Life Is Good

London Visit

2009-05-17T03:05:00.000-07:00

Part of the itinerary of Tom and Judy’s recent visit was a trip to London. I was really anxious for them to meet my extended London family and although they had previously spoken, through the medium of telephone and webcam, to my sister and my niece Maria. I knew that meeting all the family face to face would be a nice experience for them. Well that is partly true. In reality, I guess I just wanted to show off this branch of the family of whom I am extremely proud.

The start of our London trip - click to play

I have other family members living outside London that I would have loved for them to meet also and spend time with but, unfortunately, as the duration of our visit was only five days, time wasn’t on our side and it was impossible to get to see everyone. Next time we visit the UK, I hope we will have more time on our hands and that it will be possible to get to see everyone. I have to warn Tom and Judy, there is long a list of my family members lining up who have yet to meet them and who cannot be disappointed, so they had better be prepared for many more trips to Ireland and the UK before they finally get to meet everyone.

Our London trip began on 12 March with a flight on Ryanair from Shannon airport where we were deposited by my good friend Pat Whelan to catch our flight for London Gatwick which was due to depart at 1.05pm and arrive at 2.30pm. We arrived on time and were met by my sister Peggy and my niece Maria.

We had chosen some sights around London that we wanted Tom and Judy to see. The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, of course, is always high on the list for any visitor to London and, with my sister and niece as our very efficient guides, we set out for there on the day after our arrival. It was a spectacular event and a great opportunity to get some nice videos and pictures. Unfortunately, the day was marred by a very unfortunate accident which Judy suffered when she was knocked over by a lady pushing a baby buggy who was more interested in talking to her friend than paying attention to where she was going.

Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace

Panoramic view of Queen Victoria Memorial and plaza

Part of the Changing Of The Guard cermony

Judy’s accident was an unfortunate occurrence and one that affected all of us deeply, but she carried on bravely and despite the fact that she was in considerable pain throughout the remainder of the visit, we managed to get in quite a bit of sightseeing.

No trip to London can be complete without taking a flight on the London wheel. My grandniece Louise, my niece Maria, Judy and Tom during our flight on the wheel

View of London from the top of the wheel

Maria and Louise enjoying the flight on the wheel

Judy celebrated her birthday during our London visit. Following are some pictures taken at a family gathering to celebrate the event.

Judy's birthday cards

My nieces Margareth, Helen, nephew John and niece Maria

My sister, Peggy with granddaughters Emily, Georgia and Alanna

Tracy and John

Helen and Keith

Everyone wants the last piece

Travelling to the USA

2009-04-06T02:42:00.000-07:00

I have recently booked my next flight to the USA and have received my travel authorisation. Would-be travellers to the USA from countries that are included in the Visa Waiver Programme, which allows travellers to apply to go to the USA for a period of 90 days without a visa, should be aware of new regulations which came into force on 12 January 2009.

Beginning January 12, 2009, eligible citizens or nationals from all Visa Waiver Program countries must obtain approval via the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) prior to travelling to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.

I’m doing this post to advise that in the course of making my own application, I found various sites offering to facilitate application for this authorisation at a cost of some €39.00 or thereabouts. Please be advised that all information pertaining to (ESTA) is a free service which can be assessed here at the official USA Gov. Homeland Security Web Site and does not bear a cost.

I hope this information is of help to you.

Tom and Judy's Visit To Ireland

2009-03-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

Although very tired and suffering from jet lag, Judy and Tom are now back home in Minneapolis and I am trying to come to terms with the emptiness and solitude of the house.

When I spoke to Judy yesterday, she asked me what my feelings were when I arrived home after leaving them at Dublin Airport on Wednesday. I had to think for a moment to find the answer, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks, that the first thing I noticed as I went about the house was the neatness and tidiness of everyplace. Don’t get me wrong, I like to keep a tidy ship and keep the house in a way that it is always presentable in case someone unexpectedly drops in, but this was different. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Tom’s computer should have been on the floor over by his chair with his red folder of papers close by. Judy’s computer and other personal stuff should have been on the table that she asked me to buy for her on the first day of their visit so that she would have someplace to leave her things beside her seat. That was a fun day, the day the three of us went out to shop for the table. She said a box would do. I couldn’t find a box, so in the end we settled for a little locker-type table with three drawers that has now become a beautiful addition to my sitting room. It has a nice table lamp on top that Judy decided was needed (and which she and Tom bought for me) to compliment the table and transform that corner of the room and give it a nice pleasant appearance. I think it looks much better than the box that she said would do.

Judy enjoying her new table

Now as I surveyed the room everything was too neat and tidy. The cushions were neatly arranged on the settee where Judy sat. It was as if no trace of them remained except a peanut M and M packet containing a few M and M’s that Judy, by some great means of personal sacrifice, had managed to leave for me.

Well now that I’m getting back to being alone again, I can reflect on the great times we had during Tom and Judy’s visit. Highlights of the visit? There were many and I couldn’t possibly pick out one instance above the rest that I could say was a real highlight of their visit. Their attendance at the 10th Anniversary Mass for my late wife, Ann, and meeting all my immediate family there and then having lunch afterwards with those of the family that could attend was certainly a very important event for me. I was so proud to have them there and so proud of my family that welcomed them with open arms to this very solemn event that marked the passing of a dearly beloved wife, mother, and grandmother.

Judy is always a hit with the young people. Here she pictured at our lunch after the anniversary mass enjoying the company of my granddaughter Deirdre (on right) and Deirdre's Friend Lisa.

Judy fulfilling a promise to our dear friend Maryzona that she would drink a glass of Guinness for her in Ireland. I'm not sure if she got to the end of it but the thought was there Maryzona. By this expression she is wishing you the very best of health - as we all are - and a very speedy recovery. You were not forgotten in Ireland !!

A visit to Dundrum in South Tipperary to meet my 3 sisters and my brother in law, Neil, is always something to look forward to. My sister Freddie’s welcome home party is always a very entertaining event. If you qualify for one of those welcome home or departure parties, you are truly well-ensconced as a member of the family. On this visit which took place on Monday 9 we arrived early and first of all had a nice visit and lunch with my sister Kathleen and Neil before joining the rest of the family at Freddie’s to finish off the day. On this occasion too Tom and Judy met my brother, Jim, for the first time and that was nice.

Judy and Tom relaxes at my sister's house in Dundrum

That night we stayed overnight at my sisters and had a nice relaxing day next day before heading home for Nenagh to prepare for our trip to London on the Thursday.
I will tell you more about that in my next post.

Please stay tuned......

Old Family Pictures

2008-12-21T05:58:00.000-08:00

On a recent visit to my family in Dundrum, I acquired a box of old family photographs from my sister. I immediately decided that I just couldn’t look at those photographs and return them to the box from whence they came to be forgotten about for another half a century.

I have never known my grandparents - being the youngest member of the family, they had unfortunately departed this life before I came on the scene. It’s unfortunate too that only one picture of a grandparent exists – that of my maternal grandmother. I imagine in those bygone days, picture taking was not a priority and would only be undertaken on special occasions when everyone was dressed up in their best attire. Any pictures of my ancestors that might once have existed have long since disappeared.

With this in mind, I decided I would undertake the task of scanning all the pictures to the computer, cleaning them up and putting them into an album to preserve them for future generations so that at least they will be able to look back in time to come and see most of those that went before them.

I approached this labour of love with zest and enthusiasm. After about two weeks however, I’m afraid most of this enthusiasm began to wear off and there were times when I wondered what moment of weakness compelled me to undertake this onerous task. Well. I’m glad to say I persevered to the end and now the pictures are printed off and enclosed in some nice bound albums that I have distributed amongst different members of the family.

Below is a sample of some of the pictures that I hope you will find interesting.

One of my three aunts that emigrated to the USA in the early1920's

Another one of my American aunts. This picture was in very bad shape. Most of the face was damaged but with Judy's help we managed to restore it to this stage.

An early picture of my mother and father. The little girl in the picture is their first born child who is now my eldest sister. The picture appears to have been taken on a St. Patrick's day long long ago. If you look carefully, you will see the sprigs of shamrock on my mother and sister's dress. The two ladies pictured above are my mother's sisters.

Mother and daughter - my mother and my grandmother

I definitely had more hair in this picture than I do now.

Family Gathering

2008-11-24T06:14:00.000-08:00

There now appears to be a set precedent in my family of origin, which dictates that if one of us is about to leave on a trip to some faraway place, my eldest sister, who loves to entertain, will arrange a family gathering at her home in Dundrum prior to the departure of the would be traveller.

Those gatherings also extend, of course, to the return home of the person. The most recent one took place on Wednesday night last to celebrate her own return from the Holy Land to where she had gone on a ten day pilgrimage with her local church group.

We were treated to a beautiful meal and a slide show of the brilliant pictures she captured while she was there. My sister, although very modernised, still hasn’t succumbed to the digital camera era. She prefers to take pictures and slides with her trusty film camera as she maintains this method of photography calls for more expertise than the point and shoot convenience of the digital camera.

Well we had a great time and I’m looking forward to the next gathering which I expect will take place to celebrate Judy and Tom’s arrival next March – I’m really looking forward to that one.

My journey home to Nenagh took me past the 13th Century Cistercian Abbey at Holy Cross. The Abbey, which is bathed in flood lights, afforded me an opportunity to get some nice pictures of this magnificent building.

13th Century Holy Cross Abbey

My Paternal grandparents lay at rest here in the adjoining cemetery. They were once buried within the confines of the Abbey, but some years prior to the restoration of the abbey in 1974, the remains of the people buried within its walls had to be moved to the adjoining cemetery.

The surviving relatives had to attend this ceremony to ensure the proper identification of their loved ones resting places and the subsequent re internment of their remains.

It must have been a very poignant and emotional task for all those involved. In the case of our family, this task was undertaken by my late father who spent many days on the site while the remains of his parents were exhumed and re interred.

Another view of the abbey

Endeavour Lifts Off

2008-11-14T21:48:00.000-08:00

Riding a brilliant tower of flame into the night sky, the space shuttle Endeavour left Earth on Friday, carrying seven astronauts on a 15-day mission to the international space station.

The space shuttle Endeavour launched on time at 7:55 p.m. ET on Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida, mission managers announced.

"Preparing our home in space for a larger international family," launch commentator Candrea Thomas said during liftoff.

The Basilica of St. Mary

2008-10-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, I received an email from the Editor of a Minneapolis travel guide called Schmap. I was pleasantly surprised and a little pleased to learn that they had discovered one of my pictures of the Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis in pictures I had posted to Flicker. The purpose of the email was to inform me that my picture had been short listed for inclusion in the guide and to ask my permission to use the picture if they decided to publish it.

I was happy to give my permission, and I have just received another email to inform me that the picture has made the final selection and has been published in the current edition of the guide.

Perhaps it is no big deal because the guide apparantly publishes a lot of pictures from other sources as well. In fact, I think there may be about six pictures in there of the Basilica of St. Mary from other photographers. Still, even if I have to be numbered amongst others, it’s nice to get the recognition.

Please click here to follow the link to the pictures. When you enter the site you will see the Basilica of St. Mary at the top of a series pictures which are listed under Churches and Temples. Select the picture of the Basilica and cycle through the screen on the right using the right and left arrows until you find the picture credited to joemw39. That is mine.

Also If you use an iPhone or iPod touch, then this link will take you directly to the photo in the iPhone version of the guide. On a desktop computer, you can still see exactly how the photo is displayed and credited in the iPhone version of the guide.

This is the picture of the Basilica of St. Mary that has been featured in Schmap. I think it's not a bad picture considering I just pointed the camera and snapped it from the passenger seat of Judy's car as we drove by at nightfall.

Eureka Moment

2008-10-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

Most of you will be aware by now of Judy’s new venture on cafepress.com. This is a great site where Judy has used her natural creative talents, combining her wealth of photographs, to create some great items that you can see for yourself if you get a chance to visit her site.

I wonder would you believe me if I said that this post is not about promoting my friend Judy’s site? Well, I suppose, I can be honest and say that it gives me the opportunity to kill two birds with the one stone, but in truth, my main purpose is to tell you that through Judy’s site I have managed to solve a problem that has been dogging me for some time.

Some of my new mugs from Judy's site

Displaying Minnehaha Creek and the American Flag

I guess to a normal person, what follows would not be a problem but, to a single person living alone with a fixation for acquiring things that helps to improve the decor of my surroundings and create a nice atmosphere for myself and any of my friends, that all-too-seldom-visit me, I found the ideal product on Judy’s site. And what is this thing that gave me this eureka moment the first time I visited the site? Mugs!!

New set of mugs on display

Yes mugs!! I am the proud owner of many mugs in all shapes and sizes and designs. Some I have been given as presents, others I have acquired in a haphazard fashion by seeing a particular mug that catches my fancy when I go shopping and it generally winds up in the shopping cart and thence to my already crowded mug rack in the kitchen. Also I’m a sucker for special offers from various tea and coffee companies, where, if you buy a packet of 100 tea bags or a large jar of coffee, there is a free mug attached. I get through the coffee quickly enough, but I now have enough tea bags to last me into the next millennium.

For some time now, I have been promising myself that I would kick this habit and buy myself a set of regular sized mugs that would, not only look better, but would also eliminate the problem of trying to decide what mug to use whenever I need a tea or coffee.

