I have been doing a lot of swimming this summer—the Adriatic, the Atlantic, Newfound Lake in New Hampshire and our grandchildren's swim-club pool. I decided that the time had come for a new bathing suit.

I'm here to tell you that nothing makes you feel worse about your over-seventy body than trying on bathing suits. Fitting room lights are designed to spotlight flaws, especially when aided by three-way mirrors. There is no escape.

I wear a size six so I gathered an armful of size six bathing suits and loaded them into a dressing room. The first one was so small, I thought it was mis-marked. But after three "mis-marked," bathing suits, I got dressed and repeated the process with size eights and then again with size tens. Alas, I need a size twelve for my long-waisted body.

Finally, I found one that fit me that I could live with.

I told the sales lady, "The torture is over."