ABSTRACT
As was then customary, we started by ship, the Dutch Maasdam, sailing from New York on June 14, 1954. Describing the beginning of our voyage I wrote, “The Dutch are very efficient, but do not mind inconveniencing the passengers for the sake of this efficiency. Immediately after getting to the cabin, I had to fill out a declaration of everything about our destination. Next there came the diningroom reservations. As soon as we got on the boat, Dorothy went up to stand in line in the lounge for table reservations. She was still in line when the boat was ready to leave the pier, so I went up to relieve her so she could see us depart. By noon, I was at the head of the line and finally managed to get four places at a big table for the second sitting, so we didn’t have to get down for breakfast until 9:00 a.m.
