Of course, for all our rugged individualism, we're now finding out that homeownership isn't all it's cracked up to be. I, for one, am really happy renting my apartment, because a lot of maintenance and landscaping is done for me, and the amenities that come along with it are simply included in the cost, whether I use them or not. Owners tell me I'm throwing my money away, but it's a matter of perspective, I think.

I think that I learned a lot while viewing "Downton Abbey" and I suppose it's a somewhat faithful perspective on how a large manor house operates. I mean, it's amazing how this one family owns all the land, like a town in itself, with all the help downstairs, plus tenants who work the land; it's a whole economic system in itself. And I can see the benefit in having one owner who does the management, and lets the servants, employees, and tenants worry about things other than the land itself. I think that has benefits.

Now I don't profess to know much about how the feudal systems worked, hundreds of years ago, but I suppose that progress means we don't have fiefdoms anymore (good?) and we don't have oaths of fealty anymore (or do we?) and even though people call me "Sir Knight", I don't ride a horse and I don't rescue damsels in distress or go on crusades.

Perhaps I could purchase an inch of land in Scotland and become a Lord!