Stateside

Wife and I are back safely on this side of the pond after two weeks of traveling in the U.K. and France. We were with two different couples, but all six of us were together only three days in the Cotswolds of England. 

Every time I take a trip like this, I learn new things, or re-learn old things, for example: 

-- When one tries to cut corners to save money, one often gets what one pays for, which on this trip was demonstrated by a rental car abandoned roadside in the Cotswolds, rented from what one might describe as a fly-by-night operation. When I was supposed to be hiking the Cotswold Way, my travel companions and I were dealing with this. But lemonade (or ale, more accurately) was made from lemons as my buddy and I found a splendid little pub in the charming town of Winchcombe to wait things out. 

-- With international travel the way Wife and I do it, making our own way (or the way Wife has planned for us; I could never do it on my own), one must be flexible (see previous reference to abandoned rental car) and expect the unexpected. 100 percent of the time, plans will change. 

-- Wife is an outstanding travel planner. She can drive and navigate, and I am the grateful beneficiary of her skill. 

-- I find the majority of people to be kind and helpful, no matter where they live. That's encouraging. 

-- While Wife and a couple of my friends are capable of driving in a foreign country, including one where driving is done on the side of the road opposite as in the U.S., and roundabouts are the order of the day, I should always be a passenger. I have neither the skill nor the patience, and I am glad I know this about myself. 

-- The people in the U.K. loved their queen! I guess I knew this, but witnessing the outpouring of affection for her, especially in Scotland where she passed away less than 24 hours before we arrived there, was nothing less than awe-inspiring. 

There were more lessons, but these were the main ones that remain top of mind for me. I'll post more about the trip, along with some pictures, in the next few days. 

Travel

Wife and I will be taking a trip we have been planning for quite some time. 

I have longed to return to the Cotswolds, the region of beautiful rolling hills in central-southwest England, since visiting there with Wife and Daughter in 2013. I have also wanted to go to Scotland. 

Wife, since going to northern France in 2016, has wanted to take me there, especially to Normandy. 

We will board a plane with our ultimate destination being all of the above. 

We will fly into Edinburgh and get on a train bound for St. Andrews, where we'll join another couple from here who will be a day ahead of us. We'll be in Scotland for about six days before we take a short flight to Birmingham, where we'll rent a car and make the drive to Stow-on-the-Wold, which will be our home base the few days we are in the Cotswolds, with our time there ending with a day trip to Oxford. 

Another couple will join us in Stow and will stay with Wife and me the remainder of our trip. The first couple, the one we will join in St. Andrews, will part company with us after our last day in the Cotswolds, and go to Ireland. 

The remaining four of us will take the Eurostar across the England Channel to Paris and head north.  

As usual, Wife has planned this excursion. I, along with the ones joining us, will be the beneficiary of her organizational skills. 

I'll look forward to sharing some pictures at a later date. 

And in the next 30 days or so, I hope to be making an announcement about my future column writing and blog writing. The newspaper column is very likely coming to an end, but I hope to continue it in another format, possibly combining it with the content of this blog. Still looking into all of that. 

Not very mixed feelings

I hinted yesterday I would like to comment on the executive order issued by President Biden that gives certain student loan borrowers up to $10,000 in debt forgiveness (for individual borrowers who make up to $125,000 and married couples who make less than $250,000 annually). 

Not surprisingly, strong opinions have been voiced. What has been surprising, at least to me, is that opposition has come not only from Biden's Republican opponents, but also from his own party. 

Of course, there are those who think this is great news. There are some who don't think the president went far enough and would have been happier if the forgiveness had been more in the 50K neighborhood. 

As for me, I think it was well-meaning but poorly executed. 

First, the fundamental unfairness of it sticks in my craw. What about those of us who did not borrow money for ourselves or our children to go to school? And what about the ones who did, but have already responsibly paid it back? 

The unfairness goes beyond that. I heard a good example yesterday of the lawn guy who does not have a college degree but makes a decent living. Through his taxes he is now responsible for repayment of the loan for the guy or gal whose lawn he cuts. Is that a form of income inequality? 

And I know, I know, life is not fair. It's something every parent has likely said at one time or another. 

But I have a fundamental problem with giving ten thousand dollars to people who signed promissory notes saying they would repay that money. 

More important than that, this plan fails to address the basic problem, which is the cost of higher education. It has gotten completely out of hand, and colleges and university officials make an assumption that students are going to get loans, so what they charge has become ridiculous. They should have to bear some responsibility for this "crisis."

I have no problem with reducing debt for those who render some type of service in return. And I have some sympathy for those who got sucked into for-profit "career college" scams and now have thousands of dollars to pay back for worthless pieces of paper (even though those folks also signed promissory notes and should have understood that money would have to be paid back). 

But again, handing out money to borrowers who knew what they were doing, and putting that responsibility on taxpayers? Sorry, but not sorry. I can't go along with that.