When North Shore Towers residents Arthur and Shirley Dock went to Aruba in April, there was a lot to celebrate. They came back with even more to celebrate after they were named Goodwill Ambassadors by Aruba Tourism Authority.
This marked the 31st year that the Docks have been visiting Aruba, some years making two trips. They said that the first time they went it was “just a vacation.” However, after that initial visit, they never wanted to go anywhere else.
At the time the couple first decided to go to Aruba, Arthur had a tense job working on Wall Street. He said he called Shirley one day and said he needed to get away and asked her where she’d like to go.
Aruba became the destination since, with no cell phones back then, they could have a real vacation without anyone reaching them. Shirley explained that, when they would visit Arthur’s mother in Miami, he would still get work calls.
The couple said that the food, people and weather, particularly in April, are always perfect.
“It’s just so relaxing,” the couple said of Aruba.
When Arthur and Shirley went to Aruba in April, they were joined by 17 family members, including their three daughters, a son-in-law who they said is a son to them, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Although some family members had gone with them at different times, this was the first time they were all able to go at the same time.
“That was a reason to make something of it,” Shirley said. “The togetherness was so great.”
Along with being all together, there were several milestones to celebrate. It was around the time of Arthur’s 83rd birthday and the 25th birthday of one of the grandchildren.
In addition, May 31 was the couple’s 62nd wedding anniversary. They met through a blind date as teenagers growing up in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. After Arthur finished his service in the Navy during World War II, he proposed to Shirley.
As they Docks were celebrating all of this during the April trip, Shirely decided to tell the office at their hotel, the Radisson Aruba Resort Casino & Spa, about their 31-year history of visits. She asked if there was anything that could be done and got a call a couple days later saying they wanted to honor the family.
During the event, they were made Goodwill Ambassadors.
“It was just a dream come true,” Shirley said of the experience.
In August, Arthur and Shirley will mark five years of living at North Shore Towers.
