A Different Perspective
Every day, we go about our lives doing things that we feel are necessary for our well being. And around the world, people go through their lives with the same urge to do things for their own well beings. The only difference is when a person gets a glance at what is necessary for one and feels the necessity is bordering on madness for others. This is what I have discovered in my quest to do things that are for my own well being.
Take the Arab in the desert covering up under layers of flowing robes, warding off the sun. Particularly the women who cover up and contain their loveliness—all this seems oppressive to the Western World.
In fact, I never recognized covering up as a trait to be admired until I was struck with skin cancer, and my doctor told me to stay covered if in the sun; better yet, don’t go in the sun—period. With those directions, I look upon the covered Arab woman as a person whose best interests are being looked after.
Hawaii is where I choose to celebrate my retirement. I returned to the Waikiki Circle hotel where as a 7th grader, I had gotten out of two weeks of school to join my mother and aunt. This past year, I retired and took my son on a trek there as well. The UV rating was extreme each day, and while, as a youth, I basked in the sun with my mother and aunt, now I covered up in my UV shirt and hit the water in the early and late hours of the day. I went to outdoor shows at dusk—after that hot UV sun had disappeared. And I looked like Al Qaida hiking up Diamond Head with my head wrapped in a UV shirt that covered my face as well. A few were afraid to pass me on the trail for fear a bomb would explode. Maybe they were joking, but, nonetheless, I persevered and made it without a scathing sunburn to show for my efforts. My respect for the Arabs has soared as a result.
Jean Smith is a retired Seattle teacher, who loves the sun but can’t handle too much of it!
SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).
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