My wife and I planned, "someday soon" we would make a crossing -- no, definitely not a cruise. We received Cunard literature, and while we were not at the deckplan stage, we were seriously considering such a trip.

But it was not to be. My wife of 47 years and many unforgettable voyages died a week ago on Saturday, Jan 10th.

We were both 79. No this is not a call for sympathy, but just an unhappy realization that now I will probably never sail on her. And, at this point, I would not want to without my constant travel companion. Life is too short.

But the QM2 wallpapers will stay up front, and I will continue to sound the mighty horn which Pam has provided for me.

[ 01-18-2004: Message edited by: joe at travelpage ]

Sincerely,

I lost my husband of 43 years, 4 1/2 years ago and although I am still cruising, sometimes alone and sometimes with my daughter, it is not the same. We had planned to go to Norway on the Rotterdam VI, but it was not to be and I doubt that I will ever go myself. It was one cruise he was really looking forward to.

Keep well.

Best regards,

Please accept my sincere condolences.

I hope that one day you find the strength in your heart to make that crossing on the QM2 in respect of her memory and the 47 special years that God gave you.

My most profound condolences to you.

There is much loose talk about "internet friends" and the generally shallow aspects thereof.

But the sentiments expressed by my fellow passengers here, by people I have never met, by people whom my wife had never met, but who share a common interest (may I say even love?) are most heartwarming.

I am deeply grateful, to all.

And who knows, I might meet some of you sometime!

And, to those who may have recorded my email address in days past, please note that, with the acquisition of DSL, I am now "highiron@verizon.net "

CGT probably knows what the term means.

From today's Washington Post:

quote:

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Nancy Girhard Ryan, Geologist

Nancy Girhard Ryan, a retired geologist whose work ranged from the high plateau of Colorado to a tunnel beneath Berlin, died of heart disease Jan. 10 at her home in St. Michaels, Md. She was 79.

Mrs. Ryan worked for the U.S. Geological Survey from 1948 to 1962, mapping and defining critical uranium resources on the Colorado Plateau. In the mid-1950s, while in the agency's trace elements bureau, she was a member of the team that provided geological support for the CIA's Berlin Tunnel project, which burrowed beneath the Soviet sector of the city to intercept telephone and telegraph traffic. The Soviets learned of the tunnel while it was underway and "discovered" it in 1956, but Mrs. Ryan's husband did not learn of it, or of his wife's work on it, until the 1980s.

In the military geology branch, she served in Tokyo, editing geological studies of the Pacific Islands formerly occupied by Japan.

She married and resigned in 1962 in order to follow her husband to defense contracting jobs in Vietnam and Thailand. She returned to work in her profession in 1989 for the U.S. Bureau of Mines as a geologist-editor and retired in 1995.

Mrs. Ryan was born in Newton, Ill., graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in geology, then earned a master's degree in geology and mineralogy from the same school in 1948.

Her memberships in professional and honorary societies included Phi Beta Kappa, the Society of Sigma Xi, the Mineralogical Society of America and the Geological Society of America.

She enjoyed gardening at her home, cooking and international travel.

She is survived by her husband of 46 years, Robert B. Ryan, of St. Michaels.

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Please accept my deepest sympathy on the passing of your wife. She sounds like she was a wonderful person!

If you do ever decide to take that voyage on the QM2, she will be there with you.....

The WPost, known to run with a good story, gave the impression that Nancy was down there in the tunnel! She was not!

The USGS assembled a team of specialists from its staff, worldwide. They operated in a "secure
facility" in Washington DC. The results of their research were passed to their "clients" CIA and military, who did their thing.

But, I could tell, when the Post phoned me that they were going to run with the tunnel story.

Nancy had a 47-year career as a Geologist/Mineralogist. She was one of the first women geologists on the Colorado Plateau. (Mme. Currie was there first, looking for radium, about the turn of the century.)

If Nan thought that a "crash project" for (I believe) 6 months, regardles of how "razzle-dazzle" it was, defined her career, she would be unhappy. As I said, "the project" was never discussed in our home until its cover was blown a few years back.

I appreciate your interest, good people, but let me vector you back on topic.

Y'know, things that float and stuff and the decor of the lounge furniture on the "Inchcliffe Castle" etc.