Our Romeo Lunch date was scheduled for Tuesday, July 22, 2008 on the Horizon’s Casino Cruise Ship out of Lynn, MA at .... http://www.horizonsedge.com/
. However, storms threatened for a few days this week and put the Romeo Lunch on hold. The Boston area seems to be in a rainy pattern for the last few weeks with thunderstorms popping up in late afternoon. Where I live, in Wilmington, MA we had a mini tropical storm blow through on Saturday, 7-19-08 breaking branches and toppling trees. On Wednesday a tornado was spotted in Taunton, MA. Several homes near Wilmington’s Silver Lake lost power for most of the day. Jim Terlizzi sent out an email with some second choice suggestions and we decided to meet in the parking lot of the cruise ship and decide then (to go or not to go) depending on the weather.
The ship was scheduled to leave at 11:00 AM sharp, so we all met in the parking lot after 10:30 AM to make a last minute decision. The forecast looked Okay with low clouds and 2 foot swells so we decided to go. Joe Pignatiello was a little late and we waited at the ticket booth until he showed at the last second. Only a small group of Romeos gathered for this trip. In attendance were (Joe Pignateillo, Ed Deschuytner, Joe LoDuca, Joe Lapiana, Jim Terlizzi and Mark Ryan).
We bought our tickets ($27 for cruise and buffet) and some of us had coupons from the newspaper for reduced price ticket or free tokens. We then had to go through security check, empty pockets and search bags. The buzzer went off a few times as some Romeos left their keys in their pocket.
Buffet lunch was served immediately, as the ship left dock and sailed out to the 12 mile limit for a gambling boat. (New law has changed 3 mile limit to 12 mile limit. More info at link... )http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E2D9143DF930A35751C1A961958260
The buffet had a good selection (ham, sausage, chicken, fish, scrambled eggs, vegetables, pasta alfredo, salads). Soft drinks and coffee were served at the table by our waitress and dessert was available after. The meal was very good and you could get seconds.
Not being professional gamblers, we sat at the table for a while after dinner making small talk. Jim Terlizzi told us about a non-fiction book he is reading, about a man who climbed Mt. K2 in the Himalayas. On the way down he got lost and wandered into a village where he was given help and shelter. He made a promise to come back to the village and return the favor. Years later he came back and built a village school which would educate both boys and girls equally.
Joe Lapiana then told us about his exploits as a new Justice of the Peace (JP). He now is booked solid for several months performing marriage ceremonies all over Massachusetts. He explained how he has three meetings with the prospective couple; (a pre-consultation, wedding rehearsal and wedding). Of course he gets invited to the meals and reception and enjoys meeting all the various people. A recent wedding turned out to include some of the science teachers he knew from Dracut High School.
After lunch, the ship arrived at the 12 mile limit and the slot machines started ringing. It was time to go lose your money. All the “old timers” hurried to their favorite slot machines or card tables and initiated their “grand game plan” for the day. Each one had a strategy to beat the odds and fool the machine. Play the odd number machines or play 4 quarters for 5 minutes then switch to 5 quarters. Each plan had its merits, if you won.
After a while we all gathered out on the aft deck telling our stories about “almost” winning the BIG ONE. Ed Deschuytner said he kept losing at one machine and so moved over to another. The lady next to him started playing his old machine and won on the second try. Joe Pignateillo lost his big bag of money but said that someone next to him won $800.
Jim Terlizzi and Mark Ryan were the first ones to sit out on the aft deck and enjoy the sea air. Jim had brought a book along to read but I soon interrupted him with conversation. We started talking about sailing and how he loved being out on his boat but hadn’t been out much lately. I told him the story about when I was about 20 years old and had a small sail boat with two other guys. We loved sailing and decided to go on a trip from Marblehead, Mass. to Castine, Maine. On our first day out, we ran into fog, had a fire on board, stopped a big ocean tanker for directions, then sailed into Boothbay Harbor to wait out the fog and eventually sailed back to Marblehead when the weather wouldn’t clear.
Later on the aft deck Joe Lapiana told us the story of how he lived in a house in Medford as a young boy. At his aunt's house in Somerville, they put a big table in the basement near the furnace that could seat 50 people for family gatherings. He remembered how his father and uncle would cook salted cod for hours while they also drank the family wine.
Joe Pignateillo talked about playing half ball and ring-a-lerio. I talked about playing kick the can. Joe Lapiana said kids today have to have organized sports but back then (in ancient times) we just played games with whatever items we found (broom stick handle bat, half rubber ball, waxed playing cards, bottle tops, chalk on the sidewalk).
I grew up in Chelsea, MA. In 1948 the Mystic River Bridge (Tobin) was being built. The city was divided right down the middle. This split off the even numbered houses on Chesnut St. which were sited for demolition. The condemned houses became the neighborhood playground. However, before they were razed, the local kids would take all the salvageable materials from the houses to resell at the salvage dealers on Second Street. We took out old cast iron bath tubs, stack boilers, sinks, window counter weighs, door hinges. The 1940’s and 50’s, after WW II were times where families recycled everything and reused it a hundred times.
Ed Deschuytner also came from Chelsea and his father owned a bar there on Murray St. He recalled how local politicians were always looking for a payoff. During that time his father loved to vacuum the new rugs so much in his house that he eventually wore them thin and had to replace the rugs. Sitting at another table, we met another teacher who taught at Lynn Classical and knew some of the other science teachers from the Salem Collaborative who Jim Terlizzi knew.
The cruise was very enjoyable. We got to eat a lot, gamble a little, enjoy the salt air and have an extended conversation with good friends. The ship left port at 11 AM and returned at 5 PM. During that time I turned on my hand held GPS and tracked the entire trip. The GPS gave data on MPH, Time On Trip, Average Speed, Compass Directions and Headings and Lat/Long position. When we got to our 12 mile destination, the ship sailed around on a box course at about 5 mph and was located at a point 15 miles from Hull and 16 miles from Lynn. The exact Lat/Long position was N42.21 and W070.37. You can see pictures of the GPS, Map Location and the trip at the web link ……
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/RomeoLunch72208
