Due to a combination of desire for legal equality and the vagaries of economic change, in today's society it has become culturally acceptable for a woman to choose any number of roles -- except one. It is still socially questionable to choose to be childless.

Color was everywhere. Bright, vibrant reds and canary yellows, vivid greens and intense purples, fiery oranges and royal blues. Headwraps of the same fabric matched the dresses. In a dry dusty country, where rain fell only a few weeks each year, the women of all ages were the flowers.

I often wondered why mythic people sometimes come to disaster. Judy Garland and Elvis Presley immediately come to mind. Larger than life, for sure. Blessed with so much that so many of us think we want on the material level, and lit from within in transcendent moments with entrancing beauty and talent that transfixed us good. What happened?