Living in different countries has given me a whole new perspective on life, people, our country and other countries. The people I’ve met in all the countries we’ve traveled to, except one, have been warm and gracious. Of course, not many of them have moved at a pace equivalent to the United States, but I doubt many on earth do. Still, I enjoy the peaceful pace of life…and watching the world go by, taking in each breath.

When we left the United States oh-so-many years ago I’ll never forget the first time I said to myself, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.” There were guys climbing the electrical towers, the ones that look like robots, without any safety equipment. I mean none at all; not even a helmet or a safety belt. They were so high and it looked like they could fall with the least little missed step - but they didn’t. Still, freaky. I think the safety issues are the biggest differences I see from the US to other countries.

The other noticeable difference is that if someone doesn’t work in another country - they don’t eat; no government subsidies for not working, no unemployment.

I’ve also lived in several countries where a prescription is not required to purchase normal medications. It keeps the pharmaceutical companies out of the doctors offices and keeps the prices a lot lower.

There’s positives and negatives about every country; none are perfect. Still, it’s nice to learn about all of them, learning about the cultures, the land, the languages and where people in paradise go on vacation.

For most of the year, it’s the duty of the press to scour the known universe looking for ways to ruin our day. The more fear, guilt, or angst a news story induces, the better. But with August here, we’re all in the mood for a break, so I’ve found a list of 10 things not to worry about on your vacation.Skip to next paragraph

Now, I can’t guarantee you that any of these worries are groundless, because I can’t guarantee you that anything is absolutely safe, including the act of reading a newspaper. With enough money, an enterprising researcher could surely identify a chemical in newsprint or keyboards that is dangerously carcinogenic for any rat that reads a trillion science columns every day.

What I can guarantee is that I wouldn’t spend a nanosecond of my vacation worrying about any of these 10 things:

1. Killer hot dogs: What is it about hot dogs? There was the nitrite scare. Then the grilling-creates-carcinogens alarm. And then, when those menaces faded, the weenie warriors fell back on that old reliable villain: saturated fat.

But now even saturated fat isn’t looking so bad, thanks to a rigorous experiment in Israel reported last month. The people on a low-carb, unrestricted-calorie diet consumed more saturated fat than another group forced to cut back on both fat and calories, but those fatophiles lost more weight and ended up with a better cholesterol profile. And this was just the latest in a series of studies contradicting the medical establishment’s predictions about saturated fat.

If we must worry, focus on the carbs in the bun. But when it comes to the fatty frank, or the fatty anything else on vacation, I’d relax.

2. Our car’s planet-destroying A/C: No matter how guilty we feel about our carbon footprint, we don’t have to swelter on the highway to the beach. After doing tests at 65 miles per hour, the the mileage experts at edmunds dot com report that the aerodynamic drag from opening the windows cancels out any fuel savings from turning off the air-conditioner.

3. Forbidden fruits from afar: Do we dare to eat a kiwi? Sure, because more “food miles” do not equal more greenhouse emissions. Food from other countries is often produced and shipped much more efficiently than domestic food, particularly if the local producers are hauling their wares around in small trucks. One study showed that apples shipped from New Zealand to Britain had a smaller carbon footprint than apples grown and sold in Britain.

4. Carcinogenic cellphones: Some prominent brain surgeons made news on Larry King’s show this year with their fears of cellphones, thereby establishing once and for all that epidemiology is not brain surgery, it’s more complicated.

There is no known biological mechanism for the phones’ non-ionizing radiation to cause cancer, and epidemiological studies have failed to find consistent links between cancer and cellphones.

It’s always possible today’s worried doctors will be vindicated, but I’d bet they’ll be remembered more like the promoters of the old cancer-from-power-lines menace, or like James Thurber’s grandmother, who covered up her wall outlets to stop electricity from leaking.

Driving while talking on a phone is a definite risk, but we’d be better off worrying about other cars rather than cancer.

5. Evil plastic bags: Take it from the Environmental Protection Agency: paper bags are not better for the environment than plastic bags. If anything, the evidence from life-cycle analyses favors plastic bags. They require much less energy, and greenhouse emissions, to manufacture, ship and recycle. They generate less air and water pollution. And they take up much less space in landfills.