Well, at last, Judy’s site provided the perfect solution. Here, not only could I buy a set of very nice mugs displaying some of her pictures, but I discovered I could get a set of personalised mugs that would display some of my own favourite pictures from my visits to Minnesota.

I took the plunge and sent off some pictures to Judy that she displayed on a set of mugs for me. I was delighted with the result, and I ordered a set which quickly arrived and I couldn’t be more pleased. I now have a beautiful set of personalised mugs that proudly display my own pictures. They look great and add their own special personal touch to my kitchen.

The mugshot picture of myself was judy's idea

I think it is also an added bonus that, instead of leaving pictures of special events dormant on the computer or buying frames to display them in which are seldom noticed anyway by visitors to your home, you can now hold a favourite picture in your hand, while at the same time enjoy your mug of tea or coffee.

One of my favourite pictures - the Baptism of Jackson Toby

Back Home

2008-08-06T05:26:00.000-07:00

I arrived home two weeks ago last Thursday from another great trip to Minnesota to visit my friends Tom and Judy and their family.

I find it very hard at times to get my head round the circumstances that culminated in those wonderful trips to Minnesota and how a chance meeting on the internet brought me into contact and integrated me into a family that has now become such an important and integral part of my life.

During one of my last telephone conversations with Tom and Judy’s son, Adam, before I would shortly leave for home, he asked what I thought the highlight of this present visit was. This is a hard question to answer because those visits contain so many highlights and this one, of course, had its own unique occasions that easily fit into the category of highlights.

There was the evening of Music in Plymouth that I attended with Tom and Judy, their daughter Kara and Kara’s daughter, Amelia – Tom and Judy’s one and only granddaughter. We were also joined by Steve and Kathy – friends of Tom and Judy and their daughter, Kate, and her boyfriend, Tom. What a marvellous event and what marvellous people to share it with. We had a picnic on the grounds of The Hilde Performance Centre where we enjoyed the free family musical event featuring the Minnesota Orchestra, fireworks and many other entertainments.

Tom and Steve relaxing at Music in Plymouth

Minnesota Orchestra

Amelia enjoying the evening at Music in Plymouth

Judy, Tom and Kate

The scene at Music in Plymouth

Kara at Music in Plymouth

Tom and me at Music in Plymouth

Part of the fireworks display

Lunch or breakfast with Judy’s dad, Al, at his favourite Perkins restaurant (and mine) is always a highlight and this time was no exception. Judy and I collected him at his home in Chaska on Friday June 11, two days after my arrival, and we proceeded to Perkins to enjoy his favourite meal of pancakes. Unfortunately on this occasion, due to some dental work he had done the previous day, we had to forego a very important part of the menu, which is the side order of bacon strips that he always enjoys with his pancakes. Still, the important thing is meeting Al and enjoying his company and, on this occasion, any shortfall with the meal certainly did not detract from that.

I wanted to meet Al early in the visit this time rather during the last days because I hoped that this arrangement would give me the opportunity to meet him again before the trip ended. That opportunity was soon to come at an event that will live with me for the rest of my life.

A trip to visit Sarah and the boys is always a highlight. This time we had many opportunities to enjoy those visits. It always affords an opportunity to wind back the years, forget that we are no longer as young as we used to be, and partake in the fun and games that Davey and Derek expect us to be ready for at a moment’s notice. Davey and Derek don't take age into account and who cares about the aches and pains that are destined to follow? We can nurse those when we are back in the sanctuary of Tom and Judy’s basement. We compare notes and ask each other – I wonder what kind of truck was that that went over us last?

I sometimes wonder who enjoys Sarah's play system most - the children or the adults

I always enjoy playing with the boys, it brings me back to a time when my own grandchildren were small and when I enjoyed many happy hours with them.

Stars in the making - Davey hits a home run during one of our baseball games...

Derek keeps his eye on the ball

An outing to the Minnesota zoo, Minneapolis on a beautiful sunny day, with Judy was a most enjoyable affair. None of the animals are caged here. They all enjoy the freedom of the wide open spaces which in the main are designed to simulate their own natural environments. While you can take a monorail to travel round the parks and view the animals, the walk round the 500 or so acres of the complex affords the best opportunity to see everything that is to be seen and get up close and personal with the many strange and exotic inhabitants.

Two prairie dogs stand guard while their companions (out of picture) frolic and play and enjoy the attentions of the visitors to their large enclosure

Musk Ox Grazing peacefully

Bison relaxing by a lake with Canadian geese in the foreground

Takin

The Takin a native of the Eastern Himalayas and National Animal of Bhutan

One of the most unusual species of animal at the zoo is the Takin. The sign at their enclosure say that they are made up of so many species of animal that it would appear as if they were designed by a committee. However, if my information is correct, it was created by the great 15th century saint Lama Drukpa Kunley (called "the divine madman") who, after eating a cow and a goat for his lunch, stuck the head of the cow onto the skeleton of the goat, snapped his fingers and commanded the great beast to rise up and graze on the mountainside. To this day the animals can be seen grazing on the mountainsides of Bhutan. I think though, that I would favour going along with the more widely-held explanation that this animal is assembled from a variety of different animal species and nobody really seems to know why.

Click here to take your own tour of the zoo.

To be continued/….

Goodbye To A Good Friend

2008-07-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening I had a telephone call from a friend of mine. It was one of those calls that as you answer something deep inside you instinctively tells you that something is wrong. My instincts were proved correct and my worst fears were confirmed when the caller asked me if I was sitting down.

The caller was Flan Larkin the brother of one of my closest friends, Bernie Larkin, and the news he was about to impart certainly required that I be so. Mercifully, he broke the news quickly. His brother and my good friend, Bernie, had passed away suddenly while attending the British Open Clay Pigeon Shooting Championship at Bishops Mountain Shooting Centre that morning.

I had known Bernie since I came to Nenagh over 40 years ago. At that time we were both truck drivers hauling livestock. My first encounter with him was not a pleasant one and very nearly ended a friendship before it had time to begin. It involved a slight difference of opinion as to which of us was next in line to pull into the loading gate at Nenagh cattle mart to get on our load.

Tempers flared and a strong exchange of words ensued. Who was right and who was wrong on that particular evening is lost in the mists of time. All I know is that after I had decided that discretion is the better part of valour and it was advisable not to mess with this guy – a wise decision that I would see many others make over the ensuing years - Bernie, naturally had his way. However, when we had our trucks loaded and tempers had subsided, we approached each other. A mumbled apology to each other and a hand shake was to be the beginning of a friendship that would endure over 40 years.

Clay pigeon shooting was Bernie’s chosen sport and although I previously had had a brief encounter with the sport, it was he who reintroduced me to it in 1979. On a Sunday late in that year I accompanied him to Ballinderry to see him compete in what was then known as a flapper shoot (These are unregistered shoots run by gun clubs mainly to raise funds for game restocking purposes.) From that day onwards as the shooting addiction took hold of me, we were travelling and shooting companions at home and abroad for many years.

Bernie (centre back row) and friends at a shooting competition in Wales sometime in the 1980's

Although Bernie was later to excel at the sport on the International scene where he represented Ireland several times, he always had a love for those unregistered shoots where he would meet the grass root shooters and the first-time entrants to the sport.

It is fair to say that the experienced and International shooters were not always very welcome at those events because their presence gave very little chance to the inexperienced competitors to win a prize. What set Bernie apart from the others though and always made him a welcome figure was that at the end of the day he would return the prizes he had won to be shared amongst the less experienced participants. It was through his generosity and sportsmanship that many a young beginner went home proudly displaying a prize.

A writer on the Irish Clay Pigeon Shooting web site in a tribute to Bernie described how he often saw him demonstrate his unique ability to shoot clay pigeons from the hip. Bernie shot from the hip ok in more ways than one. He never went behind the bushes to say anything like many others on the shooting scene. Anything he had to say was said to your face – you liked it or you didn’t. In later years, when I became involved at the administration level of the association, Bernie was never slow to offer his criticism, or indeed, his praise, if he thought you deserved it.

The last time I saw Bernie was about three months ago when he called to my house in Nenagh. We had tea and talked about trucks, our families and of course shooting. We sorted out many of the problems that beset the country and the world and after a couple of hours he departed leaving me all the more enriched from his visit and glad to have him as a friend.

The Golden Bear – as he was always referred to by one sports commentator – will be sadly missed. The shooting scene will be all the poorer by his absence.

I would like to extend my sincerest sympathy to his wife, Carmel, and family. Go ndéana trócaire ar a anam.

Bernie Larkin RIP

Day at Minnehaha Park

2008-07-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

Judy is right; one of the things I always look forward to during my visits to Minnesota is going to Perkins along with Judy to have lunch or breakfast with her dad. It’s a tradition that is now well established and one that I hope will continue for many a long day to come. It was a little sad this time due to the fact that his recent dental work prevented him from having his usual full meal of pancakes and bacon. The man sure enjoys his pancakes and bacon and I know the meal just wasn’t the same to him this time. Still I was able to share my desert of strawberry sundae with him and I hope he enjoyed that and it compensated in some small way.

The strawberry sundae that I was looking forward to

Judy and her dad tucking into my strawberry sundae

Our visit to Minnehaha Park on Sunday 15 June was a most enjoyable event. The outdoor Service at Sarah’s and Dave’s church was very nice but I think as far as the children were concerned, the caterpidows stole the show.

St Mary's Basilica pictured on the way to Minnehaha Park

I think there is beauty in many things, including concrete and steel. Here, and in the picture above, the architecture of mortal man against the blue of the sky and the clouds - created by the divine architect illustrate what I mean.

Minnehaha Park is one of the many beautiful places we have visited around Minneapolis. It has pleasant walks along the Minnehaha creek and of course the famous Minnehaha waterfall is spectacular.

Derek gives me a caterpiddow

Two beautiful ladies, Sarah and her mom, Judy.

Minnehaha Creek

Davey and his little friend at play

Grandpa and Derek taking a stroll

Minnehaha Creek

Derek, Davey, Sarah, Dave and the knees

Arrival in Minnesota

2008-07-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Minneapolis during a thunder storm at 10.34pm on Wednesday 11 June. Thankfully I was oblivious to the weather conditions, as I slept through it and wasn’t aware of the extent of the storm until I was met by a very worried Tom and Judy who had been following the weather reports and the effect the adverse conditions had been having on the air traffic.

Conditions in Minneapolis/St Paul that night were pretty bad, Tom and Judy told me of instances where planes had to stand off fifty miles from the airport before they could attempt to land while other planes had to divert to different airports.

The skies begin to clear after the thunder storm and the moon appears

On this occasion the trip from Ireland was long and arduous. Having arrived at Shannon at 7.30am to catch the first leg of the flight to JFK where I had a scheduled layover of more than seven hours before boarding the connection for Minneapolis/St Paul. This flight was further delayed due to the conditions in Minneapolis. When I eventually got into the air on my way to my final destination, I had been travelling almost 24 hours and so it was that soon into the flight, I fell asleep and didn’t waken until we were touching down at Minneapolis.

I think, even though I awoke to the sound of applause from my fellow passengers, which might indicate that the landing was a little rocky and everyone was relieved to be on Tierra firma, that our flight came in after the worst of the storm had passed. The principal thing is that all flights touched down safely that night and everyone reached their destinations safely.

My destination was, as usual, everything I knew it would be and a good night’s sleep in that beautiful room that I have now come to know so well and a shower to get rid of the trail dust had me fit and ready and looking forward to seeing Sarah and the boys, Davey and Derek, the next morning.

The boys, Davey and Derek, knowing grandma was on the way were well primed and ready for fun.

Judy has well documented the day on her blog and I have a couple of extra pictures that I hope you will enjoy.

Judy flying high

Derek on the slide

Visit to Devils Bit Mountain

2008-06-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Monday, the last day of Maria’s visit we decided to accompany my daughter, Eileen, and two of my grandchildren Claire and Anthony, to visit a local mountain know as the Devils Bit - named for the bite taken out of it by the devil as he rode over Ireland. Devil's Bit Mountain provides spectacular drives and stimulating walks.

Anthony and Claire on the drive to the mountain

A nice view on the drive to the mountain

Beginning of the steep climb to the top

The panoramic view from the top is spectacular and on a clear day you can see for many miles around - the only problem being, you have to get to the top first. Most of the way there can be made by car up a long winding road that takes you to the base of the mountain and here the fun ends as the final assault on the top has to be made on foot up a long steep rugged path for about 400 yards. This is the kind of path where you take one step forward and two backwards but undaunted by this we began our climb.

Taking a rest on the way to the top

It wasn’t much of a problem to my four youthful companions but for me, restricted by 69 years of roaming this earth and a heart bypass a few years ago, I wondered if taking on this climb was one of the smartest things to do. However, I pride myself in the fact that I am still pretty fit and I decided that I would start out and see how far I could get - promising myself that I would stop and return to the base if the going got too difficult.

In the event, I made it without any great difficulty to a plateau and picnic area about three quarters of the way up. Here the picnic table and seats were too tempting to pass by and I decided in the interests of common sense to pitch my base camp and wait for the others to return from the top. I was really quite pleased to have made it so far and I decided enough was enough.

View from the picnic area where I decided to wait for the return of my companions

Enjoying a picnic before returning home

One of the many wind farms that now dot the Irish landscape, supplying over 25% of our electricity to the National Grid. Pictured on the way down the mountain

Finally, a sign of the times we now live in. It's sad to see this evidence of Litter Louts who care little for the preservation of such a beautiful amenity and the image we present of ourselves to the many tourists and other visitors that come to this area.

Maria's Trip To Tipp (Tipperary)

2008-06-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end and so it was with my niece Maria’s visit to Ireland. I drove her to Dublin Airport yesterday to catch her flight to return home to London. It was a sad parting and I certainly hope she will return to see us all soon again.

In the short time she was here, we managed to get a lot of things done including visiting a couple of historical places but of course the best of all was visiting family and her meeting her uncles and cousins again after such a long time.

She has promised to do a post for my blog that I will publish as soon as it arrives. In the meantime, I am including some pictures from her visit that I hope you will enjoy and give you an opportunity to meet some of my family.

My sister Freddy loves to entertain and anytime a special visitor arrives amongst us, she will always use as an opportunity to bring the family together for a celebration. Here as some family members around her ample table partaking of her hospitality on the occassion of Maria's visit.

My sisters, Freddy, Kathleen, Biddy, and brother Jim

My niece Ann and my grandniece Kate on a visit to Ann and her husband, Dave's, house at Galway. Kate proudly displays the cake she made especially for our visit

There is a beautiful wood near where my sisters live. There is a little lake in the centre that you can walk round along a path for a distance of 1 1/2 miles approx. Here is Maria feeding the swans on our way round the lake.

My sister and I on our walk round the lake

Maria and Freddy on our walk

Son Tim, Daughter-in-law Mary, Grandson Anthony, Granddaughter Elizabeth and Maria on our visit to their house.

I am blessed with a lot of nieces and nephews. Here is a small selection of my beautiful nieces - Fiona, Maria, Siobhan, Alanna, Jackie and Lily, Aurlie.

Maria's trip to Tipp

2008-05-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

My niece Maria arrived from London on Saturday night to spend a short holiday with her family here in Ireland. Luckily for me, I am getting the lion’s share of her time and she is spending most of her holiday with me – except for next weekend when we will spend some time with her aunts who live in the south of the county, Dundrum (more about that later).

Maria arrives in Ireland

Her flight was scheduled to land at 10pm but was delayed for two hours in Gatwick eventually arriving Dublin at 12.00am (good old reliable Ryan Air) so unpredictable.
Since Sunday, we have had cheerios cereal with blueberries for breakfast, egg, sausage, bacon for dinner... Today, we had toast and marmalade and then luncheon in O’Meara’s with some fine beef left over’s for Oscar (hope dogs like red wine gravy) if not we will have it for supper.

Editor’s note – Maria has taken over from the second paragraph I am not responsible for anything further.

Ignore the Editor he is grumpy and tired and gone off for a snore.

Maria at Look Out with Lough Derg in the background

We went for a drive to a place called “look out” which has absolutely stunning views of Loch Derg (I recognised and remembered being at the Lake many years ago with my uncle Joe’s brother in-law and my cousins from Nenagh which brought back very happy and fond memories of my stay here when I was MUCH younger! .... from there we continued on and found the historical “Graves of the Leinstermen” hidden in undergrowth a short walk from the road and through a rugged path we eventually found them. Joe had told me about the standing stones he had seen there 20 years or so ago (yes, he lies about his age (20yrs ago??!)... and so we went in search of them and once found they were well worth the hunt in and around the gorse and stinging nettles.

Maria and Joe at the burial site

Joe beside one standing stone which marks a grave

According to legend, the site is the burial place of a Leinster King and his men who were ambushed by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, in the 11th Century whilst they returned from a wedding in Limerick but there are many stories told... the reason they lay to rest here is because the dying wish of the King was that he be buried within sight of his Kingdom.. In a way his wish was granted as all men were left here far from home but within view of their kingdom – as on a clear day in the far distance across the lake the peak of a mountain can be seen which is in the province of Leinster. Sadly, a huge telephone mast has now been erected in front of their resting place between them and the view of their Kingdom. Modern-day technology cares little of the dying wish of a famous ancient king. I would have protested and tied myself to the mast left blowing in the wind leaving another historical story “the famous heroine of Lock Derg” to be told in another 1000 years!

Peak of the mountain in the distant horizon across the lake
(pic taken from the far right of the mast)

Maria from London

Irish Lace

2008-04-28T19:13:00.001-07:00

This is an image of the emerald isle as seen from space. NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image on December 17, 2007, utilizing its Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).

On this day, clouds formed complex patterns around the islands, fringing the western tips of Ireland and southern tip of Great Britain.

Southwest of Ireland, the clouds exhibiting interesting-looking striations appear to be wave clouds formed by cool, dry air meeting warm, moist air. Pushed up by cool air, warm air rises, cools, and then falls, riding up on the next wave.

Special Rugby Day

2008-04-22T08:48:00.001-07:00

I had a very enjoyable day on Sunday when I attended a rugby match between Nenagh Ormond and Limerick Leprechauns which was one of the events at Nenagh Ormond Rugby Football Club. to raise funds for Rape Crisis Midwest.

Collecting for the Crisis Centre

Limerick Leprechauns is a Limerick based veterans' rugby club that (uniquely) raises funding for charities and deserving causes and on Sunday they came to Nenagh to join forces with Nenagh Ormond as part of a collaboration between the Nenagh Ormond Rugby Club, Limerick Leprechauns and Rape Crisis Midwest in an effort to raise funds to help alleviate an €80,000 shortfall that the centre needs just to survive.

Some of the Limerick Leprechauns team

Nenagh players

The day provided many fund raising events such as a raffle draw for a signed Munster and Leinster players jerseys signed by local players Trevor Hogan and Donnacha Ryan in addition to many other prizes sponsored by Limerick and local firms.

The game itself provided a fun atmosphere and anyone male, female, young or old got the opportunity to play for five minute stints alongside some of the regions past and present most famous rugby players.

The highlight of the day for me was getting my picture taken with one of the legends of Irish rugby, Ex Irish International, Gerry 'Ginger' McLoughlin

My friend Pat Whelan and Gerry McLoughlin

Collage of pictures from the event

The children were also well provided for

Ancient Shoe

2008-04-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Evidence of the existence of an ancient castle outside Nenagh and a leather shoe dating back one thousand years have been unearthed in the development of a new dual carriageway between the town and Limerick city.

As Ireland is now in the process of upgrading and constructing new roads, a wealth of archaeology is being unearthed by archaeologists who precede the construction work along the routes of the new roadways.

On the Nenagh Limerick project, evidence of the possible site of a “lost castle” outside Nenagh has been discovered. The castle is documented in the 1654-56 Civil Survey which refers to “the walls of a Castle out of repayre”. The evidence found to date indicates that excavations may have discovered remains and artefacts associated with this castle.

Tenth century old shoe recovered in Annaholty Bog

Archaeologists say that the shoe found in bog land during excavation works on the new route dates from the 10th to the 12th Centuries. The shoe is known as a turn-shoe because it was made inside-out and then turned around for wearing. The style is of a fashion introduced to Ireland during the early medieval period.

Archaeologists believe that the owner was either a native wearing the latest in fashion crossing the bog and losing his/her shoe or a newly arrived settler, possibly an Anglo-Norman.

Source:

Nenagh Guardian

Hurling

2008-03-31T16:38:00.000-07:00

Some of my American and UK friends have been asking me about the sport of hurling which is played in Ireland and is one of our two National games. Gaelic football being the other.

I am posting some videos which I discovered on YouTube and that I hope will go some way towards explaining the game to you.

Please click here and enjoy.

Starlings Coming Home to Roost

2008-03-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

A phone call from my friend, Dick Gough, yesterday afternoon was the prelude to one of the most spectacular events that I have ever witnessed.

As well as being an artist who transforms bog wood into elegant sculptures, Dick is an avid photographer who specialises in photographing all forms of wildlife in their natural habitat. His objective yesterday was to get some pictures of starlings coming to roost for the night. He explained to me that it would be a spectacular event and if conditions were right and the birds obliged, it would be possible get some good pictures. I was delighted when he invited me to go along with him.

Well, I knew dick wouldn’t be going on a wild goose chase – or should I say wild starling chase – but I couldn’t help wondering what kind of pictures he hoped to get of flocks of birds coming to a grove of trees to bed down for the night. He assured me there was a treat in store and he was not mistaken.

We arrived at the chosen location just as the sun was setting. It was a lovely evening – cold but dry. We didn’t have long to wait before the birds started to arrive. First, they came in small flocks from all different directions. Meanwhile while the arriving flocks were getting larger and larger, they were all joining together to form one large flock flying over and adjacent to their landing site. This went on for some time until the sky was black with them. Then as if by some method of communication, which is incomprehensible to me, that informed them that all the birds had arrived, the show began. They flew across the sky in perfect formations, wheeling and diving and crisscrossing each other’s flight path forming all kinds of different shapes and forms until finally, they were right over their roosting place. Then one last display and they were gone. In one body they just dropped into the trees. Dick described this as like pouring grain out of a bucket and I can’t think of a more appropriate description.

I hope the attached videos will give you some flavour of the event. If you listen carefully, at the end of one video, you will hear Dick’s comment to me which I think sums up the whole event perfectly.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

Two events take place this weekend that are important to me and to which I want to give the true recognition they deserve. One of course is the feast day of our National Saint, St. Patrick, which we celebrate on March 17. In honour of that, I would like to wish all my friends wherever they may be, and visitors to my blog, a Very Happy St. Patrick’s Day. In true Irish fashion, here are few blessings that I would like to dedicate to all of you in honour of this special day:

May you always have Walls for the winds,
A roof for the rain,
Tea beside the fire,
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all your heart might desire!

May you be in Heaven a half hour before the Devil knows you're dead!

Go mbeannai Dia duit (May God Bless You)

The other event this weekend (today actually) is my friend, Judy’s, birthday. Since I first got to know Judy, almost three years ago, she has been a true and loyal friend. She has brought many blessings into my life, not least the extension of our friendship to her husband, Tom, and their marvellous family. Next to my own family, they have become a very special and irreplaceable part of my life.

Happy Birthday Judy!! And since I am in the mood for imparting blessings today, here is a special one for you on your birthday:

May God grant you many years to live,
For sure he must be knowing
The earth has angels all too few

And Heaven is overflowing.

Nenagh Fire

2008-02-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

Watching this fire yesterday morning, I couldn’t help but be struck with a sense of pride in our local fire fighters.

I think we all owe a deep debt of gratitude to the men and women of our fire department that risk their lives every day in protecting our lives and property in dealing with fires like this one.

Judging by the equipment that arrived on the scene, the Fire Brigade is equipped to deal with much larger fires than the one they were faced with yesterday morning and they brought it under control with relative ease. To me as an onlooker, it appeared to be a fairly routine task to deal with it. I would hazard a guess though that it was the expertise of the firemen and the equipment at their disposal made it look that way.

No fire is simple and without its own inherent danger and they all, no matter how small, need to be treated with the healthy respect that they deserve.

I hope I never need the services of the Nenagh Fire Brigade, but, if ever I do, it’s certainly comforting to know that such an expert and dedicated crew are there to come to my assistance.

The following are some more pictures and videos from the scene.

Nenagh Fire

2008-02-28T00:25:00.000-08:00

The peace and tranquillity of our neighbourhood was shattered in the early hours of this morning when a huge fire gutted an unoccupied house almost directly across the road from where I live. I was awakened around 6.30am by loud banging noises coming from the area close by my house and, eventually, having gone to investigate, I saw the house, which was currently under repair, consumed by flames. By this time other neighbours were on the scene and I was told the fire brigade was on its way. Three units were soon on the scene and they quickly brought the fire under control. The house, which was completely gutted by the flames, is joined on one side by a pub and restaurant and on the other side by a private house. Luckily, neither of those showed any outward damage but I’m sure they will have to be inspected at a later stage to see if the heat from such an inferno affected them in any way. Luckier still, there was no loss of life and that is the principal thing.

Firemen in the aftermath of the fire hosing down the ruin

Stop and smell the flowers.....

2008-02-27T02:15:00.000-08:00

or listen to this bird sing.

I don’t know if it is due to the fact that I am getting older or that I have more time on my hands now that I am retired but, of late, things of nature seem to be playing a more important part in my life.

During my visits to Minnesota to Tom and Judy’s home, I relish in seeing the huge variety of wildlife that surround their house and the videos and pictures they send me of whatever species of bird or animal that decide to appear to them on any given day.

Well not to be outdone, I have acquired my own special visitor in the last few days – or should I say mornings and late evenings, because I rarely see or hear him during the day. Ok, I know it’s not a family of deer, or a possum, or a wild turkey, or, indeed, even a humble squirrel, but of late this little blackbird has been singing his (I have established that it is a male) heart out on a hedge adjacent to my front door. Neither the sound of heavy traffic from the nearby street, nor passersby seems to bother him. He just pays them no never mind and continues with his song despite the fact that nobody appears to be listening to him.

I see people going hurriedly on their way without giving him a second glance, never mind stopping to hear his song. A few short years ago, I would also be one of those people but now I find myself listening out to hear his first few tentative notes before he launches into a crescendo of song.

The other evening, I managed to capture him on video. It was just nightfall and the quality isn’t very good. Hopefully, it will post ok and you will be able to enjoy his song.

So, stop and smell the flowers and listen to this little guy for a moment. He has a message for all of us.

Unwelcome Visitor

2008-02-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

According to a report in our local newspaper this weekend there has been a sighting of a large cat-like animal in a locality just a few miles outside Nenagh. One farmer reported seeing “a large black powerful animal “on his farmland on four separate occasions last week.

