You meet some interesting people at gatherings who do something everybody will remember or who are notable for some occupation that is interesting and unusual.  I met two (that is not to say everyone else at Gordon and Dina’s wedding was forgettable – for they are not!), “Banana-Boat Bob” and “Jerry Vroom-Vroom”.

This wedding in Barbados was a signal moment in our lives. Barbados attracts a good many visitors and there is a minor industry among wedding planners and caterers. Our group was one that mostly manufactured its own fun.  If this included a great many drinks with dubious names and locations in which they were consumed, it did not detract from the good time that was had by all. I, because of becoming dignity and reticence, found myself participating with guarded enthusiasm. I decided that this was the perfect time to practice my drawing and sketching skills.  I produced ten portraits in all with some fairly good likenesses.

Now, Bob earned his sobriquet.  He was dubbed “Banana-Boat Bob” after he fell off a “banana boat”, a ride four of our number took in sight of the rest of us who chose to sit on the beach.  We could follow the action easily for the path of the tow boat was a hundred yards off shore beyond the waves and passed back and forth a few times (a few times too many for Bob).  The banana “boat” is constructed in sections with four individual places for a person to straddle as though on a horse.  It is yellow, hence the reference to a banana, and is quite flexible.  The boat has no motor and has to be towed. It has a motion something like a bucking bronco and Bob, at one point, was thrown off into the water.  All the riders wore life jackets and they were good enough to come back to pick him up.  It seems he was the last seated in the rear and this place took the most violent up and down motion.  After rescue, he chose to sit in the towboat and one of the crew took his place at the back of the banana where he simply held on, was dragged behind and became ballast to suppress the motion. (I truly hope that his new nickname will soon be forgotten and he can hold up his head with pride that he took that trip, without regret and some great memories)

Now, Jerry Vroom-Vroom (I gave him the name) has a simpler story. In real life (not in Barbados and for the duration of the wedding), Jerry is a Vice-President of Harley Davidson Motorcycles and is the Safety Officer for the Eastern Division.  He owns one of the H-D motorcycles and he and Barbara travel on it because of a love for the feeling of power and accomplishment.  It is notable, however, that Jerry did not choose to accompany Banana-Boat Bob on that fateful trip. Perhaps his “safety” expertise told him to stay on shore.