Doug and I just completed an eight day vacation together, alone.  Don't get me wrong, Doug and I travel a lot, but we are usually traveling with friends or family or visiting friends and family.  Every now and then a side trip for a day,  But for us to plan a Hawaiian cruise, just the two of us, for eight days, in a small cabin.....well that seemed a little scary. 

We had been contemplating, as many couples do in semi-retirement,  if we shared any interest now.  When we met we had common ground of being divorced with children to raise.  We were both wrapped up in similar careers with much to talk about when we got home.  This kept us busy for the first 10 years or so.  Then the differences crept in. 

Doug loves living in the large cabin we built overlooking Lake Burton and the Smokey Mountains.  He loves the fact he can go days with only his TV to listen to and Luke the dog to listen to him. He loves that it is twelve miles to the nearest small town.  Even if I am there, we can get lost in the house and only see each other at meals and bedtime.
 
I on the other hand love my condo on Piedmont Park.  I walk to restaurants, the bank, the theater and grocery stores. Caroline lives at the condo and Grace works down the street.  Alyson and Andy live minutes away with my beautiful granddaughters.  Tracey even pops into town every now and then on a business trip.  There are thousands of restaurants to meet up with my many friends and always new acquaintances to make. 

Doug and I don't agree on politics, news stations or movies to see.  I like active entertainment, he prefers passive watching.

So you can see why it was a bit daunting for both of us to face the dilemma of entertaining each other for days, on a boat, at sea......

To make matters worse, Doug discovered that the only TV on the boat appeared to be a Japanese movie channel and constant reruns of the wonders of Norwegian Cruise Lines.  The internet was very slow and cost 75 cents a minute.  What was a couple to do?

Doing Maui by Segway

Touring McKinsey State Park on the Big Island

Zip-lines through the tree top of Kauai

Walking the newest beach in the world created by lava flows on the island of Hawaii

Oh yes, we did some of this too!

 

With a heavy heart!

It has been almost a week and I can't shake the sadness that has taken over since I heard the verdict from the Trayvon Martin trial.  Oh yes, I have heard all the legal discussion as to how this was the only verdict that could have been reached, but that doesn't help.  My Dad always told me that being an adult was being responsible for your actions.  As a child you have a little leeway, but as an adult, you are fully in charge of your actions.

There was only one adult.  And the consequences of his actions caused the death of a child.

I have heard arguments that Trayvon wearing a hoodie was somewhat responsible for his demise. Is that not the same argument that has been used for years in defense of rapist....that the female was dressed provocatively?

People want to say it was not a question of race, but would the same thing have happened on a rainy night if a white 17 year old had been walking down the sidewalk with a sweatshirt on and the hood over his head?  Would Zimmerman have called the operator to report his suspicions and then stalked the child with his gun?  I know that statically black teenagers are more than 7 times as likely to commit a crime as a white teenager.  But there were no crimes reported that evening.

I can't understand the verdict or even more importantly I can't accept what this means.  
I can't accept people that  want to argue the fairness of the verdict.  I will not accept this. We can't accept this!