The animal seen was black in colour, larger than a Labrador dog and had a long black tail. This description has prompted speculation that a black panther is roaming the area. The farmer that first sighted the animal said his sheepdog and her pup gave chase to the animal who made its timely escape. The animal had no difficulty in fleeing the area as “large hedges meant nothing to it” the farmer said.

Speculation that a black panther was loose in the area was fuelled further by the discovery of a dead sheep on the farmers land. Considering the farmer has no sheep on his land and the nearest sheep farm is half a mile away, it was speculated that the panther had dragged the sheep on to the farmers land to eat it.

Another man reported seeing a large black animal which was larger than a German shepherd. The animal was disturbing his goose pen and frightening his goat and his dog.
People phoning the local radio station were assured by an expert that black panthers do not normally attack humans but dogs could be in danger if the animal was hungry.

News of the sighting prompted a wild life enthusiast to drive the 200 mile round trip from his home in Kerry in the hope of photographing the animal or at the very least finding some trace of it in the area. However, after spending a day on the farm of the man who first sighted the animal, he left convinced that there was no panther in the area.

Still, I don’t know. Farmers aren’t usually given to flights of fancy and I’m sure the man in question saw some kind of unusual animal.

As a matter of interest, my own expert from World Wildlife tells me that there really are no black panthers as a type of animal, but there are black leopards and black jaguars. These are sort of reverse albinos, the term being of Melanistic coloration. Melanism occurs because of a mutation or abnormality of one of the cats’ genes which is associated with coat coloration and markings. Often if the light hits the animal the right way, you can see the normal leopard pattern with black on black, though it’s not always easy to see this. If you look closely at the picture below, you will see the leopard spots shining through the animal’s coat.

An unlikely looking adversary for the fearsome-looking creature pictured above, but this animal, with the innocent countenance, which belies his true nature, is the the farmer's dog that took on the strange animal and chased him off his master's land. Good dog!!!

Stray Puppy

2008-01-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

I went outside my front door yesterday to be greeted by a small little dog who had taken up residence in a sheltered spot just out side the door. No more than a puppy, he seemed to be completely lost and forlorn. Perhaps some family is frantically looking for him and at this moment some child is mourning his loss. That in itself is heart breaking but what is worse is that parents will sometimes get their children a puppy for Christmas. Then when the novelty wears off, the misfortunate pup is abandoned to his or her fate. Judging by the condition of this little guy, I fear that the latter may be the case. He was certainly in need of food and shelter. Happily my neighbour Aiden and myself were able to provide the food but the shelter is a different matter. Neither of us has a place to keep him, so all we can do is continue to feed him for the next few days and hope that someone will come along to claim him. I don’t hold out much hope of this though, because I know by his appearance that the dog has been neglected and possibly abandoned. He has now taken up residence under my car and I am trying to tempt him out with a dish of dog food.

Well, he outsmarted me. While I was writing this post the dog food disappeared and so did the dog. He’s pretty fast lol. The good news is though that a kindly neighbour has agreed to take him and give him a home. Now all that remains is to catch him and I’m afraid that is going to be quite a task in itself -he is extremely nervous and shy of humans.

Anyway, we will continue to feed and in that way perhaps we will be able to gain his confidence and he will allow us to make friends with him.

Obama's Roots Traced To Ireland

2008-01-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

The people of Co. Offaly will have reason to keep a close eye on next year's US elections after it was confirmed yesterday that one of the leading candidates for the presidency has roots in the Faithful County. Research has revealed that Barack Obama, an Illinois senator and Democrat hopeful for the 2008 presidential elections, is descended from a shoemaker in Moneygall, Co Offaly.

Moneygall is a small village just a few miles from Nenagh and excitement there is now running high with this latest discovery. Up until now, Hillary Clinton would have been favourite to become the next US President with most local people, but I'm afraid with this recent discovery, poor Hillary is now demoted and Obama (or O'Bama as the locals have renamed him) is the preferred favourite around these parts. One local man says that family records indicate he is distantly related to Obama.

Click here to read more.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-30T12:49:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas has come and gone and I hope everyone had a nice time. For me, it was one of the most enjoyable Christmas’s I’ve had in recent years. This year, I had the unusual experience of enjoying Christmas on the double. On Sunday 23, I had Christmas dinner with my eldest son and his family. This arrangement came about to facilitate my son having Christmas dinner with his children who would not be with him on Christmas Day.

We were joined by the children’s only other surviving grandparent - their grandmother, Alice. It was a marvellous day. The dinner was prepared by my granddaughter Mari. In truth, all the family gave a hand in the preparation but Mari was the main architect. And, what a terrific job she did. My other granddaughter Deirdre added her own touch of excellence to the meal by preparing the dessert, which was a tasty dish consisting of stewed apple with fruit stuffing.

All Hands On Deck, Deirdre, Mari, John, Michael, Patrick

On Christmas Day, I had dinner at my daughter’s house. Added to the pleasure of this was that I got to meet another one of my granddaughters who was back home for the holiday from her job in Germany.

Granddaughter Emer

All in all, it was a very nice Christmas, but today was tinged with a little sadness because this evening some of the grandchildren returned to their various work locations - two of them to Dublin and one to Germany. Granddaughter Mari, the architect of the first of our Christmas dinners, is now in Canada. Still, it was a nice day. All the family gathered for 9am Mass this morning, after which, we had breakfast at my son’s house before saying our goodbyes.
It’s now Sunday night and I am ensconced in my newly decorated sitting room reflecting on a very happy Christmas and looking forward to dinner on New Year’s Day at my daughter’s house. Did I tell you I am blessed with a great family?

Nenagh Christmas Lights

Interestingly, Judy and I had a conversation this day about what constitutes success in life. Is it arriving at a time in your life with a large amount of wealth? Our discussion ranged around a lot of things that we could consider success. I offered the opinion that if wealth was the only criteria, then, alas, I, for one, haven’t had much success in life. On the other hand, I thought that parents bringing up a devoted family and them, in turn, bringing up a family that is a credit to all must surely be one of the greatest measurements of success.

Another Nenagh Street Scene

The Sign Says, Merry Christmas Fom Nenagh

I would like to wish my readers a very Happy New Year.

House Improvements

2007-12-24T05:46:00.000-08:00

Those last few weeks since arriving home from America, and in between the more important work of getting some posts done, I have been carrying out modifications and, what I hope are improvements to the house. Where will it end? I don’t know. Hopefully, this present spate of work will be the end, but then I have been known to make that observation before.

I have carried out a lot of work (too numerous and boring to mention) to the house since I bought it a year ago last July. I don’t know why I’m doing this – the house was in perfect condition when I bought it - apart from a few small jobs that really needed attention.

To date, I have put down new floor covering in the kitchen. It’s a pretty large kitchen and I have carpeted half of it to turn it into a nice dining area. The cooking area, I have re floored with wood-effect vinyl.

I am now on my third suite of sitting room furniture. There was a nice suite in the house when I arrived here and as a consequence of my brilliant bargaining skills, I got the vendor to include it in the price of the house. Lucky me!! Lucky him!! I soon discovered that all I had done was saved him the cost of moving it to the rubbish tip. Yes, it looked nice ok but I soon discovered that appearances can be deceiving. While it certainly looked nice and indeed, the armchairs were quite comfortable, I soon noticed that the settee was anything but. I acquired this piece of knowledge by noticing that anyone who sat on it seemed, after a short space of time, to have difficulty disguising their discomfort. I think of Judy, especially, who used to sit on it with her computer when she and Tom were here last year. I’m sorry Judy for your discomfort and, I know, I should have adhered to what you always say- “sit on it first before you buy it”. Really good advice, but then I’m sure you have heard the saying “never look a gift horse in the mouth”.

Anyway, I’m not going to go through the processes that have brought me to acquire the suite I have now. It’s beautiful brown leather and fits the room perfectly. It’s expensive but it hasn’t cost me any more than if I bought it the first day because I have acquired it by a method of “trading up” with the same furniture supplier that I have known for some time. In fact, when I did the maths before I bought it, I discovered that after all the trading I am well ahead. And I sat on all the chairs too to ensure their comfort before I had it installed. Thank you Judy for that sound bit of advice (she made me write that).

So, now the furniture is installed and all seems well. One problem!! Now the carpet doesn’t look right, nor do the window curtains. I never particularly liked either of those but I had decided I could live with them but, the installation of the furniture has changed all that. There is only one thing for it now. A complete re design is the order of the day. This is where I recruit some help and who better than my good friend Judy. So with the aid of modern technology, to communicate between Minnesota and Nenagh, we embarked on the plan to give my room a complete makeover.

Out goes the carpet and curtains. My own carefully thought-out ideas for the refurbishment of the room are dismissed politely but firmly. I am now in the hands of a power greater than myself. Pictures of different carpet colours and textures are transmitted across the lines and eventually we choose a nice beige carpet with brown interwoven flecks. This I was reliably told would pick up the colour of the seats. Who am I to argue?

Another family friend, who is of a similar mindset to Judy when it comes to decorating, helped me choose and hang the curtains. They look great!!

Well, the job is now finished and I’m quite pleased with the result. My sincere thanks to Judy and Monica for all your help and expertise.

Oh, I nearly forgot. My Christmas decorations!! Yes, in the misdt of all the decorating, I managed to get my Christmas decorating done. My “giant” Christmas tree is now shining brightly in the window and is a beacon to all who pass the way.

Merry Christmas everyone.

View of front window showing my newly acquired curtains

My favourite addition to my room, picture of Derek holding my hand as we go to collect the mail during my last visit to Minnesota.

Pictures From America Visit

2007-11-28T00:20:00.000-08:00

www.flickr.com

joemw39's South Carolina photoset

Pictures From America Visit

2007-11-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Please click here to view some more pictures from my visit to America. I have posted some pictures that I hope you will enjoy. They are from the portion of our train journey aboard Amtrak from Chicago to Washington DC. I hope you enjoy them and please keep coming back as I will be posting some more over the next few days.

Also, if you would like to read some interesting material about the journey from Chicago to Washington DC and the many interesting places along the way, including the historical Harpers Ferry, the Mason Dixie Line and many other interesting places and facts, you can click here.

Pictures from American Visit

2007-11-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

For this post, I have started adding pictures from my American trip. To view the pictures, click here and please keep coming back as I will be adding more over the next few days. I hope you enjoy the pictures. I certainly enjoyed the trip.

Final days of my trip to America

2007-11-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

I arrived home on Thursday morning last – 1 November - from another great trip to Minneapolis. I was met, as usual, at Dublin Airport by my loyal friend Pat Whelan.

Bye Tom

Before I go further with this post, I think it is fitting to pay tribute to the staff and flight crew of Delta Airlines, from the young lady in her pyjamas at check in at Minneapolis to the final good bye as we deplaned at Dublin.

My plane from Minneapolis to Atlanta

The young lady in her pyjamas at Minneapolis check in was amazing. After she helped us transfer some items of clothing from one case to another to avoid an overcharge of $50, she gave Judy a pass to accompany me to the departure gate. Security, of course, doesn’t always allow this but when they do, it is always so nice and makes the saying good byes so much easier.

Bye Judy
Ready to board

Going on board

Well now, I’m home and settling in after the trip – not an easy adjustment to make. I haven’t invented a word yet to describe the transition. It’s always nice to return to your family, but what about the family you are leaving behind? I can think of no other word to describe Tom and Judy and their marvellous family. I find it hard to take in the fact that people I didn’t even know a couple of years ago have now taken me into their hearts and homes and made me part of their family.

Tom, Kallsen, Adam, and Parker at Adam and Sara Beth's house

Kallsen and Parker at play

Joe, Adam, Joseph and Tom discussing the issues at Adam's radio station

Almost ready to leave for Judy's radio interview

Time went so fast. You might say six weeks is a long time for a holiday, but I can tell you it was quite a scramble to achieve in the last few days all the things that still remained to be done. It was unthinkable that I could come home without seeing Judy’s dad and sharing his favourite meal of pancakes with him at his favourite restaurant, and mine, Perkins. Also, I so much wanted to see Kara and if possible Sam and the rest of her family. In the event, I was delighted to see Kara twice – once for lunch at Applebees restaurant at Ridgedale Mall, and, on the last Sunday of my visit, attending Church with her and two of her children, Christopher and Amelia.

I love to meet Judy’s dad, Al. He is such an inspiration for all of us. This time, Judy and I had breakfast with him at Perkins restaurant, in Chaska. Pancakes, of course, were on the menu

Judy's dad enjoying his pancakes at Perkins

For those of you that don’t know, Judy’s dad is a sprightly 95 year-old- going on 50. He told me he had to forego a trip to Colorado a few weeks before because his younger brother, Ernie, who is 90, was unable to make the trip. Apparently, the young guy wasn’t up to it. I’m glad to say Ernie is now recovered and should be well able for the next trip. Judy's dad also told me how he acquired his taste for pancakes. When he was a young boy, growing up in Nebraska and Colorado, after the morning chores as he came towards the house he would know, from the cooking smells wafting across the yard, if his mom was cooking pancakes for breakfast. He loved those mornings when pancakes were on the menu and ever since, pancakes have always been a special treat for him whenever he goes out for a meal.

Judy and her dad at Perkins

I love to spend time with Judy’s dad and listen to him tell stories from his past but on this occasion time was the enemy as Judy had to get back to work. Still, it was nice to see him even for a brief period and I’m certainly looking forward to spending more time with him on my next visit.

