Guest Post by: Maria Dowd
A few summer’s back, a girlfriend and I treated ourselves to a wonderful Caribbean cruise. It was filled with 2,500 Black folks who had worked hard all year long to treat themselves to this annual week-long voyage on “the party cruise ship.” Now, it was time to play hard. Each day was packed with activities in the sun and on the surf, mixed with loads of socializing, old school concerts and savoir faire.
On day six, we begrudgingly dragged ourselves into the overly-air conditioned, darkened theater to receive our disembark instructions. What could have been a boring litany of do’s and don’ts, it was anything but that. Surprisingly, our darling, chocolate-colored cruise director was a closet stand-up comedian. For the next hour, his directives were sprinkled with witty cracks about the nuisances of our particular group. And, with an impressive level of finesse, he talked about us bad.
This ship was filled with roughly 1,500 black women and 1,000 black men who, according to our cruise director, ate and toted two times – yes TWO times more food and clothes than our European counterparts. These stats made me wonder – what are the stories behind the brimming plates of food and more shoes than the number of days at sea? Is there a lesson or two to take away here, or do girls (and boys) just wanna have fun, for heaven’s sakes?
Is our excess baggage a symptom of emotional baggage or do we, unlike our European counterparts, resolve that vacations are simply not the time to count the number of outfits we pack or the number of calories we pack on?…a little food for thought. What are your thoughts?
About the Author: Maria Dowd, is a naturalista, former producer of African American Women on Tour empowerment conferences; and is the owner of Sol City Beauty Company, distributor of DESIGN ESSENTIALS® hair care products, including DE’s NATURAL line. Visit her online store follow on Facebook here.
