The helicopter ride was fun but the dinner had it's laugh and cry moments.
The Captain was on the deck to welcome us to the ship. He was dressed in a formal dress uniform , shirt etc. Since I was classified as a local administrator, for some strange reason I was to be of equal rank. He was an excellent host.
Now my paternal family were Ukrainian, Polish, Russian peasants. They had a small plot of land...40 acres. There wasn't any lumber so they had a small clay house. These houses were made with a mixture of straw and clay. There was a dirt floor and straw roof. They were warm but small. They had only very basic cooking utensils. They did not have a stove but a fireplace.
When they came to Canada they had very few cooking utensil and built the same kind of clay house. Things were limited.
On my maternal side they were also very poor and did itinerant farm labor.
As a result formal manners around eating were limited. In fact, they were unknown.
When my Dad set up house he bought cooking equipment on auction sales. We did not have a set of cutlery or dishes. Your spoon, knife and fork may have come from 3 different sets.
Well, you can predict what's coming next. The dinner on the ship was very, very formal. I had never heard or seen salad forks or the proper place for soup spoons. Or soup spoons for that matter. Some of the dishes I had never seen before. Or for that matter more than knife , fork and spoon on a place setting. I was not used to being told where to sit. I sat down before the Captain told us where to sit. As a result there were quite a few boo boos as far as etiquette was concerned.
The Captain was a gracious host. We had good conversation. We had soup, salad, main course and desert. For us the best part was salad as we hadn't had any fresh produce for a year. We still talk about the salad.
So the trip back had a heavier load.
I had also learned a few things about eating that evening.
Oh dear Mr. Red, Hopefully the Captain understood. No produce or salad for a year. I recall reading your limited supplies being shipped in, but that's hard to imagine. Bet your replacements are growing indoor grow-light gardens, eh? Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteWell, this happened in 1968, 55 years ago. You can never tell what might be there now. They do have an air strip now.
DeleteI'm glad the Captain was a gracious host. I think we were taught table manners in our home economics class in high school. All I knew prior to that was actually mostly to do with chopsticks. Just kidding. Actually we had forks in school so I had a varied experience.
ReplyDeleteI've tried chop sticks. I suck. My daughter uses chopsticks very well. Watch for M Arentz in comments.
DeleteA heart felt post.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, we use to have fun with what plate we got. I like especially the plate that could spin on the table.
I think we used to trade spoons or whatever.
DeleteGreat memory of you dinner on the ship. Take care, have a great day and a happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteThat's the only ship dinner I've had so far.
DeleteDinner with the captain sounds like an educational experience. I especially enjoyed hearing about your ancestors!
ReplyDeleteWe were both excited to go out to the ship.
DeleteWhat an adventure, even the dinner was amazing. Thanks for the great word picture you have painted here. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's something I look back on as a treat. I've never had such an experience since.
DeleteMy Mom taught us table manners when we were young. She came from a poor Italian family who didn't have much so I don't know where she learned them.
ReplyDeleteYour Mom was trying to give you something that would help you.
DeleteWhat an entertaining tale. We learn our very best lessons from experience. I am reading a book that I think you would enjoy. It is by Eowyn Ivey. "To The Bright Edge of The World"
ReplyDeleteI'll look for this book.
DeleteLessons well learned.
ReplyDelete...and remembered.
DeleteA lesson and a dinner, a nice learning environment.
ReplyDeleteIt was learning in a hurry.
DeleteFirst, I certainly hope you didn't get served desert, as that would make a terrible end to a meal. Dessert, on the other hand, is usually delicious. Now that I've gotten that squared away, this reminds me of being in Ottawa in grade 12 for a Parliamentary study week with students from across Canada. We had a formal banquet dinner one evening and the girl next to me had also never seen such place settings before. Luckily, I did know a thing or two about "work your way from the outside in" and that sizes of forks/spoons determined their usage. Little things like that are no big deal, up until they are, like your dinner with the Captain.
ReplyDeleteOops about the dessert. I didn't catch that one. We just didn't have a lot of that stuff at home so I'd never seen it before.
DeleteI'm sure you learned a lot that evening!
ReplyDeleteand remembered it!
DeleteWell that was certainly memorable and educational. Thanks for the anecdote.
ReplyDeleteMy wife was more aware of these issues so I got some explanation when I got home.
DeleteGreat story. I guess we all learn how to eat properly at some point in our lives. Though I'm not sure I ever have. 😁
ReplyDeleteThere's much more to the eating routine than we know.
DeleteWhat fun to be a sailor dear Red.one must do it once in a lifetime at least.
ReplyDeleteCaptain must have understood that you were unfamiliar to his rules.
Everything mentioned about your grandparents sounds fascinating. I have seen clay house in my native village