during my foray into the world of being a travel agent, (one of my early careers), my boss decided that i was ready to take a group out on an adventure, (herself included, and along for the ride,) so if found myself as ‘leader’, taking a group of 250 women on a long weekend cruise to the bahamas.

my job was to oversee the group, see that everyone had everything they needed, handle any ‘crisis’ on board, get them where they were going, and to make sure they all made it back. i figured this was easy duty, as my boss was a ‘church-going’ woman and these were women she knew through her church, and i imagined them to be quite tame, as groups go.

well, imagine my surprise when it ended up being one long, crazy weekend, far beyond what i had envisioned.

the waters near the bahamas had been hit by a hurricane not long before we arrived on the scene, so the sea was very rough on the first night. and i should have taken this as a sign.

we had all dressed up for a formal dinner and one by one, we dropped out, and passed each other on the way back to our rooms, nodding to each other, and looking like a bunch of very drunk sailors. i threw up in a giant planter along the way, just to set give you a feel for how rough it was. and it was everyone for themselves that night. it was all i could do to crawl into my bed and stay there, in the fetal position until morning.

when i awoke in the morning it was a beautiful day, calm waters, blue sky, and new beginning.

and from that moment on, no one slept for 3 days. 

this was one of the most ‘free-spritied’ groups of women i’d even encountered. everyone was pretty drunk the entire time, there were ‘interactions’ with the crew, people were all over the place, and i decided the only way to keep track of everyone was to ‘enter the belly of the beast’, make sure no one got arrested, hang out with them, and let the sleep fall by the wayside. we quickly bonded, they were friendly and fun and welcoming, and we went on adventures on the islands together during the days, and when we came back to the ship at night, we always participated in whatever activity was planned. 

on this particular evening, it was ‘talent show night,’ and i figured it was a way to try to keep everyone in one place for a while if some of us performed. a little group, my boss included, decided to perform as the ‘dancing california raisins.’  i was the only one who was not african-american in a group of 250 women, so i stood out a bit and they billed me as ‘the golden raisin’. and then it was our moment. 

our elaborate costumes were made of stuffed trash bags and tights. and we gave it our all.

and won first place.

they must have quickly seen how talented were were.

here we are receiving our trophy.

and through a lot of good luck , and some sort of intervention from the universe,

and a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell policy,’ we all made home.

including the trophy.

and it still has a place of prominence on my desk at home. 

—–

Tranquil as a forest, but a fire within. Once you find your center, you are sure to win.
 Mulan