When you are a newsman, trying to unplug is difficult

You could not have asked to be in a more beautiful spot.

The big ship was sailing into San Juan Bay Monday afternoon. The island hills stood guard as more than 3,100 invaders armed with cash and credit cards were about to disembark for an evening in Puerto Rico. Shopping, dinner and back to the boat — cattle-call tourism at its best.

The old fort to our left as the cruise liner sailed into the bay was just that, an old stone fort that is relic of history rather than a useful military post.

I should have been soaking up the natural beauty and historical significance of a body of water Christopher Columbus discovered nearly 525 years ago. I should have been planning on how I would navigate Old San Juan and its stores and restaurants. But, instead I was looking at my iPad as my emails began to pop up. It had been 48 hours since I was connected, it just as well have been 48 years.

And it wasn’t just me. My wife was also guilty as charged.

At that moment, I discovered something. No, it wasn’t the New World. Columbus beat me to that in the 1490s.

What I discovered is, like many of you, I have a problem. I am addicted to the phones, iPads and computers that connect us to work, news, information, family and friends. Just two days without use of those devices, and I was totally ignoring my island surroundings for emails that could surly wait. I know it was important that Columbus was getting roughed up by heavy winds while we were enjoying a nice tropical breeze from the ship’s deck.

I immediately made a phone call home to make sure everybody was OK. I was assured they were, warned that more storms were forecast for Wednesday, and told to unplug and enjoy the time in port.

Good advice. Too bad I didn’t take it. AT&T works in San Juan just like it does on Buena Vista Road. Good for AT&T, bad for me at that attempt to unplug.

Last week was going to my week to pull the plug, relax and forget about daily deadlines, and just enjoy life for a few days. That was the plan. And it worked last weekend as the boat pushed out of Port of Miami south toward Puerto Rico. I was able to get a signal for a few minutes, but as Miami Beach faded into the distance, so did my cell coverage. Wi-Fi was available on the ship, but we decided to pass and get it where we could, mainly in San Juan.

There was a relaxation room on the ship — I am not kidding, there was relaxation room. And it worked for a day or two.

I quickly found I am not programmed to relax, sit poolside and soak up the sun. Even my choice of reading wasn’t light — “Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs off Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam” by H.R. McMaster. The folks on the ship didn’t help. The television in the stateroom offered a selection of news channels. While channel surfing, I found that Lt. Gen. McMaster was in the news this week. When you are a newsman, trying to unplug is difficult, I have found.

Don’t feel too sorry for me, however. We were passengers on a Tall Ship off the coast of St. Maarteen and skirted the coast of St. Kitts on a catamaran.

One of the dudes on the catamaran crew was Elvis. He had nice shades, a blue bandanna skull cap an in another time could have been a pirate. After an hour of relaxation on the catamaran, one of Elvis’ crewmates cranked up the boat’s stereo as we neared our landing spot.

It was Alan Jackson; and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” At the back of the boat, Elvis had the steel wheel and was singing along with the man from Newnan.

“At a moment like this, I can’t help but wonder What would Jimmy Buffet do?,” Elvis sang as he guided the boat toward the shore.

Good question, Elvis. I bet he would throw this damn iPad into the Caribbean and relax. Too bad I can’t do that because I am too busy looking for the next Wi-Fi spot.

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 5:29 PM with the headline "When you are a newsman, trying to unplug is difficult."