When Carnival christened its newish ship the Breeze on Saturday at the Port of Miami, two people towered over their respective genders. Physically and figuratively.
If Tracy Wilson Mourning wasn't the tallest woman in the Breeze's Ovation Theater, it could 
only be because somebody else was wearing higher lifts. In fact, it's possible the only man taller than her was Alonzo, her husband.
Here in the southern tip of Florida, the Mournings are towering figures in their community because of what they do for others. He is the forerunner of Lebron James as a former Miami Heat star who has established several charities. She is the creator of the Honey Shine Girls, an organization that for more than a decade has been a lifeline for Miami girls who for whatever reason need one.
As of Saturday, Tracy Mourning is the Breeze's Godmother.
"When Alonzo and I are driving by on the parkway, I have to tell you how cool it is to look 
over and say 'That's my ship!'" she said. "For them even to consider me for this, I am humble and grateful."
She is also a heroine.
Raised in the deep south of Miami — "an area you wouldn't even want me to show you" — she has parlayed her celebrity into helping young women who are where she once was. For more than a decade, the mother of three has made her "Honey Bugs" extended family and helped young women with self-esteem and education and, perhaps more importantly, instilling in them the belief that anything is possible.
"Someone taking me out of my neighbourhood one time…that's all it took," she explained to Saturday's theater audience. "And 'God' is the key part of being a Godmother. He has chosen to go through me, not because of me. By the grace of God, I can stand here and tell you that anything is possible."
Her husband still works for the Heat.
"We have always had a strong belief that it's not about what you have but what you do with it," said Alonzo. "It starts with education. We have been given education opportunities all our lives. All our experiences are attributable to that so we have to relay that to others."
We had to ask what many think: Is he disappointed that more professional athletes, blessed with their wealth, don't do the same thing?
"No I'm not. Many of them want to but don't know how. If we put them in the right place and show them how to participate, I believe many of them will."
Who's going to argue with that? He is, after all, six-foot-nine!
Norwegian Gem
9 nights
January 27, 2013
New York (return): San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Samana
Inside: $569
Cost per day: $63
www.ncl.com