The previous week, Judy also took me to see the Pompeii exhibit which is currently on display at the Science Museum of Minnesota. St Paul is one of four cities where the exhibit is visiting during its tour of America. Everyone knows, of course, the history of Pompeii and how it and its sister city Herculaneum were discovered in 1748 after being buried for centuries under mountains of ash from the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius which destroyed the two cities in 79AD. It was awe inspiring though to visit the exhibit and actually see statues and artifacts along with household utensils and other tools and equipment which shaped the lives of the people of the period.

Judy at the Science Museum

Judy ascending the steps to the top of the Science Museum

Seeing the exhibits must have been especially poignant for Judy who had actually visited Pompeii a short time before during her trip to Italy and Greece. More about her visit to Italy and Greece can be seen on her travel blog.

View of the Mississippi River from the top of the Science Museum

Now my trip was coming to a close, but how could I even envision returning home without spending one last day with my all-time favourite person, Sarah, and her two boys, Davey and Derek. Judy and I, or GrammaJoe as we are affectionately known by the boys, arrived at Sarah’s a little later than she had hoped but still we managed to get in a beautiful day playing with the boys and watching some of their favourite DVD’s with them. We also got a chance to accompany Davey to pre-school and collect him later in the evening and meet all his school pals and teachers. It is always so nice to spend time at Sarah’s and this time was no exception. We were also lucky to meet Dave before it was time for us to return home.

Judy reading to Derek on our visit to Sarah's

Davey, Joe and Sarah

Derek taking me to collect the mail

Hands

South Carolina

2007-10-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday last, Tom, Judy, and I arrived back in Minnesota from our trip to South Carolina. The journey home was uneventful except for a two hour delay at Atlanta Airport due to runway construction at Minneapolis/St. Paul. Still, we didn’t find the time long as we had lots to talk about our marvelous train trip and, particularly, our time with Adam, Sara Beth and their children, Joseph, Kallsen and Parker.

I think of how nice it must have been for Tom and Judy to see their family and their grandchildren again. It was nice for me; I can only imagine how it must have been for them. I am eternally grateful to them for sharing this marvelous trip with me and for giving me the opportunity to be part of this great family.

Three years ago, a journey to America was the furthest thought in my mind. Now as I sit here in Atlanta, I try to make sense of it all. Because of my chance meeting with Judy and ultimately with Tom and the rest of their family, I am now in the middle of my second trip to the USA in one year. With their help and, of course, with the help, and encouragement to make this trip, of my family in New Jersey, I have been to Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. In addition, this time our epic train journey on the way to see Tom and Judy’s family in South Carolina took us through Indiana, Maryland, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina South Carolina, Ohio and of course, Georgia. If my math is correct, I make that 16 states I have visited or touched on during my two visits.

It was a marvelous experience to make the train journey to South Carolina to see Tom and Judy’s family. The journey consisted of three stages but Judy is doing some great posts about that, so I will refer you to her blog to read all about it.

For my own part, during the time leading up to the train journey, I was secretly hoping that perhaps we might get to travel some way on the train called the City of New Orleans which is immortalized in song by Arlo Guthrie and, again, by Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. It was not to be however, the nearest I got to the City of New Orleans was seeing its arrival time at Chicago Amtrak Station. Not travelling on that train though was no disappointment, the Empire Builder and Capitol Limited served the purpose very well and gave us a most enduring experience. Again, I urge you read all about it here on Judy's Blog.

Well, that's it from me. I will now leave you in Judy's cabable hands to tell you all about our trip to South Carolina. I would however, like to thank Adam and Sara Beth for the marvellous time they gave us while we were there. I would also like to post a few pictures taken on our drive to Atlanta Airport as Adam took us to catch our plane for home.

If music doesn't play immediately, click on forward button

Beautiful Minneapolis

2007-10-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

You do not have to visit exotic places, or stray too far from your own doorstep, to find beauty. Here are pictures I took from the passenger seat of Judy's car on our way to and from Church this morning. I think they show the beauty of Minneapolis as it displays the varied fall colours.

Day at Stumphouse Tunnel

2007-10-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Adam and Sara Beth took us on a picnic to Stumphouse Mountain. Stumphouse Mountain is rich in American history and folklore. It is close to Issaqueena Falls – a beautiful 200 foot cascade on Cane Creek in the Stumphouse Tunnel Park northwest of Walhalla in South Carolina.

Beautiful South Carolina countryside on the way to Stumphouse mountain

Another beautiful sunrise

Legend has it that an Indian maiden, Issaqueena, rode to the nearby fort to warn of a pending Indian attack and then escaped from pursuing Indians by pretending to leap to her death over the falls, but actually hiding beneath them. Near the Falls is Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel. The tunnel was started in the early 1850s as an attempt (unsuccessful) by the railroads to burrow though 1.5 miles of solid granite mountain, hoping to link Charleston to the Midwest. After 6 years of chipping and drilling with hand tools and black powder, lack of money and the Civil War brought work to a halt. Most of the workers were Irish immigrants that were following their dreams to America. They worked twelve hour days, six days a week with only sledge hammers, hand drills and powder.

Joseph enjoying the day at Stumphouse Mountain

Well, that was a long time ago, Stumphouse Mountain was much kinder to us and we spend many hours in the glorious sunshine exploring the paths and walkways that wind their way through the picturesque mountaintop.

Judy on one of the the many bridges that crossed the Issaqueena brook

It was a terrific way to spend our second day in South Carolina. The children and adults alike had a great time; the picnic of roast beef and other meats Sara Beth prepared was delicious.

Joseph in a nice setting near Issaqueena Falls

Later we explored the uncompleted Stumphouse tunnel- and awe inspiring site as the following pictures illustrate.

Tom and Judy entering Stumphouse Tunnel

Inside Stumphouse Tunnel

Sara Beth, Kallsen and Parker

Judy and Kallsen enjoying the cool waters of the brook

Issaqueena Falls

First day in Clemson, South Carolina

2007-10-13T18:12:00.000-07:00

Little village somewhere along our train ride

Judy enjoying breakfast on the train

The indomitable but kind hearted Gwendaline, our hostess aboard the Amtrak. She gave me a bear hug and her pen - as a souvenier - on our last encountger with her before arriving in Washington DC.

Tom aboard the Amtrak

Historical Harpers Ferry located at the confluence of Potomac and Shenandoah rivers on our way to Washington DC

Near Harpers Ferry

Shenandoah River

George Washington Monument, taken during our layover in Washington DC

Street scene Washington DC

Capital Hill, Washington DC

The best breakfast in town is at Betty's Hungry House Cafe. off Ram Cat Alley

Adam after he had met us from the train at Clemson

Sunrise over Keowee Lake

Keowee Lake

Judy in the early morning sunlight at Keowee Lake

Cumberland, Maryland

2007-10-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

Right now I’m sitting in my sleeper car on board the Amtrak train Capitol Ltd. It is 10.10pm local time on Thursday 10 October 2007 and we are about 2 hours out of Chicago on our way to Washington DC.

Luggage lined up waiting for the taxi to take us to Minneapolis train station.

Judy ready for the trip

Washington DC is the next stop on our route to South Carolina and we will arrive there at approximately 1.30pm tomorrow. We left Minneapolis at 7.50am this morning and arrived in Chicago at 4pm where we had a 3 hour stopover before boarding this present train for Washington DC.

Tom enjoying the sights

Tom and Judy are occupying the sleeper next to me and we have just had a beautiful dinner. And we are now engaged in a late-night chat about the beautiful day we have had and the journey that lay ahead.

Judy on board our first Amtrak train - The Empire Builder

We are now in Cumberland Maryland and have been lucky enough to get an internet connection, so I am posting this for now while the connection lasts.

I will try and get on later and post some pictures taken on the trip so far, if I am unable to post them now.

Judy, Tom and I have now arrived at Washington DC. We have a 4 hour stopover before we board our next leg of the trip to Clemson South Carolina. The good news is though that we have managed to get on our computers in the VIP lounge and are presently enjoying internet access.

Hope to be able to contact you soon again. In the meantime, I am posting some pictures which we acquired on the trip so far.

It is now 6.40pm local time and we will be leaving Washington DC in approx. one hour on the final leg of our trip.

Capital Hill half hour ago

A Stroll In The Parks

2007-10-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

The weather here for the past few days has been exceptionally warm and sunny and we have had many opportunities to take advantage of this.

Thursday morning last, Judy took me to a beautiful park, called Centennial Lakes Park which is a 24 acre park and pond located in Edina, Minnesota.

Centennial Lakes Park scene

Judy enjoying the sunshine during our visit to Centennial Park

Centennial Park is one of those places where you can spend many relaxing hours walking around the beautifully laid-out pathways and walks that encircle the man-made lake.

Centennial Lakes Park

Later we had lunch at a restaurant called QCumbers. Here you can have all you can eat for the princely sum of $7.75.

QCumber's menu

This was our day for visiting nature parks. Next stop was Wood Lake Nature Centre, in Richfield, where we had arranged to meet Sarah and Davey and Derek and some other children and their moms from Sarah’s Mom’s Club. We all had a beautiful evening together and the long walk around the lake was really exhilarating.

Sarah in Wood Lake Nature Centre

Davey and Gramma

Some more of the people I enjoyed my walk with

View of the lake at Wood Lake Nature Centre.

It was a beautiful place to spend a day and beautiful people to spend it with.

Home Alone

2007-09-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

For the last three days I have been doing one of the things I like to do best during my stays in this beautiful house. Being home alone!! I like to be here and take care of the place while Tom and Judy are at work. It really makes me feel like one of the family. The time goes quickly, sometimes Adam will call and we will talk, other times, Sarah and the boys, Davey and Derek will call. Always the question, "Are you home alone Joe?" Yep, home alone --- nice!!

Well, yesterday, Judy had a reasonably easy work load so she and I went to collect her car that had been in the garage for the last couple of days. On the way home we had a walk along by the beautiful Medicine Lake that lies just behind Tom and Judy’s house. I got what I think are some nice pictures - before my camera batteries ran out- that I would like to share with you.

This is a very nice and helpful person that we met at the Lexus dealership in Wayzata. His name is Chris Doyle and he is one of the chief service technicians in the service department. Is he Irish? Well of course he is!! Judy is enjoying this Chris. I have beaten her to the punch in singing your praises. Well, what I said about you is true. You have been a very kind and considerate person that treated us with the greatest courtesy and help all along the way since Judy's problem with her car began.

Carlson Towers, Minnetonka, Minnesota

Judy relaxing beside Medicine Lake

I started the lakeside series of pictures with a picture of my gracious host Judy. What better way to end than with this picture of her taken beside the lake.

All the above pictures were taken along the shoreline of Medicine lake close to Tom and Judy's house. I don't think Judy fully realised the beauty that lay on her own doorstep until we walked along by the side of this lake.

More Pictures From Our Trip To Duluth

2007-09-25T09:56:00.001-07:00

Visit to Duluth and day out in Minnesota

2007-09-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday,
Tom and Judy and I went on a trip to the city of Duluth which is situated 150 miles north of Minneapolis/St Paul. A beautiful phenomenon occurs across the country at this time of the year when the many different species of trees shed their summer foliage and adorn themselves with the beautiful colours of Fall or Autumn as we in Ireland know it. Each species of tree, having its own distinctive colouring makes for a lovely kaleidoscope of colours when the leaves begin to change.

On the road to Duluth

Duluth, with its many different variety of trees is a place where this occurrence can be observed at its best.

Most of the nice colouring we saw was on the road to Duluth. This is a picture of a house surrounded by the trees in their Autumn colouring

If we didn't get to see the Autumn colours at Duluth, we certainly got to see some nice foliage along the way

More trees in their Autumn plumage

We were disappointed however, because time and tide and the changing of the leaves wait for no man (or even Judy) and we didn’t get to see the magnificent event, not because we were late for it, but we happened to be a couple of weeks too early. We did however get to see the greatest of the Great Lakes, Superior, on which Duluth is a major shipping port.

To say we were disappointed is not strictly correct; in fact it is not correct in any sense. This was one of the most enjoyable days I have ever experienced. On the way to Duluth, we stopped off at one of Minnesota’s state parks of which it has many. This one was named Fr. Hennepin State Park.

Fr. Hennepin State Park is a beautifully laid out park that verges onto one of Minnesota’s ten thousand lakes, known as Lake Milacs. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was most enjoyable to explore the nature trails and walkways of this nice park.

Later we had lunch at a diner, in the nearest town, that was straight out of the 1950’s. I expected to see Marty McFly of Back to The Future fame, come through the door at any moment. However, the food was great and the service equally so.

Next stop was Duluth and there we had some nice time along the shore of Lake Superior before driving on to another state park. This one was called Gooseberry Falls and as the name implies, it is the scene of the famous Gooseberry Falls. These consist of the Middle and Lower Falls of the Gooseberry River, as it plummets through a rocky gorge.

Judy beats us to the top as usual. On the way up to Gooseberry Falls

Tom and Judy at Gooseberry Falls

Trip to America two

2007-09-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

I began my second trip of the year to the USA and Minnesota, on Wednesday 19 September. The first leg of the trip brought me through Atlanta, where there was a 4 hour delay before catching the onward flight to Minneapolis/St Paul where I was met by Judy. Soon I was enjoying a hearty meal with her and Tom in the comfort of their their home in Plymouth.

