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Woe is Me

On 04.16.09, In Mind the Gap, Scotland, By Mike

Woe, Woe is MeI really miss Scotland. I do. My cynical friends from England will read this and think I’ve gone off my meds. But England and Scotland have been wedded for just over 300 years and have predictably grown apart (like the US north and south appear to be doing now!). Truth be told, it’s Scotland that is the self sufficient county. They have great cattle, game, fish, poultry, vegetables, ale, whisky and most importantly, oil. Like England, it is a beautiful country but Scotland has a much more diverse topography. The Highlands are breathtaking as are the Inner and Outer Hebrides, an archipelago of islands off of Scotland’s northwest coast. Visit once and Scotland will get into your bloodstream faster than a dram of Glenmorangie. It’s an amazing place and a place that I haven’t visited in 20 months, the longest dry spell since I visited there for the first time 30+ years ago. Go behind the tab for more…

Why I miss ScotlandSometime ago I wrote a post about the 10 Reasons I Love Scotland. You can read part one, here and part two, here. Today, I’d like to tell you, a year and half removed from the country, what I miss the most about Scotland; why after all this time is it a place I think about every single day.

I have considered this scrupulously. I know what I love about Scotland but the reasons can’t entirely be why the country is so under my skin. No, my rapturous love for Scotland is all about the way of life. One of the things about living in America that we take for granted is that everything is so incredibly convenient. We have huge fridges that store a week’s worth of food. We live in a world where the town center is no longer important; the mall is important or the Super Stop & Shop. In Scotland (and England) the town center is the cog of life. I must admit that when I was younger, the town center was even more important there than it is now. But for better or worse (I say worse), the US way of doing things is rubbing off in the UK. I think there’s something really great about walking to the butcher, the fish monger, the produce store, the cheese and bottle shops to pick up the evening’s meal. You see your neighbors, stop for a pint, share a laugh with your pastor or make golf plans along the way. The town center has a pulse, its own life. I positively LOVE that. In St Andrews, where my home is, I can walk everywhere. If I wanted to go out for dinner, I could walk to 25 restaurants and an equal amount of pubs. If I wanted to see a movie, I could walk to the local cinema where three current movies are on offer. I wouldn’t have to jump in the car and drive to the multiplex where there are 15 films vying for my attention. OK, so I don’t have as much of a choice but is that a terrible thing? I could wait until next week when all three movies change. Even though I live today in the middle of a large city, I long for a simpler life. But I don’t want to live in isolation. A small town, where I can walk to everything, suits me. I can walk to golf, the beach, the botanical gardens, the theater or the cafe. Is that available anywhere in the US? Maybe in a resort town but then you are faced with isolation in winter. Scotland has everything I want.

Yet, I am still here.

Here’s a quick joke for you: