Cruising, the Cure for Hypertension

3/2/2011

Our good friend Dr. Jim has come for a short visit between his world travels and ER assignments.  The last time Jim was aboard the Starship was anchored in foggy, soggy Maine, so the humidity and warm climate of Grenada are a welcome change. 

Bringing us boat parts, mail, taxes, and numerous books, Christmas has come early depending on one’s point of view.

A visit to the colorful downtown market was in order, with Don and Jim buying up all the grapefruits, sapodillas, bananas, and other fresh goodies that we could carry on the local bus for a week’s visit. 

Spying nutmeg in its freshly picked state, I learned that nutmeg and mace come from the same tree. 

Mace is the red, spider web like outer covering over the nutmeg seed. It is used mainly in Indian dishes, as a food coloring, and is the dominant flavor in donuts.

Jim spent some initial cool down time in the official Starship relaxation floatie and was surprised and slightly alarmed at his amazing drop in blood pressure. Don and he spent considerable time comparing readings, causes, and effects. 

As our mutual friend Captain George Smith would say “We use to compare how much beer we could drink, how deep we could dive, and how many women we had, now it’s who takes the most medications, how long it takes us to get the “sails” up, and who has the lowest blood pressure!”  We lifted a glass in your honor George.

 A mini onboard medical conference ensued and it was determined that cruising has some clinical applications in addition to the obvious fun factor. With no TV, no traffic, no phone, we don’t care who is on American Idol, what gas prices are, or if Charlie Sheen still has a job.  A very nice side effect of our lifestyle! 

Between the three of us we solved ALL of the world’s problems with healthy doses of Jack Iron thrown in for taste. Definitely an educating, enlightening, and productive visit, thanks for everything Jim!