6. Toxic plastic bottles: For years panels of experts repeatedly approved the use of bisphenol-a, or BPA, which is used in polycarbonate bottles and many other plastic products. Yes, it could be harmful if given in huge doses to rodents, but so can the natural chemicals in countless foods we eat every day. Dose makes the poison.

But this year, after a campaign by a few researchers and activists, one federal panel expressed some concern about BPA in baby bottles. Panic ensued. Even though there was zero evidence of harm to humans, Wal-Mart pulled BPA-containing products from its shelves, and politicians began talking about BPA bans. Some experts fear product recalls that could make this the most expensive health scare in history.

Nalgene has already announced that it will take BPA out of its wonderfully sturdy water bottles. Given the publicity, the company probably had no choice. But my old blue-capped Nalgene bottle, the one with BPA that survived glaciers, jungles and deserts, is still sitting right next to me, filled with drinking water. If they ever try recalling it, they’ll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers.

7. Deadly sharks: Throughout the world last year, there was a grand total of one fatal shark attack (in the South Pacific), according to the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida.

8. The Arctic’s missing ice: The meltdown in the Arctic last summer was bad enough, but this spring there was worse news. A majority of experts expected even more melting this year, and some scientists created a media sensation by predicting that even the North Pole would be ice-free by the end of summer.

So far, though, there’s more ice than at this time last summer, and most experts are no longer expecting a new record.. You can still fret about long-term trends in the Arctic, but you can set aside one worry: This summer it looks as if Santa can still have his drinks on the rocks.

9. The universe’s missing mass: Even if the fate of the universe, steady expansion or cataclysmic collapse, depends on the amount of dark matter that is out there somewhere, you can rest assured that no one blames you for losing it. And most experts doubt this collapse will occur during your vacation.

10. Unmarked wormholes: Could our vacation be interrupted by a sudden plunge into a wormhole? From my limited analysis of space-time theory and the movie “Jumper,” I would have to say that the possibility cannot be eliminated. I would also concede that if the wormhole led to an alternate universe, there’s a good chance our luggage would be lost in transit.

But I still wouldn’t worry about it, in an alternate universe, we might not have to spend the rest of the year fretting about either dark matter or sickly rodents. We might even be able to buy one of those Nalgene bottles.

When you and your family or partner go on vacation what kinds of activities do you enjoy? Do you ever challenge yourselves and go sky diving or scuba diving?

My friend, Sheri, is going to Aruba next week and has just been certified to go scuba diving. I’m so excited for her. She’s someone that will challenge herself and enjoys going outside her comfort zone to try something new.

There’s a beautiful rental villa next door to us with a pool and enough room for an entire family ~ or fraternity ~ to stay for a vacation. The other day I was having fun watching the group of young guys set up a couple of portable beer pong tables on the back porch. Have you ever played beer pong? It wasn’t around in my day…or maybe I just wasn’t around anyone that played. Until my son went to college I’d never heard of the game.

There’s so many different fun things to do when people go on vacation from beer pong, city day tours, and even night tours. A lot of the night tours involve bar crawls so it’s good there’s a designated driver to get you home safely.

Although many people are considering not going on the normal summer vacation this year…we all need a vacation…no matter what kind of shape the economy is in. It’s a time to rejuvenate, reacquaint, and relax.

I’m a firm believer that all couples need alone time together as well as time with their family for vacations, even if for just a weekend.

To help us all, where and how are you spending your summer vacation?

Whether Richard Roth is the first or just the first person I know to sue a major airline, like Delta, for delays, inconvenience, rude behavior, and rebuffing employees…I hope he’s not the last. With what airlines charge (high fuel prices or not) someone needs to get upset. No longer are the skies ‘friendly’. Sure the flight attendants are fairly courteous, depending on their mood.

Sure the pilots are friendly, they’re the ones whose hands our lives are in…but the ground personnel…please.

Over the past 5 years alone, I’ve flown every major carrier that flies through or from the United States. One thing I can always count on is that the service gets worse with each trip.

Baggage handling personnel are the worst. My bags have been lost several times. It doesn’t matter if its in the United States or not. When I try to get information on my bags the people I speak with are rude and unconcerned. Yes, I know they have millions of bags they lose everyday but I don’t care about millions. I care only about mine…and since the baggage handler wouldn’t have a job if we all stopped flying…they should at least have an ounce of concern in their voice. That would at least make me feel a little better, like I counted.

