As philosophical as I can get on vacation

You know that old saying that "I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes until I met someone who had no feet?" I've never quite understood it -- is seeing someone else's misfortune supposed to make me grateful that I, at least, am okay? Am I supposed to be relieved? Gleeful? Laughing like hell?

My only complaint about our vacation was that I had to wear my brace and running shoes, while all the other women had on either glittery flip-flops or clear plastic sandals with spike heels. I couldn't walk easily on sand either barefooted or in my Birks, while if I wore the brace and running shoes I got sand rubbing against my feet. Besides, even to wade I had to take off the whole shebang.

Then I saw the amputee. She seemed to manage fine, either wearing her prosthesis or crutching her way around. Her husband saw my brace, thought it was also a prosthesis, and started a conversation. I asked how the prosthesis was working in the sand, and he said, "Well, it was a bit stiff. We think some sand got into the joint, but I got one of the boys to give it a shot of WD-40, and it's fine now."

I didn't get a chance to talk with her because they left that day, but as I look at my reactions, I realize that I didn't feel any kind of relief of happiness in comparing our situations. What I really wanted to do was talk with her and learn some of her secrets of success. How do you walk in sand? What happens when you slip on the off foot? And most of all, do you ever get envious of the women in their spike heels?