Aren't we the fortunate ones? The most we ever have to complain about is the discomfort that unaccommodating weather brings to our lives, for the most part. Nature, we so often complain, unfairly targets our northern climate, and us by default, with too much cold, too much wind, too much snow. That's the winter season, excessively prolonged, we whine, in Canada. And in the summer, there's too much heat and humidity, and the inconvenience of the sun blasting us in its oven, with wide open blue skies, lovely to behold, but sending us in search of shade relief.

If we have an earthquake episode, it's invariably mild. Although we have had exposure to what nature -- when she's really serious about discomfiting us personally is capable of, through a shocking tremblor that passed through our area a few years back when an unbelievable roar like a freight train at close range alerted us that something was happening, backed up by the ground swaying in a manner we hadn't experienced since leaving Japan -- what happened here was nothing like the tremblor that just hit Nepal.

Ah, you've discerned that I'm complaining about our propensity to complain.And what brought that to mind? A little bit of introspection, about how fortunate we are in every aspect of our lives. Above all, that my husband and I, now approaching the 60th anniversary of our marriage in a month's time, have had a most fortuitous friendship with Dame Fortune.

Yesterday, my husband idly glanced at a part of the newspaper he never takes the trouble to look at. And then he read aloud to me a number of classified ads. They caused us both amazement and amusement, and later, a deeper glance at ourselves. And this is what a few of them read as: Under 'Personals" and "Companions" these were a few texts:

• Widow, classy lady, 60. Looking for classy gentleman 60 - 75 for serious relationship. Will only answer replies with recent photo.
• Man, 72, retired, bilingual professional. Seeks woman. Same age to discuss current affairs and human sciences via meetings, phone, internet in friendship.
• Lady 70s, well established. Looking for gentleman friend. Straight only.