About ten years ago I joined my husband on a trip to the Greek Island of Rhodes where he was participating in a scientific convention. After a day of indoor lectures and meetings I suggested we go for a swim in the still warm waters of the Aegean Sea. It was close to dusk as we arrived at the beach. I kicked off my flip flops but did not remove my glasses so I could negotiate the terrain and see clearly. I was knee high in water when a wave knocked me down and off came my glasses. Instant panic! I called to my husband for help. He came to my assistance only to be knocked down by another wave and loose his glasses as well. We did not know whether to laugh or cry. After twenty minutes of fruitless searching we returned to the hotel in defeat and wondering how we could function without our glasses. My glasses were mainly for distance and his for reading. We spent the next few hours calling home and to doctor’s offices to get copies of our prescriptions faxed. Luckily the time difference was on our side and miraculously we had our prescriptions at evenings end. In the morning we were waiting for the local optician to open his shop. Where were grateful he understood English as we begged him to have our new glasses ready in four hours when we were due to embark on a sailing trip. He said he would try. Later that afternoon, sporting new, if imperfect glasses, we were just happy to be able to see – never mind the cost, the inconvenience and the stress we were just happy to get our vision back!