Patrick Dawson, 67, always dreamed of taking a riverboat cruise on the Amazon River. His dream finally came true, thanks, in part, to the reverse mortgage he got in January 1997.

Mr. Dawson retired at age 61, after teaching industrial arts at Lane Technical High School for 20 years. Before that, he was a real estate appraiser and ironworker. "I helped build bridges and high rises," he said.

Once retired, Mr. Dawson quickly discovered the modest $1,000-a-month pension he received wasn't going to be easy to live on. Because he retired at an early age, Mr. Dawson wasn't yet receiving Social Security either. Yet he was still paying a monthly mortgage totaling some $647, which didn't leave much left over for food and other essentials. "I was on food stamps at one point," he said.

Two years after retiring, in late 1996, Mr. Dawson happened to see a newspaper ad announcing an upcoming public meeting on reverse mortgages that was to be held near his home. Curious, he went to the meeting, where he met Carolyn Hummel, a reverse mortgage specialist.

Shortly thereafter, on January 24, 1997, Mr. Dawson closed on a reverse mortgage. As collateral, Mr. Dawson used his single-story "Chicago bungalow" - appraised at $106,000 - containing two-bedrooms, a living room/dining room, and one bath that was built in 1932.

To close the deal, Mr. Dawson had to pay ComCor an additional $20,000 cash out his own savings because he still owed roughly $56,342 on his first mortgage. But once the first mortgage was entirely paid off, Mr. Dawson no longer has to worry about making a monthly payment ever again.

This allowed him to start saving money for fun things, like the Amazon River trip. "It was a seven day cruise, there were 15 of us, and it was wonderful," he added. "I spent time looking at all the birds, the group of us counted 116 different species, and other forms of wildlife, including monkeys."

Here's an interesting fact: "The Amazon, because of all the rain fall, rises 28 feet every year," he added. "When it eventually recedes, the natives are left with very fertile ground which they use to plant their corn, rice, and other things." In addition to the Amazon River excursion, Mr. Dawson has taken some classes through Elderhostel, a non-profit corporation that schedules short-term educational programs, generally one week in length, for persons 55 and older.

"The first course I took through Elderhostel was on Appalachian heritage," he added. "I traveled to a small college in Kentucky for five days. Very interesting. I've taken other courses on Scottish heritage - that was in Kentucky too - and another on the environment, which was hosted at Lake Tahoe."

In reflecting back on the past few years, Mr. Dawson said he was thankful he got a reverse mortgage. "I really needed that reverse mortgage to stay alive," he said.