Homecoming
This
year has been designated as being 2009 Homecoming Scotland and the
red and the tartan carpets are out in Scotland and the bagpipes
are playing for all Scots abroad and those of Scottish ancestry
who will be making the pilgrimage. For various reasons I will not
be going but I am always there in spirit. Scots are romantic
creatures who never forget where they are from and I have to
include myself in that category. Each and every time I have
returned to Scotland, as the plane descends, the wings bank and I
glimpse the land through layers of cloud I cannot control my
emotions as a big lump forms in my throat and a flood of tears
obscures my vision. This happens every time and there's just
nothing I can do about it. Scotland is indeed a terrible place to
be from. There's just no getting away from it. Scotland hounds the
departed Scot night and day. Now that's not all that bad. Scotland
makes us who we are. If we are enamored by the land that we sprang
from we can also be dedicated to the land and the country that
welcomes us to its shores. As an immigrant with dual nationality
and not being born in the USA I don't feel any less American than
had I been. However I do understand why American citizens of
Japanese descent were interned after Pearl Harbor.