I went to Costa Rica by accident. I mean, I knew nothing about Costa Rica, or why I wanted to go there. That was in 1992. A couple of years later I was in Africa, then the Yucatán Peninsula, and after that, a riverboat on the Amazon.  I became a traveler well-after I became a mother of teens.  How did I get so adventurous? How did I discover irresistible deals? Elizabeth.

I met Elizabeth at Riverside Plaza, the same building I met Cathy, my “redeployment specialist.” Cathy was there to cheer-lead me to a new career, and reassure me of my value. Elizabeth sent me off on my first international travel.

I’ve been in mourning.  Mourning the loss of my freedom.  Wishing to have more without giving anything up.  I made a list of all the things that make be cry when I think about leaving my business of free-lance writing and consulting:  long commutes, walking in my yard anytime I want, my office, lunch with Loved-One, fluidity…

I know, I know.  In these economic times, I should be happy that I have this opportunity.  Especially, since I was minding my own business and two, yes, two firms contacted me.  I’m really am sooo lucky.

So why do I feel sad?

English: United States Supreme Court justice H...
United States Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun. Photo from official public domain Supreme Court multimedia 

Every year, on the anniversary of Roe v Wade, I set out to research and read the Supreme Court Opinion and share my own opinion.  Every year I chicken out or I get lazy, or something else is more pressing.  I know my opinion is sure to anger both my pro-life and my pro-choice friends, many of whom see things through a black-and-white, all-or-nothing lens.  As in so many things in life’s journey, this issue a complex one.

But this is an election year, and many people will vote for their President based on his position on this issue alone.  So it’s high time I did the research.  But first the disclaimers:

You will find no pictures in this post of fetuses, babies, or demonstrators on either side of the divide.  I support Barack Obama; I tend to vote Democrat.  I am pro-life.

Did you ever buy something you just love and then can’t find it again?  Did you ever get so delighted with a purchase that you had to tell someone?  Did you ever meet someone who impressed you with his or her commitment to quality?  All three things happened to me just before I went on my camping trip.  (Spoiler alert:  remember last week’s Photo Friday.)

I bought these great pair of flip-flops in Hilton Head.  I was attending a conference and the flip-flop sandals were an end-of-season-great-price in the resort gift shop.  The flip-flops were $30.  On sale.  It was 10 whole years ago.

What? You’re probably asking.  $30 for a pair of flip-flops?  I hate to shop; I’m not that woman who moans when she smells good shoe-leather. (That’s my sister, Deanna.)  Still, every once in a while, I decide to treat myself to something purely unnecessary; something that makes me feel pampered; something a wee bit extravagant.

This year, one of the sandal toe-ribbons on my flip-flop broke.  Oh how I love that gentle gross-grain ribbon between my toes; no break-in-my-flip-flop blisters to welcome me to summer.   Okay, maybe it is time I gave them up anyways.  The fabric is getting a little tattered looking.

My 10 year-old sandal; the one with the ribbon still intact. Okay, it IS a little worn out.

 

Yes, I was wearing the same sandals for the past 10 years.  A quick trip in the washer, and dried in the sun, and I am set to go again.  Good as new.  Lucky for me, the leather Peanut still proclaimed loud and clear:  Eliza B.  So for $30 over 10 years, that’s just $3 a year.  A pretty good deal.  One I want to repeat.

Harold Cole Watkins, PhD, overcome with remorse, killed himself one rainy night in late 1937.  A few months earlier, Dr. Watkins was on cloud nine. His new, sweet, raspberry-flavored, Elixir Sulfanilamide made it possible for parents to administer the bitter sulfa medicine to their children sick with Streptococcus infections, commonly known as strep throat.  A few months earlier, Dr. Watkins was on cloud nine. His new, sweet, raspberry-flavored, Elixir Sulfanilamide made it possible for parents to administer the bitter sulfa medicine to their children sick with Streptococcus infections.  Sore throats.

A pharmacist employed by S.E. Maassengil Co., Dr. Watkins met the company’s goal in response to public demand for a liquid form of the hard to swallow pill.  Now, over a hundred people were dead, most of them children.  Some children died in their mother’s