John Reid

My wife likes to go to the Sail-Away drawings in the spa areas. Me, not so much. But when we were on Oasis for the first time, I went with her because she didn't think she could find it first day. So, I begrudgingly went. They eventually announced that the next prize would be a two-day all-inclusive inaugural cruise on the new Harmony of the Seas and then called our stateroom number. Very exciting. The cruise was fantastic. We were able to see all five shows during the two days. Even the room gratuities were included (we tipped extra). No SeaPass cards needed at the bars. Just order. Free sets of photos. Johnny Rocket's and the Mexican bar/restaurant across from it were free. Specialty restaurants had afternoon tastings but not free dinners. Simeon was on as the inaugural head of comedy club; he's worth the price of admission. We each received a fairly high quality luggage bag (great for hauling two twelve packs of soda) and even better than my RCI pen collection. Not quite better than a Tanya Tongue Progressive Trivia award!

It is their approach to an interest-free loan.

I was skeptical about the new and improved Coco Cay. Yes, there is the flashy pay extra areas, but I found the beach areas to be great. Chairs and umbrellas at the lagoon area. Easy to find a chair with Anthem and Grandeur in port. The dining is way superior to the other private beaches RCCL runs - way better. So many more choices, good ones. No annoying beach hawkers. Walk from the pier to the complex; remember all the "not today, folks" as anchoring was canceled. It was a great day without extra pay. I don't care for the other ports on the Bahamas itineraries and the Customs stop in Port Canaveral is dreadful (depending on itinerary order). But Coco Cay was great.

As a guest or as the main course?

It's very quiet right now!

Can't be helped when the truth is negative. Can't be helped when facts are really facts. Not facing the truth earlier is why we are in a deep hole.

As Johnny Carson would say, "Weird and Wild."

You do realize this is a national crisis, not a Florida alone crisis.

I'm not quite familiar with that expression.

True and good news for the Commonwealth (my son lives in Wakefield). But decisions made by other countries will be based upon our results as a nation, and that is a grim figure getting worse every day.

This is it in a nutshell.

Lenny, I'm thinking it's like the short straw, the one people draw when determining who will "volunteer" for a dangerous assignment.

That's a blessing. I'm sure that will comfort those who have just contracted the virus.

You know, if the media hadn't whipped up a frenzy, there are those in power who would still be calling it a hoax. There are those in power who would like the coverage to disappear, as if ignoring will be the cure. Coverage of the outbreak needs to be kept at the top of the list. Don't like the way it is being presented? Attention needs to be kept a high priority. You want an indication of how efforts are going, Chinese travelers are being allowed in countries where American travelers are not. I foresee that I won't/can't be flying to Iceland in August. There are countries evaluating our efforts and levels of success, and they don't watch Wolf Blitzer OR Tucker Carlson to help make their decisions. And they don't care if the numbers are 9,688 or 10,004. They have the sense to know that doesn't matter. They are watching how things are trending in America, and the trends aren't good. Without a citizenry responsible enough to have a unified approach, we are peeing on a forest fire.

But it will be.