By Douglas Shepardson
Even as kid, I knew the United States was a special ship. It was not just some ship called the 'United States'. The United States was more than a great ocean liner… it was the fastest ship in the world! Back then, that meant something. To be on the fastest ship that sailed across the Atlantic was something very special.
After our hectic tour of Europe I am sure our parents just wanted to relax. So they let us wander around the ship without much supervision. After all, the ship was a safe and self-contained environment, unlike Pakistan, where we had lived as expats for three years. Back in Karachi there were times when we would ask for the parents’ ok to go explore up in the rugged hills behind our house.
“Yes,” they would casually answer, “but make sure your friend Dwight brings his rifle.”
Dwight, all of twelve years old, was the oldest of the gang and therefore was responsible for bringing a firearm. The truth is that the gritty brown hills behind our house in Karachi were infested with poisonous snakes and the real possibility of being attacked by a pack of wild rabid dogs. So when you let the ten and twelve-year olds out to play in the hills, you made sure that one of them brought a gun for protection. Such as a trusty Savage Model 24 over/under shotgun. Bye, kids! Bring back some interesting rocks!
After living in that environment, to be on a modern ocean liner was much safer, so why worry? Bye, kids! Don’t fall overboard!
As the great ship pushed across the Atlantic, we ran and played tag on the promenade deck. We would put on our bathing suits and would find our way down to C deck for a swim in the glimmering indoor pool. Then to the theatre to watch a movie. Another pleasurable activity was to go up to the First-Class Observation Lounge to settle back in a big easy chair with a good book and watch, mesmerized, as the ocean rushed by below at 30 knots. And the meals! There were no crowded buffets where you must get your own food and plop it on a plastic dinner plate, as on modern cruise ships. All meals were always in the first-class dining room, served by waiters in white jackets.
I remember one morning the family was seated for breakfast. Perhaps inspired by the ship's Four Freedoms sculpture, I decided to skip my traditional bowl of Cheerios and ordered blueberries and cream instead. They were heavenly; big, plump purple berries. They were so good that I waved to a white-jacketed waiter and asked for a second bowl of blueberries and cream, please.
"Now Douglas," my mother started to admonish me. "Don’t you think that one bowl is enough?"
"It's no problem," the waiter laughed.
And he brought me another gleaming silver bowl brimming with dark blue berries and smooth white cream with sprinkles of sugar on top. Ah, yes. Wonderful!
Another memory from the voyage across the sea -- one night I woke up and listened to the soft hum of the darkened ship. Our kids’ cabin was separate from the parent's cabin. Certain that my two brothers were asleep, I slid out of bed and tip-toed out and into the long hallway lined with closed stateroom doors. Everyone was asleep. Everyone – except for me and the ship. I found my way up the stairs and passages to the sports deck. And there in the darkness, standing in my blue pajamas, I looked up and watched the fiery spray of stars pass over the giant funnels. What a feeling of freedom and exhilaration! I took a deep breath and went back into the ship, filled with an inner sense of both calm and excitement. I found my way down to the swimming pool. It was officially closed, of course, but I pushed on the door and it opened to my touch. And there was the pool before me, now dimly lit and empty of people. What a fantastic sight! The water in the pool appeared to be a glowing, shimmering, liquid green emerald. The vibrations from the engines animated the water's surface, making the deep green rectangle pulse with life, as if some magical spirit had caused it to come alive.
I know, I know – these childhood memories now sound a bit dated. These days there are dozens of lumbering, top-heavy cruise ships to choose from, if you want to experience life at sea. But in the 1950's only one percent of America's population had crossed the ocean by ship. Back then, to travel internationally on a great ocean liner was a unique experience. It was what movie stars and famous people and world leaders did. And to enjoy the bliss of endless blueberries and cream while on the fastest ship in the world; now that was something special.
This post is an excerpt from “Life In My Time: And Other Writings,” a self-published memoir by Doug Shepardson.