Next morning, after a good rest, Judy and myself set forth to visit Sarah and the boys, Davey and Derek. What better way to spend the first day of my holiday than with those two little boys and their mom.

We had a lovely day playing on the swings and batting the ball. Davey at 4 years old, it quite a batter and with Judy acting as pitcher we had a very enjoyable game. An interesting point – once when Davey gave a ball quite a whack. Judy said to him: aren’t you quite the power house? I’m not a house was his reply, I’m a boy.

Davey and Derek flying high

Taking a break

Derek Judy and Davey

When evening came and we were leaving for home, we received a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm warning. Fifteen minutes before the thunder storm warning expired, we set out for home. However, what we were unaware of was that the warning had been extended an hour and a half in the area of home. The result being that we drove straight into the storm. It was a pretty severe storm but with Judy’s expert driving, we made it home safe and sound. Also, we were fortunate to have power when we got home, while 14,000 other homes were without.

Approaching Storm

Threatening Skies

View through Judy's windshield

Severe flooding on the road home

Final Weeks of My First Visit to America

2007-09-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well, my next visit to America is very close at hand (I leave on Wednesday next 19 September) and I find I haven’t got round to fully recording my last visit yet. Well I suppose such are they vagrancies of human nature. Some of us start off with the greatest intentions and we get a lot of things done and then we fall into a state of lethargy and before we know it, days turn into weeks and weeks into months and we find at the end of it all a deadline is upon us and we have nothing done. Sometimes I come under that heading I'm afraid. I have no excuses to offer, I stand guilty as charged. All I can do is apologise to my readers and promise that next time the trip will be recorded on a daily basis and not left until I return home.

It’s very hard to get home from a trip such as I had the last time. Your body arrives back on schedule, but ones mind and emotions are still with the events and people you have left behind. It takes a long time to collect that mind and be able to do a series of posts that fully does justice to all you have experienced.

I have written a lot about my time with the entire Wright family. There would be many more times that I would experience their hospitality and the feel good togetherness of being in their company.

One such time was Easter and what a great time we had then. Arranging the egg hunt on Easter Sunday for the children (and some adults too) was very special. What a beautiful tradition this is to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Easter egg hunt in progress

Little Derek’s birthday party is another event that will stay with me for a long time. Unfortunately, that may have been over shadowed slightly by the fact that it took place a couple of days before I was due to leave for home. On the positive side though, it was a marvellous way to finish the holiday. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever again find myself enjoying a childhood experience such as swinging on a garden swing or careering down a slide like a five-year old, but that is what those people do for you, they make you forget all the deficiencies you have accumulated in 68 odd years of life and give you the ability to live the moment. And what wonderful moments they were – now I’m looking forward to doing it all again because Davey has informed me no later than today that he is anxiously awaiting playing on the swing with Gramma Joe, as we are affectionately known. In fact he was insisting that we be there today, but I’m afraid he’ll have to wait another week before I can take up that challenge again.

Having a swinging time at Derek's Birthday Party

Another great aspect of Derek’s birthday party was that Tom and I got a great opportunity to play with toys Derek had got for his presents.

Grandpa and Derek enjoying the toys

Another bringing together of family and friends was Judy’s birthday. How fortunate I was to be there for that. By this time of course, I was well ensconced in the family, but it was marvellous to meet all the friends that had come to pay tribute to her on this marvellous day. It was such a strange thing. Even though I had never met any of the friends face to face, I knew most of them from having seen them on video and pictures. I don’t want to single out any of them; they all deserve special mention for their friendship and total acceptance and understanding of my friendship with the entire family that found its roots in my chance visit to the chat room in mid 2005, but I have to mention Tom and Judy’s next-door neighbour, Joan. I had found a special connection with Joan. I had heard so often, while talking to Judy, the sound of her mower as she mowed the grass on her yard (we call it a lawn). I would say to Judy, “there goes Joan again”. It was great to meet at last the architect of that sound I had become so familiar with.

Sarah, Joe, and ??? at Judy's Party

Judy’s party having coincided with my visit and the fact that the good St Patrick also had an input - it being his Feast Day - gave the party a real Irish flavour. Adam managed to acquire a Céad míle fáilte banner to be hung under the mantle in the fireplace room and it was very hard not to notice that most other things were emblazoned in the green of the Emerald Isle. I thank you Tom and Judy and all the family for sharing this special day with me.

To get the atmosphere of a day like this, you have to understand the open door policy of the Wright household and the all-embracing closeness of the family to each other and to everyone that has the good fortune to be their guest.

For this special day, the hostess duties were taken over by Sara Beth, Sarah, and Kara. Judy could not have left this duty in more capable hands. They expertly organised everything and helped to make the day a most pleasant and enjoyable experience and one that will reside in my heart for a long time.

MY VISIT TO NEW JERSEY

My trip to visit my family in New Jersey was a trip that was long-overdue. Although I have seen my sister-in-law Maureen and her husband Tom - my brother-in-law - on numerous occasions on their visits home to Ireland, I had not seen their two children - my niece and nephew - Mary and Edward since they were children. Now, of course, they are adults with spouses and children of their own. One of the most pleasurable parts of the tour was seeing them again after all the years and getting acquainted with Mary’s husband, Anthony, and Edwards wife, Amy and of course their children.

Tom and Maureen met me when I flew into Newark on a wet and winterly evening but the warmth of their welcome and the eventual arrival at their home in New Jersey made the weather a very insignificant matter.

On my second day in New Jersey, Tom took me on a train ride to Philadelphia where he brought me on a very interesting tour of the battleship New Jersey which is now retired from a long and fruitful campaign. It is now a museum piece and lies at anchor in Camden docks New Jersey.

I think the tour of this magnificent ship was a nostalgic occasion for Tom because if memory serves me correctly, it was one of the ships he served on during his long career with the American navy.

On board the SS New Jersey - one of its deck guns was able to fire this shell 25 miles

For me, one of most nostalgic moments was meeting my niece Mary. I hadn’t seen her since she was a child and meeting her brought back many happy memories of the times she spent with us at our old family home near Nenagh. She was a beautiful child then that was loved by all of us. It was no surprise for me to see that she had retained that beauty of character and generosity. I just felt pangs of sorrow that her aunt was not there to share this moment.

Mary and Anthony, her husband, have two beautiful children that I immediately lost my heart to, Abigail and Aileen. We immediately became firm friends and I would spend many happy hours with them during the rest of my stay in New Jersey.

Later on my first visit to them I met Anthony, when he arrived home from work. What can I say about Anthony? He is one of those guys that immediately makes you feel at home and at ease in his house. I’m sure Tom and Maureen will agree with me when I say that they could not be blessed with a better and nicer – and more worthy husband – for their daughter.

Mary and Anthony

Abigail, Maureen, Joe, Tom, Mary, Aileen, Anthony.

Story time, Aileen, Joe and Abigail

Well enough of the nostalgia, I just felt it was important for me to try to put into words how I feel and have always felt about my late wife’s family and who I am proud to say are my family too.

It was great to see my nephew Edward again after all the years. His dad, Tom, and I waited for him outside the building where he works in Philadelphia. A lot of people were going in and out of that building, but I recognised him immediately I saw him come out even though I hadn’t seen him since he was a young boy. Later we went for a most enjoyable lunch at his favourite restaurant.

Enjoying lunch with Edward and his dad, Tom, in Philadelphia

My stay with Tom and Maureen was pretty hectic and exciting. Over the course of a few days we managed to visit many parts of New York City. We visited Anthony at his place of work and got a tour of his building. We got to visit Ground Zero – now a construction site. We went to the top of the Empire State Building, had lunch at a famous Irish pub and restaurant on Murray Street, called Biddy Early’s where the food was excellent.

Tom and Maureen enjoying lunch at Biddy Early's bar and restaurant

I was hoping to get to visit Ellis Island where some of my aunts and uncles arrived when they immigrated to America in the early 1900’s but the time schedule didn’t allow for this, so this visit will have to wait for the next time

Probably one of the most poignant places any Irish visitor to New York can visit is the Irish Hunger Memorial garden—located on the corner of 290 Vesey and North End Avenue.

The Irish Hunger Memorial garden is a monument to those who perished during An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger), and is a symbol to highlight areas of the world affected by hunger today.

The Irish Hunger Memorial site sits on a half-acre piece of land, significant as a clause added to the Irish Poor Laws by Sir William Gregory during the famine meant that anyone who owned more than a half-acre of land was not eligible for any aid or relief. Many of the starving were poor but owned a half-acre, forcing them to abandon their homes in order to obtain food.

Part of the Hunger Memorial

Before it was time for me to return to Minneapolis, we spend a beautiful day with Edward and Amy and their three children – Melissa, William and Laney. I also enjoyed a great family get together day and a beautiful meal that Maureen prepared as a going away party. This was a wonderful day but it was sad at the end saying good bye to everyone. Soon though, I hope to return to see all of them again.

Edward, Joe, Maureen, Melissa, William, Amy, Laney and Tom

Melissa, Laney and Edward

One thing that I really felt deeply was the friendliness and kindness of Tom and Maureen’s neighbours that I had got to know during my stay. They all came to say good bye to me the night before I left to return to Minneapolis.

This trip to America was one of the greatest experiences of my life, but it wasn’t over yet. I still had two weeks with my dear friends in Minnesota before returning home to Ireland.

I still had a trip with Tom and Judy to Colville Park to see the eagles – the eagles didn’t turn up but that was just a minor thing. At least I got to feel the waters of the famous Mississippi river. I still had a day at Minnesota zoo with Judy, Sarah, Davey and Derek, an evening at kinder musik and a day at the Mall of America with Judy.

Homeward bound. Approaching Dublin Airport with Ireland's Eye underneath

My thanks and my love to everyone that made this visit to America one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.

In Praise of Irish Bogs

2007-07-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

My recent acquisition of two lovely pieces of bog oak sculpture from my friend local artist and sculptor Richard J Gough has rekindled my interest in Irish bogs and has prompted me to write a post on the subject.

The raw material that sculptors like Richard work with to produce those beautiful artifacts is reclaimed from ancient bogs in which they have slept for thousands of years. Carbon dating has shown that they are between 3,000 and 5,000 years old. Many years ago this wood was used in domestic utensils, jewellery, torches, and also for a source of fuel supply.

Ireland is a country long associated with bogs. All too often derogatory titles have been attached to the Irish people due to that association. Names such as “bog men”, “bog trotters” and other equally less flattering terms were used to describe the Irish. Phrases such as “bog standard” would be used to describe workmanship of an inferior nature.

Why Ireland should be singled out and placed in this category, eludes me because bogs are a very common feature throughout Europe. Indeed, parts of America are widely covered with bogland and fens. My favourite US state of Minnesota, with more than 6 million acres, has more bogs than any other state except Alaska.

Throughout time, the bogs have made a vital contribution to the Irish people by the production of fossil heating fuel. In its natural state the peat or turf is approximately 90% water and 10% solid. Its location near the surface meant that it could be harvested and dried and was a readily available economical fuel. A couple of weeks turf cutting followed by drying throughout the summer months would provide enough fuel to last a family until the following year when the cycle would be repeated.

Turf cutting in an Irish bog
Doing it the traditional way
Over the past three decades peat (or turf) production in Ireland has been transformed from a rudimentary hand-won operation to a highly mechanized and commercially profitable national industry. Through a mixture of government policy-making and technological advancement 130,000 acres of bogland have been converted into a major fuel production complex. Peat has captured a large share of the domestic solid fuel market, both rural and urban, and accounts for one-quarter of the nation's electricity
peat harvesting
Doing it the modern way
Another contribution made by the bogs to the Irish culture has been bog wood that I mentioned at the top. After the last Ice Age melted away, Ireland was covered in forests of Oak, Yew and Pine. As the climate became wetter, the ground became boggier and eventually could no longer support the growth or reproduction of these trees. As the bog expanded it drowned and buried the trees and the lack of oxygen in the wet peat preserved the wood from decay. The Bog Oak is now black because of the acids and the chemicals of the bog, and the Bog Pine is a richer golden colour.

The bogs of Ireland are part of our heritage. They can be seen as the keepers of our history. Because they have been formed over time, they can be seen as a time capsule that will transport you back through the ages. As you dig through the soft pliable material of the peat you will journey back through the ages. Close enough to the surface you will come to a time when Brian Boru informed some Scandinavian visitors and their traitorous Irish allies at Clontarf that they had overstayed their welcome and he would like them to leave. A little further and you will come to a time when there was an unusual court case between two holy men, Finian and Colmcille, about the copyright to a manuscript. Another step downward brings you to the execution of a revolutionary in the Near East because he preached universal love. Then there is the introduction of the new technology of bronze working into Ireland. Close to the ground floor, you will encounter the time of the completion of Egypt’s finest pyramid. Then you arrive at the ground floor and in time, to 3000 BC. There it is all about the steady stream of immigrants into Ireland who no longer depend on fishing and hunting for their food. The newcomers have a magical control over the massive animals which they bring with them, and they eat the seeds of strange new grasses which they plant in the ground. They have new tools and new materials, they bake clay into pottery, they make cloth from fibres, and they man-handle enormous rocks into position to construct megalithic tombs for their dead.

