Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino Photography by: Margherita Miserandino
Madison is as all-American as you can get... plus they'll mail you a Christmas Ornament and not ask you to pay for shipping.
Madison is described as an All-American city. It’s pretty, it’s quaint and there’s nothing bad that can be said about it. It’s a bit like Pleasantville, except in color and not in black and white like the movie. The main street runs right along this main little village with various local shops here and there.
How is this town quaint? I’ll tell you, it's quaint because it is well..., an example is much easier here.
Margherita wanted a Christmas ornament. She feels that it’s a good idea to buy a Christmas ornament in every town that we go to. I joke that our tree will look like it’s confused and has no sense of identity but she doesn’t agree. Every town we’ve visited so far has had a Christmas Ornament. Not Madison.
Madison, Indiana
Does this little analogy pick up the pace here? Yes, a bit. We went into the first store, and they suggested going to this and that store down the street. The next store passed us to the next store and so on. Finally we ended up at a small stationary store at the end of the strip and they offered to ship us one for free.
"How much do we owe you?"
"You just pay for it when you get it. No sense in paying for something that you don’t receive."
When I started to take my money out anyway, he shook his head despairingly and insisted I put away my money.
That’s Madison. A cute, beautiful, quaint town that will mail you a Christmas ornament and trust you to send payment when you receive it.
After seeing Madison, we headed back to the ship and waved goodbye to the crowd on the way out.
The other biggest event of the night was the Captain’s Dinner. The Captain’s Dinner made me so nervous that I drank an entire glass of wine like it was water. Not knowing my normal alcohol intake levels it’s a bit of an astounding feat for me to even handle that.
See, we were invited to sit at the Captain’s Table, which made my nerves rise. It was nothing personal to the captain, but it’s that whole, "Cocktail hour" chitter chatter, which makes me nervous. Usually it feels a bit formal, stuffy and gives me the urge to sit it out in the corner.
And then, I had to meet the Captain. Can you imagine anything more nerve-racking? He’s the boss. The man who can make us walk the plank or through us in the brig at will.
So here I was, sitting with Margherita on a couch, drinking my second glass of wine and ready to sing show tunes while dancing on the table. I told you I wasn’t good with my alcohol.
Fortunately, the night took a pleasant turn. I sat on the Captain’s right with Margherita right next to me. How did it take a pleasant turn? The captain came from Long Island, as I did. That introduction worked us right in and we had a ball, laughing and jokes the whole night. The social awkwardness was avoided and I just spent the rest of the night ordering the same entrees that the captain did, just as to not offend him.
