Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I wrote this headline to summarize other passengers on our cruise in Canada aboard the Oceania lines ship “Insignia.”

My wife, Nancy, and I look around and all we see are old people.

Glad that, well, we are not among them.

Some signs of age among the passengers:

• The musical bands aboard play mostly slow music.  My wife used as good to describe it – melancholy.

• The stage shows memorialize a day gone by.  What were the Gatsby’s anyway?

• It usually is best to walk slowly behind folks as they make their way around the ship.  Otherwise, you bump into them.

We have been on several Oceania ships over the years.

Typically, guests tend to be 55-plus, with a mix of couples, solo travelers, and families with adult children looking for a food and beverage-focused experience.  There is mix of well-known and off-the-beaten-path ports of call.  While children are allowed onboard, there is no kids’ programming.

On several Oceania ships, including Insignia, the total of bookings is no more than 1,250 – in other words small by comparison to many other ships in other lines.

While on-line sources use the 55-plus number above, the average age of travelers is actually between 65 and 70.

This time, we boarded Insignia in Montreal and traveled down the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic coast, then will be heading back to Montreal over the next few days.

So, to my fellow travelers, I say, (a) it is good to be with you, and (b) please move faster so us youngsters can make quicker progress.