Chris O'Lavin persuades his wife, Nora, to go on a Caribbean cruise. He hopes that it will bring back passion in their marriage. Flying to Grenada and setting sail, each day the Blue Fin Clipper anchors at different islands: Carriacou Island, Tobago Cays, Palm Island, Mayreau Island, and Bequia Island. Unlike Nora, the three-mast sailboat, the natives, their ways and history excites and fascinates Chris. Tropical sun and breezes, aquamarine sea, snorkeling, palm trees, fine-sand beaches, friendly people, delicious food and drinks, deck socials, spectacular sunrises and sunsets do not remedy...

Moments in Time are stories of people with conflicts and their resolutions-some good, some bad: A young boy experiences his first confession. Sent to get fish for dinner, a youngster performs a heroic act. An adolescent in a forest cutting firewood results in personal injury. A musician sells his soul. A sailor-wanderer shares his witness to the dark side of humanity. A teenage boy wants to know who his father is. A grandfather takes the law in his own hands for his daughter and grandson. Struggling for fulfillment, a retiree finds the answer in a child. Bordering on madness, a man is...

In the 1990s and early years of my retirement that began in 2000, my wife, Dorothy, and I made frequent Caribbean Islands excursions with Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. In tall, three-mast sail ships we anchored at numerous exotic port-of-calls, many too small to accommodate large cruise ships. In addition to the pleasure of the sea, sand, and sun, we learned of cultures strongly tied to United States' early history - I'm referring to the conflict for dominance of the area and the slave-trade. The Caribbean Islands were a drop-off point for African slaves before being transported to the...