dreams

                                                          a dream comes true...

               at eight years old, or maybe nine... certainly before ten, i dreamed of going to scotland

                      to a little village called tillicoultry, where somewhere around ninety-five years go,

                                                           my great-grandparents lived

   

                               at the foot of the ochil hills, nine miles east of stirling

                                               yesterday I walked it's streets

                                  a small little place that has loomed large in my mind

we wandered about, looking for the creek, or perhaps "burn" is the word i should be using

made my way to upper mill street, where I think at one time or another, very far back, 

even more distant relatives made their home - the house they lived in is gone now, replaced with another, but it was enough to just be in the area, to trod the streets and look on their hills

   rather than finding family homes, i contented myself with taking pictures of houses i liked

       and i knew this was "my place" when I stumbled across this sign outside of a pub...

                                                               love it!

                                   we also took time to visit the wallace monument

   

     

                                          william wallace, of braveheart fame

                                         the monument stands high on the hills, 

                    overlooking the ancient city of stirling, and it's surrounding fields

                               

   

                                                    scotland's freedom hero 

                           you can climb to the top of the monument, all 246 steps...

                           i didn't even get half-way up before i started feeling dizzy,

 the stairs being of the typical castle variety: rising steep and narrow, twisting round and round,                                  

                    with small slits that allow the wind to whistle and swirl all around

many deep breaths and some much-needed coaxing and support from marc helped me make it      

     all the way - can't truthfully say i enjoyed the view from the top but i was thrilled i made it

                                  freedom for scotland and it's people was his dream

                    climbing his monument seemed a fitting way to honour that dream

                                                        so, so, so glad i did it

                                                      dreams never forgotten

"i've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they've gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the colour of my mind."

                                              - emily bronte, wuthering heights