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I was in the insurance business for more than 20 years. Daily, no, hourly, someone would call and complain about their premium going up $1 or $2. It wasn’t millions, no, but it was complaints and they were all the same. Still, it was my job to be kind, courteous and understanding. I spoke to them with the authority that I would do everything in my power to find out why there premium went up and take the time to find a less expensive rate. Sure, I knew the rate went up because of inflation and I knew I couldn’t find a less expensive rate but…I spoke to my client for those few minutes like he was the only client I had. I was on the telephone with the client anyway…why not speak kindly rather than abrasive and uncaring?

Every single passenger understands that there is a chance their luggage will be lost. It’s the law of average. It happens. But when you are given a phone number to call for the airline baggage people and they never answer their phone except between a specific 15 minute interval, what kind of message does this give a traveler?

My son’s and my bags were lost, all of them, going on a non-stop flight to Mexico. It took them 5 days to get our bags and phone call after phone call after phone call. And, hotels charge for phone calls to parties outside the hotel! Add it up! Yes, I was reimbursed, I think a total of $120 for the delay of getting my bags but that $120 does nothing to make up for all the time I had to spend driving over 30 minutes to the airport and back from the airport four times because they didn’t answer their phones, were rude and totally ruined the 5 days I had to spend looking on my own for the baggage (yes, you can do this). Was I able to go to the beach? How could I? I had to call the airlines. Was I able to go to breakfast, lunch or dinner? How could I? I was traveling to and from the airport.

 I’m not surprised in the least that this man is suing. ? To me, $1million is cheap for Delta to get by paying. Maybe this will knock the airline industry back to the era of the ‘friendly skies’. Maybe not.

~ Diana

Remember the friends you had in high school you’d promise to always remember? Remember, the boyfriend that broke your heart and you swore you’d never get over; or the girlfriend you knew you would someday marry?

High school was both fun and tumultuous for me. But, from watching my son in his teen years and other young people, it’s fun and tumultuous for everyone. We all have great memories and hopefully, any bad ones are faded away by now.

A few years ago I started to reconnect with some of my old classmates and old friends that I’d thought about every once in a while. I figured that if they wanted to become friends again, cool. You can never have too many friends and these people were a huge part of my life for many years. As it turns out, I’ve reconnected with many classmates and we’ve become great friends. Some of us live in different countries, have really different lives than we’d planned and some of us still live in Alton, Illinois, my hometown.

My old photography friend, and mentor, is my new photography friend and mentor. He’s sent me photos he’s taken in North Carolina and the Outer Banks that are absolutely stunning. I can only dream to be even half as good as he is. Then, he and I have another classmate just outside Charlotte, North Carolina that is also a photography buff and he goes to the Outer Banks every year for vacation. It is such a small world! And, as you well know, who else lives in Charlotte? My son ;-)  Well, guess what? When I visit my son in a few months…guess where we’re going? Too meet up with my two old classmates (young at heart) and take some awesome photos together! It will be a blast!

If you’ve put off reconnecting with former classmates, going to your class reunion or just making that call to an old friend…don’t. None of us lives forever and some don’t live long enough for us to reconnect.

~ Diana

Speaking of vacations…how many weeks a year to do you vacation? I’ve heard tell that the US has some of the lowest vacation time for employees, while Europe has the greatest. And, on top of this, American’s would rather work through their vacation time than take it. It seems, money is more important that quality of life. Is that somehow not right?

When you take a vacation do you always include your kids or spouse? My hubby and I always took vacations with our kids (3 between us ;-). But, we already had planned and paid for a weekend or full vacation set aside for the two of us a week or so after our family vacation.  We never wanted to have the kids go without, but we also didn’t want to lose sight of each other, as a couple. We’re a family, yes, but we’re also a couple.

My parents never vacationed without us. Of course, they probably would have killed each other if they had. They took us everywhere. It was cool for us but somehow, somewhere they lost site of themselves as a couple and why they fell in love in the first place.  I’m sure that had a lot to do with the times. Still, as great as our children are and as much as we love them…we have to keep hold of ‘the two of us’ and enjoy the other’s company without the “mommy, can I” or “daddy, he hit me”.

So, as you plan your summer vacation…plan for two. You might need to reduce the number of days for each but its the quality of time rather than the quantity, right?

Where’s your next vacation? I’d really like to know.

Hugs, D