Irish sculptors like my friend Dick Gough take part of that history and with their skill and talent give it new life in the form of the beautiful pieces they create from the ancient wood. Some of their art is sculpted into specific forms. Other pieces maintain the natural shape already in the wood and it is up to the eye of the beholder to decide what they represent. Several people, both in Ireland and, through the medium of the internet, America have seen mine. The glory of it is that each person that has seen them has seen something different. All are agreed on one thing though – their beauty and craftmanship

My two pieces of Bog Oak sculptures by Richard J Gough

Dick's Bio

Click to enlarge

In the early 1980's a local schoolmaster started exploring the local bog, near the town of Ballycastle in County Mayo. He discovered that beneath the bogs lay the stone walls of fields that were farmed by Irish people and the remains of some of their houses. They represent the oldest enclosed farmland discovered in the Western world (older than the Egyptian Pyramids) at about 5,000 years. He called them the Céide Fields,people travel from all over the world to visit the oldest known field system in the world that is preserved beneath a wild blanket of bogland on the North Mayo.

Hi Sara...

Blah!! Blah!!

Welcome home Judy

2007-06-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Judy is home from her trip to Italy and Greece. She and Christopher arrived safely in Minneapolis in the early hours of this morning after a gruelling and exhausting trip from Athens. I have to be honest and say, while tracking her journey last night on line and hearing about the long enduring layover at Frankfurt airport, that I thought to myself there is no way that any trip is worth this.

The layover of more than 6 hours in Frankfurt was anything but a pleasant experience, but then what layover is? Airport staff though and the way you are treated can make such a layover either a nightmare or slightly tolerable. Certainly having to vacate your seats when you are comfortably settled, to await the long delay, to make way for travellers catching an earlier flight is something I have never heard of in my life.

I contrast this with my stopover at Chicago when I was returning home from Minnesota. Two aircraft left from the same gate as ours before our flight was due to depart. Was anyone asked to vacate their seats to make room for the passengers boarding those flights? Heck no!! There, airport staff were kind and courteous and went out of their way to make everyone comfortable. And remember, this was Chicage O'Hare, the largest and busiest airport in the world.

I'm sorry for venting about this, but it upsets me when people I care about are treated with less courtesy and dignity than they deserve - especially in Europe which is my neck of the woods. I live in hope though that perhaps I am not considered a European yet. I'm quite happy to remain an Irishman - thank you!!

Well that said, I talked to Judy earlier today and she is somewhat the worse of wear from her trip and suffering from jet lag and a cold. I hope a good rest will soon have her right.

She shared some of her marvellous pictures with me of the places visited on their trip. I have to say it forces me to reconsider my earlier observation. To hear her talk about the places they visited on the tour and the quality time she spent with her grandson Christopher, plus the wealth of pictures which she captured and which I hope she will soon be able to share with everyone, must surely have made the whole trip worthwhile.

Welcome home Judy. We all missed you.

My Visit To America....Part5

2007-06-11T05:40:00.000-07:00

Visit to Estherville Iowa

Wednesday March 14 was the day I was due to talk to Sara Beth’s class of sixth-graders at Armstrong-Ringsted School.

The class was doing a unit on Ireland and the Wright family thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of my visit and have me talk to them about Ireland. A great idea, but like all such things, the sacrificial lamb is the last one to know. Well in truth, I did know about it from the onset, but what I didn’t know was that there would be three reporters there from the local newspapers to record the event. Judy had tentatively told me that “well there might be one reporter there. Just might perhaps”. In the event there were three with pencils and note books at the ready to record my every utterance.

Our plan was that Judy, Tom and I would drive to Estherville, Iowa on the Tuesday where we would meet up with Adam, Sara Beth and their three children, Joseph, Kallsen, and Parker at the Wellness Community Centre where Kallsen and Parker were taking their regular tumbling class and later have dinner with them at their home. Meeting this family was another event that I had greatly looked forward to, but first there was the drive through part of the beautiful state of Iowa to get to Estherville.

Welcome To Iowa

The drive through the Iowa countryside was a great experience. There are few roadside hedges as we in Ireland know them, just the road running through acres and acres of open rolling snow covered farm land as far as the eye can see on either side. Here and there this scene is broken by groves of conifers which surround the beautifully constructed farm houses and their accompanying farm buildings.

Iowa Farmhouse and Farm Buildings

My Irish farming friends may be interested in some farming statistics about Iowa: It has about 107,000 farms. The size of the individual farm averages about 313 acres (127 hectares). In 1952 Iowa became the first state in the nation to produce a billion-dollar corn crop, although its surpluses sometimes contribute to depressed farm prices. Iowa ranks at or near the top among the states in the production of corn, soybeans (rich in oil that provides many other products), hay, oats, and hogs (pigs to us) and in the marketing of grain-fed cattle. The state annually produces more than a billion bushels of corn. Much of it is used to feed livestock.

Dairying, which provides valuable milk and butter, is an important industry in the north-eastern part of the state. This area is often called Little Switzerland. Iowa also ranks high in the production of sweet corn, popcorn, and sorghum.
Of the many famous people that came from Iowa, it is worth noting that it was the home of two men – much loved in Ireland – John Wayne and Glen Miller.

A Unique Iowa Farm Building

We arrived in the town of Estherville, just at night fall and proceeded to the Wellness Community Centre to meet the next branch of the Wright family.
Although I had never spoken to Adam and only briefly spoken to Sara Beth on video, due to the many pictures and videos I had seen of them, meeting them in person for the first time was just so normal and held no apprehension whatsoever. There were hardly any need for introductions and we were soon involved with Kallsen and Parker in their activity.

Joseph and I were old friends as we had spoken to each other many times on video. He’s such a nice pleasant young boy (incidentally, I feel great pride in the fact that we share the same name).

We arrived at Sara Beth’s school on Wednesday where I would talk to her class about Ireland. When the class of boys and girls was finally assembled, Judy introduced me by relating to them, of course, who I was, how I came to be there. When she told them how she and I became friends through the medium of a senior chat room and how our friendship later came to encompass our two families, one little guy in the class displayed his approval with an exclamation of Kool!! Kool!! He was really impressed with the chat room bit. Lol.

With Judy’s introduction and her enthusiastic supporter in the audience, going Kool!! Kool!! I thought anything after this will be a “walk in the park”. What a warm-up session it was. Any trepidation I had went out the window.

Judy’s introduction was marvellous. She was so impressive with her knowledge of Ireland and when she wrote the Irish phrase ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’ on the board and explained its meaning, she stole the show. Based on Judy’s introduction and the fact that they were already doing a unit on Ireland, I thought the best approach was to invite them to ask any questions they may have about Ireland. I was delighted to see the hands shoot up. We were off to a flying start!

First I told them a little of the history of Ireland and showed them on the map where I lived. Then the questions ranged from Irish holidays, typical Irish food, (Do you have a McDonald’s in Ireland?), Irish sports, Irish fashion (Do the kid’s dress like us?). And of course the inevitable question about leprechauns (I think that one came from one of the reporters).

I told them as much as I knew about the history of St Patrick and how we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It being only three days before St Patrick’s Day, and the fact that celebration of the day has a strong tradition in this area, I had brought a good supply of St. Patrick’s Day badges. Those were warmly received by everyone present.

St. Patrick's Day Badge. GOAL is our national charity that provides assistance to victims of man- made and natural disasters worldwide.

All in all, the session went very well and it got very good coverage by all three of the media present. It was comforting though to have Adam present. Any awkward questions that arose from the reporters that I didn’t feel comfortable in answering, or that Adam felt wasn’t part of the agenda, he kicked them to touch with a question of his own. What a guy to have on your team! Thank you Adam!

Well soon it was over and unfortunately, as Tom had to get back to work, we had to say an early goodbye to Adam, Sara Beth, Joseph, Kallsen and Parker. But I would be fortunate to have many more meetings with this family at Tom and Judy’s home before my holiday came to an end.

Sara Beth

Before the Class of Enthusiastic Students

With Sara Beth and Her Pupils

Interestingly, there is a strong Irish connection to Estherville. Estherville is the county seat of Emmet County. Emmetsburg is a town in that county.

In the mid 1800s, migration from Ireland to America was at its peak. After arriving in New York, many Irishmen worked their way west. Six such families, attracted to the fertile land of Northwest Iowa, established a frontier Irish colony in Palo Alto County on the banks of the Des Moines River near the present site of Emmetsburg. In later years, they were joined by other Irish immigrants homesteading throughout several townships within the county. Later, a town was platted and named Emmetsburg in honour of the Irish Patriot, Robert Emmet, who in 1803 was executed by the English government in Ireland’s fight for independence. A statue of Robert Emmet, one of Ireland’s most venerated heroes, stands in the Palo Alto County Court House square. The culture and customs of the Emerald Isle were preserved in the area. One such custom was the observance of St. Patrick’s Day. The festivities have grown from a small group of men marching down Main Street with the Coat of Arms and green derbies to a gala three-day celebration that includes a variety of activities to please people of all ages.

The link to Ireland was further reinforced in 1962. Negotiations between the Emmetsburg Mayor and the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ireland, resulted in a joint proclamation officially declaring the two as “Sister Cities.” Through this declaration, they agreed to join together in the rejoicing and celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.

Congratulations Dave

2007-05-24T03:22:00.000-07:00

Today, I want to divert from my regular visit to America postings to congratulate my very good friend and honorary member of my family, Sarah’s husband, Dave, who recently graduated with a Master's degree in Organizational Leadership.

I know the amount of hard work and dedication, and family support, it takes to achieve something like this.

I have never spoken much of Dave in my postings and I’m glad I now get the opportunity to do so. Dave is one of the nicest most unassuming people I have met during my visit to America – indeed, I could say in my whole life – He left nothing undone to make me welcome to his home during my visit.

Dave is a dedicated family man who lives for his wife and children – a quality that ranks very highly with me.

Congratulations Dave and Sarah, and long may you enjoy the fruits of your hard work and dedication.

From left to right: Dave's proud moment, Dave, Sarah, Davey and Derek,
Dave and Sarah, Dave's proud parents, Mr and Mrs Walstrom.

My Visit To America....Part4

2007-05-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Judy and I travelled the short distance to attend church at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church. Tom is a member of the choir there and he had preceded us at an earlier time.

Joe and Judy at the door of the church

This was the first of the three times I would attend service at this church and each time I found it to be a beautiful experience. I loved the welcoming atmosphere, the beautiful choir and, of course, the great homilies of the Rev. Bruce Robbins.

Attending Service at this church is an event rather than an obligation. I certainly don’t mean that in any disrespectful way but to listen to the choir, and take part in the full participation of the congregation, there is no sense of time or boredom.

Later in the day, Judy and I went for a walk on Medicine Lake. No! Not a misprint and we certainly hadn’t suddenly achieved miraculous powers. Medicine Lake is a large lake situated close to Tom and Judy’s house. At the time of my visit, it was completely frozen and could be traversed with complete safety. Due to the thickness of the ice though safety is not an issue, but to me, that had never seen anything like this in my life, it was another thought provoking experience.

Joe and Judy walking on water

At the time we were there, except for a few of the more adventurous, the lake was practically deserted, but had my visit taken place earlier in the winter, it would been a hive of activity. The lake has always been a venue for ice fishing, but in recent years also, it has become host to various artists and other attractions. I believe it can be quite a festive time.

On Monday, Judy and I drove to Chaska to fulfill another long-awaited pleasure – the meeting of her father and her other daughter, Kara.

On the way to fulfill this appointment, we stopped by the cemetery where Judy’s mother lies at rest. I felt privileged to visit this hallowed place and stand by the graveside of the woman that Judy has told me so much about and who, I know, she misses so much. As I stood there, I felt a deep sense of reverence and honour to know I was in the presence of the beautiful lady that played such an all important part in the life of my friend.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam. (May her soul be on God’s right-hand side).

At the graveside. Pictures published by kind permission of Judy

I found it hard to leave this place, but time was catching up with us and after laying flowers on the grave and saying our silent prayers, we left to have lunch with Judy’s dad and Kara at one of my favourite restaurants – Perkins.

Joe, Judy, Judy's dad and Kara at Perkins

Judy, Kara, and I arrived first but it wasn’t long before I saw a smartly-dressed, energetic man approach. Having spoken to him on video on previous occasions, I knew him instantly to be the man I was so looking forward to meeting in person. He greeted me with his, by now, familiar observation - “YOU’RE a good-looking guy” lol. The poor man! And he is, otherwise, so clear-thinking and observant.

Lunch was a most enjoyable affair. Again I must say, I love the Perkins restaurants. Besides, this restaurant comes highly recommended. Judy’s dad goes there regularly for his favourite meal of pancakes. See Judy's post (http://judyslife.blogspot.com/2007/04/nice-to-be-with-youall-of-you-part-2.html).I once heard somebody say they didn’t like Perkins because the coffee served after their meal was cold. Well my humble opinion is, if you have lunch with two beautiful ladies and a man who thinks you’re a “good looking guy”, who the he.., err dickens cares if the coffee is a little cold?

Lunch was over and unfortunately, it was time to say good bye to Kara as she had to get back to her work place, but Judy’s dad then took us on a tour of part of the city of Chaska. He took us to see the house at 210 Oak St, which was once the family home.

Judy looking at the old family home

Sitting in the car opposite the house, I listened with interest as Judy and her dad reminisced about their years living in the house. They talked of the time the great Minnesota River overflowed and flooded the town. A dike had been built in previous years to contain the river but, notwithstanding that, water of the river overflowed and broke through. Town engineers averted a major tragedy by boring a hole through the dyke, thereby allowing the water to filter through gradually rather than a huge torrent over the top. Judy’s house being in the direct path of the water was flooded but with the help of family friends, they managed to move their perishable items, including a new carpet that had just been laid, to a higher level of the house. They then stood in their kitchen having coffee and doughnuts waiting for the water to come before moving to a family friend’s house where they spent the next three weeks. I wonder why the band on the deck of the Titanic playing Nearer My God to Thee, comes to mind at this particular moment.

