. (It’s pronounced ‘tyg’, just like ‘tiger’ but without the ‘r’ sound, by the way.)

He said, “Right!” I said I knew that because it was the name of a character from one of my favorite Irish films.

Tadhg asked what film. All eyes were on me, but I didn’t feel scared or nervous—a bit shy, but not afraid. They were simply too friendly. I responded, “The Field.”

When I said that, Tadhg enthusiastically said that he loved that movie, as well as the play. I grinned, and he grinned back.

We talked for a while. I asked James how old he was, out of curiosity. (To the certain sisters of mine I know are reading this—yes, it was because he was very sweet and kind and gentlemanly, and he looked to be only a little older than me. Hey, it was completely innocent curiosity, I promise! *cheeky grin*)

He gave me a challenging smile and said, “Why don’t you guess?”

I tilted my head to one side and said what my initial guess had been. “Eighteen?”

He shook his head with a bigger smile and said, “Higher.”

I responded with a giggle, “Twenty?” Again, he shook his head and told me to try higher.

Shocked, I said hesitantly, “Twenty-one?” Again, I was wrong, and he shook his head and told me to go even higher.

Even more surprised now, I doubtfully asked if he was twenty-two. He grinned back and said, “Yep.”

We shared a laugh, and I found myself surprised. He really doesn’t look older than eighteen or twenty. Oh well. *grins at Everly* ;)

Colm had disappeared for a moment, and then returned. The workers had informed him that the doors to that area of the ship were being shut, and that we had to go. Colm then looked at me and said, “Your friend is probably locked out.”

I didn’t correct him that it was my mom and brother. Instead, I just followed them out of the room. One of them—I think it was Colm—opened the door and waited for me to walk out first. I felt all special and like a princess. *sheepish grin* Hey, I don’t get chivalry around here often, not in person. So when I do, it makes me feel nice.

Sure enough, Mom and Larry came running up as soon as we exited the lounge. Mom apologized, saying that she had been walking as fast as she could. I said it was fine, and glanced over my shoulder at the four handsome Irishmen and the beautiful Irish lady behind me.

We got into a position. I had the biggest grin on my face when Tadhg pulled us all close together in order to get all of us in view of the camera—and he put his arm around my shoulder. *grins* Áine was standing on my other side, and the other three stood around us.

Mom took two pictures (added note: I'm only showing the one that came out the best); I thanked them all for taking the picture, and then happily trotted off after Mom and Larry.

From left to right - James, Áine, me, Tadhg, Conal, and Colm.

At some point—I think it was soon after dinner—I went to go and watch the Celtic Thunder Karaoke. It was fun to listen to the people sing Celtic Thunder songs (that’s what it was; karaoke where only Celtic Thunder songs were sang).

There were a few really nice guys in the crowd. I didn’t recognize them, but one tall, young guy with dark hair and a beard approached me from behind. I had no idea he was there until he amiably placed his hand on my shoulder, leaned down so that tiny me could hear him, and asked, “Are you going to sing?”

As much as I liked that idea, I still shook my head with a laugh and replied (he also leaned down again so he could hear me), “No, I can’t sing. I’m horrible at it.”

He laughed and patted my shoulder. “Me either. I can’t ever sing on key.” I said I couldn’t either.

We kept watching the karaoke; he wandered the crowd a bit, but always returned to his position  either behind me or beside me. His friends also stayed close-by.

At one point, the dark-haired man did a dance up front during one of the karaoke songs. He looked very similar to one of the dancers from Gaelic Rhythm, the dance team onboard the ship, and danced similarly... so I thought they were the dancers.

As I realized later on... they weren't. XD Fortunately for me, they were Irish performers as well (okay, drink mixologists or something, but how could I have known that?! :P), so they didn't find it weird when I asked for a photograph later on.

I was surprised to see them mingling with the crowd rather than hiding out, but I wasn’t complaining, especially since they were all standing near me. XD

One young man - Kyle - who sang karaoke was a boy with Down Syndrome. He had a very hard time of it, but the crowd, including myself, applauded and cheered thunderously. Two of the dancers (not the one who had spoken to me) jumped up on the small stage and sang with him. Then Seamus, the person controlling the sound, joined in.

At the end, the boy was congratulated by many people. I went up and said, “Good job!”, and offered my hand for him to shake. He took it for a split second, and then stepped forward and gave me a huge hug.

I couldn’t help saying, “Aww...” before hugging him back tight. Then I returned to my position next to the Irish guys whom I thought were dancers. XD

The dark-haired man was so friendly, I even felt comfortable enough to tap his shoulder at one point and say teasingly, “You should sing!”

He had been getting that a lot, but always adamantly refused, especially when Seamus—the sound man—placed a microphone near his mouth (Seamus did that to members of the crowd so that they could sing along).

He refused again. But then, one or so songs later... when Michael Londra, another Irish singer who is on the ship, sang I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For... one or two of the dancers, along with none other than the dark-haired one, jumped up on the stage and sang along. I cheered very loudly, happy to see my (or so I consider him) newfound friend singing.

It's a bad picture (I kept getting jostled), but there are the two Irish guys on the left (the one in the middle is my friend), Michael Londra, and then a very blurred Irish performer making his way off the stage. XD

I asked him if I could get my picture taken with him and his friends—at the time, I thought he was a member of Gaelic Rhythm. Ciaran Keating, to be exact. They do look quite similar, and dance in the same way. Apparently, he was part of some other performer group (added note: *cough* the mixologists... I will never stop being embarrassed about this XD)... but hey, he agreed to take a photo with me.

After my mom had taken about three photographs (the two best ones are shown after this paragraph), I shook the man’s hand. He held it for several seconds longer than normal and smiled. Then I headed off with my mom and my brother.

One of the Irish performers, my friend, and me. XD

The entire team and I. XD

We went to the Celtic Thunder Mythology show later on, and it was a whole lot of fun. I sang along... until my brother snapped at me to knock it off. I loved all the songs that were playing, and it was amusing to see my mom’s face when old 80s and 90s songs that she recognized would play.

Here is the stage on which all of the big shows played.

Afterwards, I headed out onto the Lido Deck to hang out with Sammi. Mom checked on us once or twice, and then went to bed. Sammi and I walked around the ship chatting; she cursed once or twice, as is inevitable with most public schoolers. But for the most part she was very polite and well-behaved.

We went down on the deck and listened to Goitse, a traditional Irish band, play music. It was such great music to dance to, I couldn’t help it. Me and Sammi kept performing impromptu dances that were absolutely horrible but fun—and that’s the important thing, right?

There are these cameras on deck, and a big screen right at the top of the deck. And that screen shows up on the TVs in the rooms at all times, right?

Well, since tonight was Costume Night, people were dressed in crazy costumes. Sammi was wearing a dress she made herself out of duct tape (it’s amazing, by the way). Anyway, at some point, she let out an exclamation of excitement and pointed at the screen.

I frowned, and glanced up. For a second, I didn’t realize what was showing up. Then, upon closer glance...

It was us. No doubt the cameramen meant to point the camera at Sammi, but since I was standing right next to her, I was up there on this huge screen. People in their rooms probably saw it.

My immediate reaction was to clap a hand over my mouth with an embarrassed and shocked laugh and exclaim quietly, “Oh my goodness gracious—oh my days, that is horrifying.” Sammi giggled at that.

At 11:25pm, I reluctantly returned to my room. I donned my pajamas, turned on my MP3 player, and climbed into bed. I sat there daydreaming about various fantasies, making plans for the Ceilidh dance at the end of the cruise, and feeling very happy. It had been a wonderful day.



Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7