Messina

August 21st
Messina, Sicily

Visit number 2 to Messina with limited things to do and limited time to do them in. I really had nothing planned for Messina, and being unable to do a tour do to a rehearsal, knew that I didn’t have many options left in the city. It’s a lovely area, there’s just nothing there of any real interest. So I grabbed my computer and went out in search of the always elusive internet signal hoping for the best. I had gotten off the ship with the new guitarist, Jim, and his plans were about as ambitious as mine, so that worked out just fine. We ran into Igor in town and began walking with him, yet another fellow internet hunter. By the end of the day we hadn’t found any internet signals, bought a few delicious canoles, and downed some espresso. Nothing too exciting I guess, but it’s always nice to get off the ship. This, however, was the port where I bought my cowboy hat. Well, I had to wear it and it made me instant friends with all the hat peddlers on the street. Instant friends or instant laughing stock…I guess I’ll never know. But it wasn’t till the evening that the day really hit it’s peak.
Following the earlier than usual production show In Concert, Gordon made me aware of a trivia game going on in one of the lounges and recommended putting a team together to compete. I quickly assembled my dream team of musicians (well, not quite) and we headed to the ward room where the trivia contest was well under way. The game was set up in segments, one being general knowledge, one having to do with exotic food recognition (from strange mushrooms to baby food), and two more in similar genres. The highlight had to do with the physical challenge of which I volunteered to be my teams representative for. The challenge was this: with out touching the floor with anything but your two feet, bend down and pick up a vertical carton of cigarettes with your mouth. After each successful round the carton would be trimmed down an inch, making the next round harder by requiring more flexibility. If you happened to fall or touch the ground with anything but your feet you’d receive a strike, three strikes and you lose the challenge, the last one eliminated is deemed the winner. I was excited going into the challenge thinking I have decent flexibility, but soon figured out how hard the challenge really was. The first few I did relatively well at, but as the carton decreased it’s height, I struggled more and more till I eventually took my first fall. At this point there were only 3 teams left of the original 5, and after there first two eliminations, the challenge was getting interesting. The three contestants were the safety officer (who had yet to show any struggle), a short stocky girl named Wendy with a chest that seemed ill proportioned for such a game, and myself. I had taken the first fall of the three and was the obvious under dog, but as they sat between rounds, I stretched, determined not to let my team down. There must have been 2 inches left to the carton when I took my second fall, receiving an enthusiastic “ohhhh” from the crowd. But I wasn’t about to let my team down, got myself in the zone and made the stretch; the crowd went wild. 1 inch left, Wendy takes her first spill, but regains herself on the second attempt and succeeds at the astonishment of the crowd. Seriously, it doesn’t look like this girl should have any flexibility, yet continued to impress the crowd with each successive attempt. The safety guy went, also with a little more struggle than usual, but succeeded. I slowly approached, focusing my legs to bend in ways they’ve not yet been forced to handle. I bent down, extended one leg back, put my arms out for balance, strained my neck downward…and…Success!! I spat the carton out to the cheer of my adoring fans (let me know when I take this too far) and returned to my corner to stratch and prepare for the final round, 0 height. This meant the walls were totally trimmed off the carton, meaning we had to pick up a flat piece of paper from the ground. Imagine picking a playing card off the floor with your mouth without touching your hands to the floor…that was the final step. Wendy succeeded to everyone’s astonishment, but certainly deserved to after licking the carpet way more than necessary and leaving a bright red streak of lipstick on the remaining square. It was impressive. The safety dude also succeeded, not without falling once, but still managed to complete the task with apparent difficulties. Now it was my turn, the obvious underdog, the guy that should have lost rounds ago, the one guy that doesn’t seem able but somehow finds a way. With the heads of my department watching and two members of the band to my left I took position. This requires a very delicate blend of positioning and balance, one that took a couple efforts before feeling right about going for the card. Having no strikes left I had to be extremely careful not to fall, just more pressure onto of having to prove myself on behalf of the entire entertainment department. I bent down, stumbled forward, but regained balance without using my hands and reset for try number two. I went down, descending with extreme caution towards the paper, slowly, among the screams and hollers and ridiculous suggestions to make good use of my tongue. But this wasn’t a time for jokes, this was a time for concentration and control, I was un-phased. I got closer and closer and the noise suddenly disappeared in the tension of the moment. All eyes were on that remnant of the carton and my painfully controlled approach. It was at the point where I could no longer focus my eyes on the white paper that I puckered my lips, and with one last push complimented with violent inhaling I sucked the card to my face and stood up, victorious, to the cheers of audience that had just witnessed some sort of miraculous feat. The underdog had overcome what seemed to be relentless bodily limitations through sheer will and determination, it was quite the spectacle. I instantly received recognition from the on looking department heads and cheers of congratulations from my fellow band members, I might have well won the Olympics at that point. As the energetic hum of the room died down the final results of the contest were revealed. The musicians ended up in 3rd place out of five, which I guess is decent considering the 30 minute disadvantage we received. The best part, however, was that 20 out of our total 42 points were earned through the physical challenge, making that win the difference between a most certain last place and a respectable third. I had saved the name of the entertainment department, landed us at a good average third, and sacrificed my legs all at the same time, it was an eventful night.
Well, now that I’m done with that terribly over dramatic account of the evening, I guess I’ll conclude the post. The party ended after that, I returned to my room to do some stretches and went to bed hoping for no leg pain in the morning. Thanks for reading the seemingly endless drivel and have a great one! And be sure not to hurt yourself when you try the challenge at home! Seeya