High-Seas Gifts

Did you ever give a gift that seemed unappreciated? You may have felt rejection, sadness or disappointment. Those are the emotions that flashed a few years ago after seeing a children’s book on the floor. I had just given it to one of my grandsons for his fifth birthday. My reaction was unfounded – he didn’t toss it, he just ran out to play – but reactions are automatic, not logical or thoughtful. The more you love someone, the greater the reaction – especially regarding gifts.

For our honeymoon, to help ease the stress from wedding planning, consolidating homes, and work, Helen and I decided to give ourselves a special honeymoon gift – a five-day cruise of the Caribbean. Our goal was to relax. Consider it “mission accomplished.” We both did a lot of sleeping, we got up every day for early morning workouts in the gym, and – with God using the sky as His palette – we enjoyed the gift of some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

Helen and I woke up on Thanksgiving morning to a marvelous 

gift from God – this beautiful Caribbean sunrise.

This was my first cruise; Helen’s only previous cruise was nearly 30 years ago. The first thing cruise veterans told us about was the unlimited food. “Expect to gain five pounds,” we were told. The two major options were the all-you-can-eat buffet and the fine dining rooms. The meals in the dining rooms were superb. Appetizers, main courses and desserts – artful creations that were carefully prepared and expertly presented – were unlimited. Portions were small (except for the half roast duck, and the turkey on Thanksgiving), sized to allow diners to sample several culinary creations while avoiding waste.

The buffet complex, however, was the biggest eye-opener. Hordes of people crowded these food lines, taking away plates piled high with carved roast beef, lasagna, chicken, macaroni and cheese, stews, pizza, and an array of other meats, starches and vegetables. Even the salad and fruit bars saw action. I learned on Day One to sidestep determined, wide-eyed diners, their empty plates leading the way to these feeding stations.

Our first trip to the buffet complex was for a late lunch immediately after we boarded. Salad and fruit. We didn’t want to spoil dinner. One table caught my eye. It had a lot of food, but no people. A moment later, a server started clearing all the plates away. That’s when it sunk in. I began noticing many other tables had a lot of wasted food, too.

All the servers on the ship were smartly-attired in crisp white shirts, black ties, vests and trousers. Not one was American. They were always smiling and ready to please, equal parts Disney and Downton Abbey. All were very kind and especially hard-working. At breakfast on our second day, I asked one perky server where she was from. Trinidad and Tobago, she said smiling sweetly. Then I asked if the waste bothered her.

“Oh, sir, the waves?” she answered in a bright, melodic accent. “No, sir, it’s a big boat. I don’t feel the waves.”

“No,” I explained with a muted sweep of my hand. “The waste. The food.”

The woman immediately abandoned her sweet façade. She lowered her head and dropped her eyes as though she feared being caught stating the obvious.

“Yes,” she replied in a barely audible whisper. “Do you?”

I nodded. She shook her head in sadness, and gave a resigned shrug. And we both went about our business.

Two delightful men from India – Venis Luis (left) and Nilesh
Rohidas Naik – were our dining room servers. Venis has
two children – six months old and four years old. Nilesh and 
his wife, a native of Costa Rica, have twin daughters who are 
three months old.

It’s not just cruise ships. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates 40 percent of the food produced in this country goes uneaten. Forty percent. In other words, for every five cheeseburgers we make, we eat three and toss out two. Put another way, we waste 20,000 cheeseburgers for every 30,000 we eat. Two million wasted for every three million consumed. Cheeseburgers are just the example. You get the point.

What must go through the minds of these servers – wonderful people from India, Croatia, Mexico, the Bahamas, Tunisia, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, and other far-flung countries – when they must throw away thousands of pounds of food wasted by passengers each day? The poor and hungry in their home countries? The cavalier attitude of us Americans toward the gift of food?

Yes, food is a gift, and not just because we ask Our Father for our daily bread. God gave us dominion over all the earth; it was a gift. Gifts are meant to be used, not abused; enjoyed, not destroyed; appreciated, not wasted. Does God feel rejected, sad or disappointed when we treat His gifts this way?

Helen and I certainly enjoyed and appreciated our honeymoon cruise, even though we didn’t gain those five pounds. We’re now rested, ready to close out the semesters in our respective schools, and prepare for Christmas – the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord. We definitely plan to feast on that day, first with Helen’s family and then with our St. Joseph’s choir family. There will be food and more food. Both groups will end up with lots of leftovers. Instead of scraping them into garbage cans, we’ll cover some with plastic wrap and store the rest in the freezer. We also hope to take another cruise someday. Maybe the captain will allow us to hand out doggie bags.