Faraway Places

Remember the song: "Those faraway places with strange sounding names are calling, calling me"? Who would have thought it? Certainly not the little boy who first heard that song a long time a go in the village. "I start getting restless whenever I hear the whistle of the train; I pray for the day when I get on my way to see all those castles in Spain."

Spain, here we come. I can't believe it. We are heading for Spain for two weeks. This our treat for our 40th wedding anniversary. Accompanied by our guide and interpreter, Tasha, we should be there in a couple of days. Wow! Sure, lots of people travel to Southern Spain. But I never thought that I would be one of those people. Actually, for the past two years I have been promising myself and Ruth that we would go to Greece on this banner year. When I couldn't arrange for Greece, Spain came up. Disappointed? You're kidding? Who knows, depending how Spain works out it may be Greece next year, and Italy the next or vice-versa.

Someone noted to me the other day, "you sure do get around!" I guess we do. We love travel. But after my episode of "sudden death" last year, we have learned we can't count on tomorrow. Waiting for that "someday" is not an option. This is the moment. As my friend Dr. Burns often mentions, "carpe diem!" "Sieze the day." For who knows the day or the hour?

In any case, this is a wonderful adventure for us. All those castles! Wow! And the flamenco dancers, the historic architecture left by Islamic culture, and Roman culture. The beautiful Sierra Nevadas! Tasha is even more excited than we are. In her Junior Year abroad she spent six months at the University of Granada. She has contacted the house mother with whom she stayed back then and we will be spending a day or two in Granada. But I am rambling.

A long way from Syne Village? Maybe not quite as long as it seems. The dreams that are born in us when we are young often become reality when we are older, if we dare and care to make them come true. And for this villager, this is a dream come true!