A “Doable” Trip
Why not go to Scotland?

by Dee A. Driscoll, ’98 BUS

It was 1998 and after 18 years of attending college (I was a single parent and always had to work full time, so it took me longer than most students) I was FINALLY getting ready to graduate when a friend, fellow student, and co-worker said, "Let's go to Scotland for the summer history program."

Yeah, right. As though I could afford (or GET) a summer off work in addition to all of the costs associated with traveling to Scotland. She kept saying "This is DOABLE." OK, let's prove her wrong. Well, hmmm... My boss said yes. Another co-worker said she'd work for me. A favorite professor wrote a letter of recommendation. My husband said he'd pay the household bills for the summer. I got a birth certificate in time, which meant I could apply for my passport. Uh oh! This is DOABLE!

Off we go to Aberdeen, Scotland, for two WONDERFUL, TERRIFIC classes in history with Professor Margaret Connell-Szasz. I was 53 years old and living in a dorm for the first time in my life (can you imagine that culture shock?). I was close in age to the professor. We (the students) explored and learned. We ate and walked. We studied and watched rainbows. I looked in the women's faces and could see my mother and hear phrases my grandmother used in eastern Kentucky. The names were on my genealogy list. I felt at home. I could go on and on and on. I must admit that when we returned from this "doable" feat, I was depressed for months. I missed Scotland. I missed the culture. I missed school. Alistair MacLeod, in his book Island, summed it up in the simple phrase "...inarticulate loneliness..." At least I received graduate-level credit for the courses!

I had a vest made from the tartan I brought home. I go to Highland Games. I cry when I hear bagpipes. My life was changed forever from a chance comment and a conviction that this is "doable!" 

In 2001 I visited Nova Scotia (New Scotland) and yes, it's as beautiful as the photos, and it's better than nothing.

P.S.—Why haven't I gone back to school or to Scotland? In 2001 my mother became a victim of Alzheimer's and I return to Kentucky several times each year to see her. But I plan to retire in 2008 and maybe...