The General Jackson riverboat

The General Jackson Riverboat sails on the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennesee. She is a big boat. And once when traveling to Nashville, Carol and I boarded her for one of their lunch cruises.
Going up the gangway, I met a kid who had a shirt which said,"I know Bo," meaning Bo Jackson. At the time, Jackson was playing for the Royals in Kansas City. So, I had to tease the kid by saying, that I was the one who should be wearing that shirt, because I really knew Bo. We bantered back and forth until we reached the place where we were to be seated in the main dining room.
We were seated at a long table, and I noticed that the woman I was sitting next too, had a cigarette, and she was smoking. This is something I will not tolerate, smoking. You can kill yourself if you like, but please keep your smoke away from me.
Whenever I am faced with a smoker, I look for a way of escape. While I am frantically looking about, because asking someone who has to have a fix to refrain from smoking is like putting out a forest fire with a squirt gun. I see my little buddy sitting with his family. They were all alone.
They were set apart from the rest of us, but best of all,nne of them were smoking. I get up, and I ask if we may sit at their table.
We had no more seated ourselves when a waiter came over to tell me that this table was reserved. By this time, we were well under way, and I quipped,"How are they coming by speed boat?" It never dawned on me that we were sitting at a VIP table, as it turns out we were. This nice family was the family of the new General Manager of the Opry Hotel. The Manager told the waiter to go on, that it was all right, and we got to stay. I was glad that I had kidded that kid about knowing Bo, I am sure that is what helped me in being able to stay.