He Said

Living the dream on a shoestring. Retirement was supposed to be owning our home as well as a humble vacation home. We always dreamed of a small flat in Scotland where I could indulge my links golf addiction and we could spend our summers in splendid isolation in the Highlands where there are more sheep than people. But then President Shrub decided to spend billions a day on destruction, which in my mind turned the economy into the dumper and made our life savings disappear into the black hole of Enron and Goldman Sachs. I will always believe that had our country chosen to invest in building our own country rather than destroying another, things would have been vastly different. So I blame President Shrub for our fall, but also credit him with giving us the strength to take a leap of faith. So, armed with a teacher's retirement pension and a flexible wife we chose to pursue our dream, though not as grandly as once hoped. We are off in April to the Scottish Highlands, flat rented, golf club joined and plans being made.

The Royal Burg of Dornoch is a small village of about 3,000 folks and a world class golf course. The other claim to fame was that Madonna had her child baptised in the Cathedral. From the first visit Dornoch has always tugged at me. The village is one of picture postcards, solid stone houses and neatly tended gardens. The sea near by and surrounded by the beautiful hills of heather and whins has made Dornoch one of my favorite spots in the world. You can almost feel your blood pressure drop as you ease into the rhythm of a different time and place.