Judy’s dad told us how Chaska was once famous for its brick manufacturing industry. An abundance of high quality clay led to the start of brick making in 1857 and by the 1880’s, as a result of the clay resources, Chaska was a thriving brick manufacturing centre. Bricks were shipped to St Paul by boat. The city of Chaska grew as a result of the steamboat trade, but rapid expansion really began when the Minneapolis and Saint Louis Railroad was built through the town in 1873.

Chaska City Park

Chaska's history also reflects the influence of the Native American culture. The first inhabitants are believed to be the Mound Builders, whose ancient communities are marked by mounds in City Square. Later, the Dakota (commonly known as the Sioux) were the primary nation in this region known as the Big Woods. Although the Indian mounds located in Chaska City Square indicate the immediate area was inhabited years before 1769, that's the year Chaska's recorded history began.

A beautiful gazebo also stands in the city square. Judy recounted how she often danced round this as a younger girl to the music of the Friday night dance bands (I promised her I would use the word younger).

My Visit To America...Part3

2007-05-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

After a relaxing morning on Saturday, Tom suggested that we take a ride (for the benefit of my home readers – a drive) through the city and then go on to Stillwater to have a meal in the Dock café on the banks of the St Croix River.

Tom and Judy first took me through the most historical area of Minneapolis, the historical warehouse district, which is part of what I believe to be the birthplace of Minneapolis, the Riverfront. The river, of course, is the famous Mississippi.

My research, coupled with Tom’s very informative narrative as we drove along, tells me that a European priest called Father Louis Hennepin first came to the area, which is now known as Minneapolis, in 1680. Father Hennepin named the Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi after his patron saint, Anthony of Padua.

Throughout the 1600s and 1700s, the area was passed back and forth from French to Spanish and finally to U.S. rule when it was purchased in 1803 by what is known as the Louisiana Purchase.

Early in the century St. Anthony Falls was mainly a tourist attraction, but the same falls that inspired travellers also attracted millers and lumbermen.

The city of Minneapolis was then born from the banks of the Mississippi River and was built from the flour and lumbering mills which prospered here a century ago on the power of St. Anthony Falls. Over the course of 35 years, the riverfront grew from a frontier establishment to a major industrial city. In 1870, the city’s population was 13,000. 20 years later it had grown to nearly 165,000. The economic and population boom of Minneapolis is due to the successful milling industries that flourished here in the late 1800s to the early 1900s.

Minneapolis was also a natural for lumber milling. In the mid 1800s lumbering prospered in Minnesota because of the abundance of high quality timber and the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers became the vehicle to transport logs to the waiting mills.

Our drive also took us by the University of Minnesota, which is also in this area. From here Judy graduated with a degree in Elementary Education

Stillwater, Minnesota is a city situated in the St Croix River Valley. Only a short drive from Minneapolis, we arrived there on a beautiful day despite the fact that there was still a heavy covering of snow on the ground.

Main Street Stillwater Minnesota

The St. Croix River Valley was a well known area, even back as far as the 1600s. However, settlement in the area could not take place until two treaties were signed between the U.S. Government and the Native American Nations that roamed the area. On July 29, 1837, the U.S. signed the treaty with the Ojibwa Nation, and on September 29, 1837, the treaty was signed with the Dakota Nation, which allowed white settlement in the St. Croix Valley. People started coming to the area almost immediately. A settlement up at the falls of the St. Croix was created. Then a settlement by a group from Marine, Illinois started a lumber mill on the river, and in 1839, a man by the name of Joseph Renshaw Brown settled a small trading post at the head of Lake St. Croix which he called "Dakotah." Dakotah later became the county seat of St. Croix County, Wisconsin Territory, and still later, become an area known as "Dutchtown" in the city of Stillwater.

But enough of the history, I include this purely to give my readers back home a flavour of the places we visited.

After enjoying a short walk through the main street of Stillwater, we arrived at the Dock Restaurant. This was my first experience of an American restaurant. What an experience! It was what I can only describe as fantastic.

The Dock is a beautiful restaurant situated on the banks of the St Croix River. Here we enjoyed a beautiful meal overlooking the frozen St Croix.

Lunch with Tom and Judy at the Dock Restaurant

View of the frozen St Croix River from the Dock Restaurant

Later we took a walk along the side of the river towards the iron lift bridge that spans the river and carries Highway 64 into the state of Wisconsin.

I marvelled at the beauty of the place, it is one of those places that you sometimes arrive at in life and are reluctant to leave, but the day was moving on and it was time to head for home. First though, Tom and Judy decided that we would drive across the bridge into the state of Wisconsin, so that I could have the experience of visiting another state.

It is now nearing the end of the third day into my US visit and another marvellous day to record. Along with seeing more of the great state of Minnesota, I have seen and enjoyed things that have eluded me for a long time.

Again I experienced the exhilaration of a snowball fight. This could be described as a return match with Judy because she had beaten me previously in an arm wrestling contest during her and Tom’s visit to Ireland. The fact that I let her win, because the winner had to pay for the meal we had just enjoyed in the Hibernian pub and restaurant in Nenagh, never seemed to register on her.

The snowball fight didn’t produce any winners, but I’m sure somebody will disagree with that…Right Judy?

As we drove towards home, I thought of how much I was enjoying this visit. It was another very enjoyable day. Marvellous sights, beautiful food, beautiful company. What more could anyone ask?

Yes…Life Is Good!

Snowballing

Drawbridge crossing the St Croix River

Crossing Drawbridge into Wisconsin

Approaching Minnesota/Wisconsin Border

Landmark Building Stillwater

My Visit To America

2007-05-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

On the morning of Thursday March 8 last, my good friend Pat Whelan collected me at my home to take me to Dublin Airport to begin what was to become one of the greatest experiences of my life. This was of course my first ever trip to America to see my friend Judy and her family in Minnesota and my relatives Tom and Maureen and their family in New Jersey.

As the day of my departure approached, my excitement at making the trip was mingled with a slight nervousness, not because of any fear of flying but the thought of having to navigate Chicago O’Hare, where I would disembark to catch my onward flight to Minneapolis, was slightly daunting.

However, I approached the journey with all the confidence of the uninformed. But boy, Chicago O’Hare! Not a place for the faint hearted, but with the help of the very nice and cooperative ground staff there, I made it to my connection ok.

My first indication that perhaps not everyone shared my confidence was when I called Judy from the departure gate. I could hear it in her unspoken words: “OMG you really made it”?

I was met at Minneapolis – St Paul by Tom and Judy and my all-time favourite of favourites, their lovely daughter Sarah. What a welcome they gave me! This was the first of the many heart-warming welcomes I was to receive everywhere I went People talk about the Céad Míle Fáilte – One Hundred Thousand Welcomes – of Ireland, but I can tell you, I don’t think it is anything compared to the welcome, into their hearts and homes, that I received from Judy and her family.

On the way to their house, Tom at the wheel of Judy’s luxurious Lexus took us on a slight detour to see the beautiful Minneapolis skyline. Although I had seen this in pictures and videos many times before, the sights in real-time are awe inspiring.

Tom and Judy’s home is situated in a beautiful part of Plymouth, Minnesota. Tucked away in the trees, it can only be described as beauty personified – what a place to live. Again, having seen it many times in pictures and videos, to be actually there in real life was the fulfillment of a long-time dream. It was hard to realise, that having only left Ireland at noon that day, here I was, nearing the close of day, in far-off strange land. But, from the moment I entered their house, the atmosphere, the welcoming feeling and the thought of being in the presence of such marvelous friends made me feel right at home – actually during the course of the entire trip, anywhere we went, I could only refer, when going back to the Wright household, as going home.

The room Tom and, especially, Judy had prepared for me was beyond comparison. Despite my protestations in the days and weeks prior to my visit, she had taken what was an already beautiful room apart and turned it into what I can only describe as a product of her wonderful creative talent. In this room I would spend many restful nights surrounded by its beauty, elegance and embracing warmth.

I subsequently learned that this was always their son Adam’s room. I’m so sorry for driving you out of what was formerly your room Adam. Tough!!
I cannot leave this part of my post without thanking Maryzona, a dear and kind lady from Arizona, for her beautiful welcoming gift that had preceded me to Judy’s house. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness Maryzona. I am so happy to number you amongst my friends.

I started this post with the intention of giving you the highlights of my trip, but since every moment and every day was a highlight, I find I will have to break this into a number of posts, so please keep checking back to read more about my visit to America.

My Visit To America Part2

2007-05-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

Friday morning arrived to be greeted by the thick carpet of snow that, I now knew had covered the ground for a number of days. Despite this, the weather was surprisingly mild and warm. So mild in fact, that after breakfast with Tom and Judy, I was able to venture onto their back deck in shirt sleeves. In hindsight, perhaps this was a foolhardy act because I picked up a slight cold that was to plague me for a number of days. However, with Judy and Sarah’s care, I managed to shake it off and continue the visit without any ill effects.

This wasn’t a day though to worry about such a trivial inconvenience as a cold because today was the day I was scheduled to fulfill something I had looked forward to for so long – the meeting of two little boys that for a long time I had communicated with by internet and telephone linkup. I refer of course to, Davey and Derek, Sarah and Dave’s two beautiful children.

This time with Judy at the wheel she and I set forth on the 35 minute drive to Sarah’s house at Eagan Minnesota.As I expected, Judy is a terrific driver. It was so great to drive with her as she wove through traffic and negotiated the highway with an ease and confidence that is second nature to her. Judy, being the perfect lady, never speaks ill of the other road users no matter what transgressions they may commit. She does, however, sometimes, direct her comments to their vehicles, but enough of that now. I may need this armory for a time when I find myself under threat, so I won’t waste it here.

We arrived at Sarah and Dave’s house on a beautiful sunny day. Davey was still at preschool and Derek was napping. Although I had met Sarah briefly the previous night on my arrival at the airport, to meet her now in the confines of her home was simply great.

As I took in the features of her beautiful home, I could identify places where my voice had so often traveled to as I spoke to her or Dave, and their two children, Davey and Derek.I saw the table where Davey and Derek sat as their gramma Judy, and sometimes Kpa (Tom) and I spoke to them as they had their breakfast of toasted gramma muffins, bananas, yogurt, and milk, or whatever the fare of the day would be. (Incidentally, by strange coincidence, this is also the meal we would be having at the very same time. A ploy adopted by Sarah to encourage the boys to eat.). I saw the kitchen counter where the phone would sometimes rest as Sarah tried vainly to get a word in edgewise on some important matter that she wanted to discuss with her mom.I saw the stairs to the basement where we were so often carefully carried by Davey as we accompanied him to see a video of Bob the Builder.

Davey talking to gramma and joe

I had seen those surroundings in my minds eye for so long, but to stand there now in reality was an experience that I found emotionally wondrous.Finally, with the arrival of Davey from preschool, the next great moment arrived. It was no surprise for him to see me there because he had been expecting me for some time.

After an initial period of shyness, in which Davey demonstrated how he could run and jump, he became at ease with me and we were soon playing together like the old friends we had become to be. Derek soon emerged from his nap. As he sat on his mom’s lap at the end of the table, he surveyed me carefully and with caution as I sat at the other end and tried to make friends with him. Eventually a broad smile of recognition broke across his face and he called my name. This is usually the prelude to Derek’s famous sneezing game. First he calls your name and then waits with a broad smile of expectation until you respond. Then he lifts his little eyes to the heavens and as his head comes down, he goes Ahhhhhhhh Choooo. This is repeated over and over with uncontrollable fits of laughter in between the sneezes until he decides he has entertained everyone enough and moves onto something else that requires his attention.

Ahhhhhhh Chooooooooo

One time when I was in the basement playing ball with the two boys, I believe gramma, who was upstairs with Sarah, enquired as to where I was. She was told by Sarah “he is downstairs with my boys, undoing six months of training”. Sorry Sarah but I’m sure you will have them back on the straight and narrow before my next visit.

Even though I did not have the privilege of meeting Sarah’s husband, Dave, on this particular visit, I had a marvelous day and enjoyed myself totally. The day ended with a beautiful meal that Sarah had prepared for us.

I thought to myself, as we all sat round the table, how often I had visited it in the past by telephone link to have breakfast or dinner with the two boys. To be there now in reality with them, was a great experience.Although not quite as daunting as my initial approach to Chicago O’Hare, this impending meeting with Davey and Derek held its own measure of nervousness. Despite the fact that I had spoken to them many times by telephone and on video, I wasn’t sure how they would take to me in reality. My fears were ungrounded because those two boys are so friendly and welcoming, that bonding with them was an easy matter.

This bonding would survive the many exhilarating adventures that lay ahead, such as the day at Minnesota Zoo, the accompanying of Davey to his preschool, where he introduced me to everyone in sight, the visit to Bob the Builder exhibition at the Children’s Museum, the terrific Wright family gatherings that lay ahead, and, of course, an evening at Kindermusik.

Saturday .... Trip through the historical warehouse district of Minneapolis with Tom and Judy and a visit to the beautiful city of Stillwater, Minnesota ....