December 1987

(Editor's Note:  Since we were not able to find a copy of the 1987 Christmas newsletter, we're creating an account of the major events of the year as we remember them.)

Although our Christmas card shows the shoreline of our new home at Yacht Cove in Columbia, SC, we didn't actually move in until around June. Before that we did some more traveling.

In December of 1986, Ken's parents graciously took us (and Ken's brother and sister-in-law) along with them on a cruise to the Bahamas, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. After very enjoyable shore excursions in Nassau, San Juan, and Cancun, we got caught in a big storm on the way back to Florida, even causing us to miss a scheduled stop at a private island. Luckily, we made it back safely. What we hadn't realized at the time, however, was that the same storm also affected the NJ coastline, causing flash flooding in Point Pleasant Beach where Sharon's father and his girlfriend had to be rescued through the window of her car as they were trying to escape from her flooding house.

Then in February, we took two more trips. The first one was to New Orleans, where we attended the annual winter conference of the Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE). There we reconnected with many of our former colleagues who were working at American International Schools around the globe.

Our next trip was to Brazil during Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Although we're glad to have had the opportunity to experience this amazing phenomenon, in actuality, it was a mixed blessing to be sure. First of all, while checking in at the airport, we were told that there were no seats available that would allow us to sit next to each other on the plane. That simple realization, indicating our lack of control over our situation, triggered an attack of post traumatic stress for Sharon, making her relive the trauma we had experienced at the Kenya/Tanzania border the year before, when we had been detained and terrorized by the Tanzanian border officials. In an effort to neutralize the situation, Ken offered a passenger with a seat next to Sharon $200 to switch seats with him -- no dice.  Another passenger, who had the seat next to Ken, heard what was happening and offered to switch seats with Sharon, for no fee at all! What a prince!

While in Rio, we also fell victim to a clever pick-pocket on a bus. Then, after another crazy bus driver almost ran us off a cliff,  we pulled the "stop cord."  Amazingly, he responded to that, and we got off.  However, as Ken would be happy to tell you, it was all worthwhile just to see those topless beauties on Ipanema Beach. Aahhh!

With our planned travel now in the rear view window, we settled into our new home, ready to get down to business -- Ken's doctoral program, plus a job for Sharon (to help pay the bills). After Sharon began work as a school librarian at a local elementary school, however, it soon became obvious that her battle with PTSD was not yet over. Thanks to the assistance of a good counselor at the University of South Carolina, plus the empathetic attitude of the head of personnel in the public school district, Sharon was allowed to resign with no blemish on her record (even offered a job if and when she was ready to return!). Supportive friends at the College of Education then hired Sharon to assist them with their accreditation report. This proved to be a good bridge back to normalcy, as well as an opportunity to end the year on a positive note once again.