Melinda the Intrepid

          Going to Scotland was a magical, often funny adventure.  But what a culture shock! Overlooking Dunoon, Argyll, Scotland.  Photo courtesy of Huntersquay.net.  See more photos at http://jane-firthofclyde.blogspot.com/               There is a place that draws me back to the misty moors, the purple heather,  the craggy but warm-hearted people, the deep blue lochs; to the sweetness of what is SCOTLAND :  the town of DUNOON, in Argyll, near the Firth of Clyde. I left my heart there over 40 years ago.              Nestled along the shores of the crystal blue Holy Loch, surrounded by gently rolling, green mountains, caressed by the cool highland breezes, Dunoon lay as it always had, for three centuries or maybe more.   It was not a spectacular place, a bustling b...

         My wacky parents put on a dinner party to celebrate the completion of their new house.  But things couldn't have gone more wrong... The home my folks built near Asheville, NC, in the late 50s -early 60s. " Scene of the crime".     Here is the funniest of all my family stories that we tell. My Mom, the Dictator.     My father was an Army man.  After serving for 35 years, both in World War l and ll, he retired as a Colonel.  My Mom, on the other hand, was the “GENERAL.”  At least of our home .  She was a fanatic, a true dictator.   My dear mother was a clean freak, especially when it came to food.  I am not talking here about a normal person.  Her battlefield was our fridge.  If a tasty leftover casserole, a remaining bit of creamy fruit salad, or a luscious piece of extra meat was in there, it didn’t survive long under my Mom’s wat...