Travel Tips From the Seven Dwarfs: Grumpy

Early Snow in New City

Like most American children, my granddaughter Emma loves Halloween, but she's not enamored with the macabre aspects.  She simply likes dressing up in different costumes and eating candy. 

A month before Halloween, her Mommy Gina Skyped me to unveil Emma's latest costume, Snow White. 

Based on last year, I assume Emma will have donned a half dozen more character outfits by the time October 31 rolls around, but the fact that the leading lady from Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is among them speaks volumes for the characters in this 1937 classic adaptation, the first full-length cel animated motion picture in history.

I'm not sure Emma has actually seen the movie, but she loves her Disney Princess story book, which includes pictures of Snow White based on the movie rather than on the Brothers Grimm's German fairy tale, "Little Snow White," from 1812.

The "Grimm's Fairy Tales" version of the story was actually an adaptation of a 1731 story called "Little Snow Drop" from "Father Tuck's Play and Pleasure Series," on which brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm collaborated with Raphael Tuck and others.

Don't be Grumpy

Disney's version added many whimsical touches that made the story even more appealing to a broad audience.  The unnamed seven dwarfs became Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, Dopey and Doc, with distinct personalities. 

What can you learn about travel from the seven dwarfs?

I don't know of any human being who wants to be known as Grumpy, but we've all encountered him.  Grumpy finds fault everywhere, always expecting the worst.  It should be obvious that being Grumpy is not endearing to others except as comic relief, but we aren't laughing with him.  No one should take Grumpy seriously.  I've found some cruise lines seem to attract more Grumpies than others, and I can share this privately with you to help inoculate yourself if you choose to brave the challenge of overcoming negative vibes.

Frequently, Grumpies complain about how the cruise they're on pales in comparison to the one they took last time or some other nebulous yardstick.  If you encounter Grumpy, don't let his attitude infect you.  I've sometimes taken chronic carpers to task, confronting them directly, but mostly I just avoid them when I'm on vacation.

We paid to enjoy a trip, and we don't want some whiner harshing our mellow, do we? 

Jay, Amy, Gina and Laszlo Positively Shine in Gdansk, Poland

If you are Grumpy, you need to adjust your attitude now rather than later, or you are wasting your own time and money on your vacation.  Whether something is a tragedy or a comedy often depends to a great extent on how you choose to view it.  Make up your mind to see the worst elements as humorous, or to at least find pleasure analyzing how something that should be fun or interesting isn't.  You can choose to go back to your old cruise line or avoid a particular type of experience in the future, but don't fritter away your present moments because some ideal failed to materialize perfectly.

Be like Emma on Halloween.  Become the character you want to be and enjoy the treats.  Of course, if you have been guided to the right cruise line, ship, stateroom and itinerary by a knowledgeable travel consultant, being your best self and enjoying your surroundings becomes automatic, and in fact that feeling carries with you when you return to the real world, where you will inevitably encounter Grumpy at work or on the freeway.

Better service leads to better trips.