I know, I know. I went to Ireland 4 months ago. Now is hardly the time to writing about it. But I didn't want to write about Ireland when it was the appropriate time, because I'm fussy like that. And now that an appropriate blog post would be Isaac and hurricanes and Katrina and New Orleans and my whole maudlin opinion on such topics, I find myself exhausted at the idea of having to write about that when everyone's already so sick of hearing about such things.
So, forgive me for my tardiness, but I'm actually going to write about Ireland now. And by "write about", I'm going to transcribe my notebook entries while in that gorgeous country. I was so determined to writewritewrite about Ireland, and I didn't, until the last couple of days. What could I say about everything? What words could I possibly choose to describe what I was experiencing?
In the end, I chose to write about the people. Here's what I finally poured out through my pen:
May 30, 2012
I think I've been avoiding writing about Ireland. It's true that we've been going fairly non-stop, and in our down periods, we SLEEP, but there's just so much to say that the idea of sitting down to journal about it is overwhelming. I wanted so badly to find inspiration here that I've been putting off writing in case I didn't find what I wanted.
Everything is beautiful. Everyone is beautiful.
That's the summary of what I'm taking away from this experience. The land, the people, the interactions, everything-- beauty.
Claire O'Presco-- young woman who grew up working in Ireland's bogs with her great-uncle. If she was good, she got to go inside and watch the weaving. Graduated with a BA in textile arts. Reassembled a 100-year old loom and now works as an artist making scarves, bags, stuffed animals, etc. Loves her job. All animals she makes have their "own little personalities." Never wastes a scrap of wool. So loving. Close-cropped asymmetrical hair, dyed, reddish-purple-brown, fuzzy untweezed eyebrows, glasses. Beautiful.
Eugene-- OPW worker at Boyle Abbey- closes gates at 5:15 but doesn't leave until 6. White hair, white beard, blue-blue eyes, small gold glasses. No wedding ring. Loves the Abbey. Loves it so much. Wonders about what the builders were thinking. Let us buy 4 postcards for just 1 euro (undercharged). Climbed Croagh Patrick with a blind man. He and the guide held onto the stick at one end, while the blind man held onto the other end. Short, a little stout, like a medium Santa. Beautiful.
Man at Croagh Patrick-- climbs it every day before work. Gets up early to make his climb. Best time: 1 hour 15 minutes. Bleach-blonde hair, no shirt, running shorts. Crazy. Beautiful.
Woman in Roscommon gift shop-- very soft-spoken. Short blondish hair in a gentle bob around her wrinkly face. Glasses. Sat on a stool behind register and talked to us. Wanted to know if she could climb Croagh Patrick at age 68. I don't know if we convinced her or not. Seemed lonely not in life, but behind that counter. Ended our conversation with "God bless." Beautiful.
Man with Famine cottages-- tall. Strawberry blonde hair. Gentle eyes and soft voice. Must have known Gaelic-- stumbled in English. Heavy Irish accent. Was sitting in truck with border collies when we approached. Left truck to sell us tickets (to see the cottages) from a small ticket booth a foot next to his truck. Had hand-drawn maps and info for us. Stayed in his truck while we looked and learned. Gave us food for his animals. No one in Ireland talks about the Famine-- small miracle he kept those cottages on his land for viewing purposes. When we came back, he genuinely wanted to know if we thought it was worth the price he charged us (only 2 euros/ticket). We explained how sad it was but how amazing it was to see it. He seemed proud to have been able to show and share his cottages. Beautiful.
Thomas Christopher Coyne-- artist, craftsman, artisan-- sitting at a small table outside of ancient Celtic tomb (Poulnebrone). Red cheeks from sitting in sun all day, white rock dust scuffed across under his eyes. Bright eyes. Rough working apron, tunic with hood pulled up over head to protect from sun. Rough, sure, gentle, strong hands. Deftly handled the pewter. Interesting-- making money, but did not seem to be a tourist scam. Truly, truly loved what he was doing. Had several books at his little table. All very well-loved. Showed us his book that defined what trees the Celtic letters stood for and what they meant/represented. This book was so loved. It was a friend. He handled it beautifully. Great accent, great conversationalist. Must enjoy both talking to people and the occasional solitude of his work. Kind soul. Beautiful.
Rory-- OPW worker at New Grange. Tallish, brownish hair. Blue eyes. Baby face, round owl face. Nice accent. Great sense of humor. Looks young but must be in early 30s. Has held OPW job for 8 years. Constantly reading/doing research on monument and era. Doesn't like math/science but appreciates the subjects. Has experienced winter solstice at New Grange TWICE-- "very humbling experience." Prefers idea of birth/death/rebirth for Neolithic entrance stone drawings-- thinks it the "nicest of the theories." Loves what he does. Curious. Good with people. Friendly. Funny. Beautiful!
Pablo-- flight attendant on our 8 hour flight from Ireland to Atlanta. Very funny! Stays in great humor. Short, happy, pepper hair and happy eyes. Uniform, but has an extra something to it-- happiness/satisfaction in career choice? Lovely accent. Jokes with passengers and other flight attendants. Jokingly asked me if I was writing about him. I smiled and said yes; he thought I was joking, but I am. Very kindly. Truly cares. Makes connections, I think. Rare kind of person. Beautiful.
...
I dislike the fact that I will probably never know if the 68 year old woman will climb Croagh Patrick. I think that will be on my list of questions to ask God when I die.
There are 7 billion stories to share and tell, and I can't seem to imagine even just one of them. Maybe I should travel the world and just collect stories and retell them...
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