A friend is a cancer survivor, but during the dark days of her chemo therapy when I wasn't sure if we'd lose her or not, one of the things that really kept her going was the promise of our next trip. We'd spend the quiet hours of the long scary nights conjuring up visions of where we'd go when she recovered & she'd always say, If I only have one more trip in me, where do I want to go?

Just the pleasure of dreaming of The Best Last Trip was a fabulous carrot for her & now that she's in recovery, we've enjoyed many salads of carrots, I'm happy to say! After every 6 months clean checkup, we're off & planning another.

Her first choice: Tuscany (we've now been back twice), then London (a theatre week), Cape Breton, San Francisco & Oz (twice here too). Trips are always genteel & civilized with Donna!

Another friend, in her 70's, is planning the coast-to-coast walk in England in 2004, as she's thinking it may be their last hiking/walking trip & it's something they've always wanted to do.

I find myself wondering, if I knew I only had one more trip to take, where would I go? Back to Oz & the rainforest & reef? Tuscany? The Hebrides? Or maybe it's the mindset in planning & doing: making every minute count! Then the where you do it isn't as important as the how you do it.

You can tell I've been homebound a bit too long, but I am beginning to plan my time in Oz Nov/Dec & loving every minute!

Gail Restless in Eugene