Monthly Archives: December 2007

Darby O’ Gill and the Old Country

This year marked my eight year away from home without a visit back. I can not say I was not home sick to go back, but certainly do not see Ireland as some place I will settle again. Knowing how home sick I was my wife got me a ticket to go back around Samhain. My sister’s favorite holiday.

Friday October 26th

The preparation for this trip started several months before I left and up to the end became a crash of things to do and thoughts of what I should have planned better. In an earlier post I had indicated that my passport had arrived in time. This was the largest hurdle, after the one that was nervous to go home.

The morning started with me having brunch with my wife and kids before I left. We went to Cracker Barrel. It is what it is and is generally nice. I can only think after seeing the number of plates that they served us food on that they need to streamline the process and the amount of plates they use per customer. So anyways, breakfast was fun.

The airport was a mad panic to get too after we collected the monopoly money I had to spend from the bank. When I left the money looked like money and not spare pieces from a game. However this spare money is stronger than the dollar, and what a killer it is to get.

I flew United. It was odd having a passport to travel instead of a driver’s license. It was nice and prompt as I have become accustomed to at SLC. The guy in the security line behind me lost his mind and as a result of being a punk became the focused attention of people who don’t like you to hint at anything other than what a nice day it is. I was tempted to get involved but found the idea of him being tasered far more appealing. Can’t hurt to hope for it! Am sure he could have used it.

The first flight was from SLC to Chicago. A nice simple four hours of sitting there. So I watched my iPOD and enjoyed my own movies. I was very glad I had the turbo charger working to charge my iPOD as I watched it. The best part is when I got off the plane it was fully charged! If you get a chance ‘The Commitments‘ is a great movie. It got the R for language and nothing more.

Arriving at Chicago was the odd part. Here we are at what would normally be an end destination and not just a stepping stone. I got off my plane and tried to figure out where my next flight would be. So I asked a member of United staff. I was told that Air Fungus was in the other terminal. I told her I took offense at that and she repeated it. I truly love stupid people. I still need to complain to them about her attitude and how rude she was. So onwards and leaving the stupid people behind I went to the International Terminal.

I found the Aer Lingus desk and found that they had employed the same crowd control technology that the restaurant use to help customers find tables. Yes someone with limited interpersonal skills and the ability to read a seating chart. Picture this there are 3 lines and there is a family / group in each line. Effectively one person / check in per line. Einstein the hostess places me in the line that does not move. While the other 2 lines empty she places me behind someone who needed a therapist and not a flight!

So when it was my turn I asked if they had an issue with the people at United. The Aer Lingus staff was nice and did not trash United. The girl behind the counter was much to my disappointment without an Irish accent. Strange what I was expecting. However I was now asked if I had a green card. Quite taken aback at this I wondered if this was something new in Ireland. I waved my passport again and was told if you want to come back we need to know you can. So I showed her my residence card which was detailed to my plane ticket.

Off I go again, this time through another security check. The Irish departure gate was something funny. It was a large room with windows and chairs and guess what? A BAR. Not only did they have our number, but they knew what the Irish drank as well. So for the next few hours I sat and watched as those boarding the flight got lubed up enough to be able to fly!

This had to be have been the largest Aer Lingus plane I have ever seen. I wandered on with the rest of the herd and found my seat and much to my delight the two seats between me and the other passenger were empty! I had room to stretch!

Yeah another lie if we don’t fill the seats you can be more comfortable. Well if the bloody arms went up the full way I could have stretched out. For the next 8 plus hours I got to try and find a level of comfort. I tried all types of sitting positions, even tried to have good posture. No luck I would have been more comfortable being dragged through Dublin by my toes nails.

So perhaps I could sleep? I tried sitting again, tried resting my head on the seat in front of me. On the tray table and realized I was not Jimmy Summerville nor did I want to be. It got cold and it got bright from the other nutters who though we can have more fun with more reading lights on. This is where I am sure the guy in the seat near me perhaps thought he had sat beside a nutter of his own. I tried to use the blanket from the spare seat to cover my head and block out the lights. I am sure the funny giant with a blanket on his head stuffed with pillows looked somewhat unusual even for a long haul flight. However it gave me no comfort. The guy in the seat did not speak to me again. Must have looked like some form of Mr. Bean antic.

At last we reach Shannon. After an hour and a half of sitting on the plane freezing my face and feeling uncomfortable and tired I was glad when we took off. Next stop Dublin. This is where my mind started to wonder. Was coming back to Ireland a good idea? Would I like what I saw? Would I meet any of my old friends? Would I know where I was?

Saturday October 27th

Dublin. I was now able to really use my passport and use the European line and not have to answer any questions as to why I am here and how much underwear I packed. The airport seemed less shiny and new like the American one. It was used and odd. It was starting to creep in. I had become an America. Things are better on this side of the pond echoed through my head. I was not on that side of the pond where things were bigger anymore. The voice inside my head screamed ‘YANK

After following the crystal maze of corridors where you go up and down stairs I found myself in the basement waiting for my luggage to arrive. Free trolleys to bring my luggage to where I needed to go. All I now needed was my bags. One by one they arrived. I got the feeling someone had conspired and separated them just to see what my fragile blanket stuffed with pillows mentality could handle. Don’t worry I left those on the plane.

One final run through customs and I was in the arrivals area. The first person I saw was my dad. He told me he was the last person we saw when we left and he would be the first when I arrived home. Then I heard my sister and when I looked over I saw her and my mother. My sister was holding a beautifully made sign to welcome me home. I am not sure I thanked her for that. I should have brought it back to America with me.

My mother and my father dear reader’s are not on good terms. So being together at the airport was a tense moment. My dad asked if we had wanted to have dinner together or not on Sunday. My mother declined. Now the dilemma set in. Who do I drive out to Maynooth with?

My mother and sister took my luggage and my father and I drove back to Maynooth. We went to the parking structure. I asked dad where he had parked. He indicated that he had parked further ahead. I glanced forward looking for the car. Then when I saw it I had to laugh. This was what was meant by the term ‘sub compact‘. It was smaller than a real car. It was the type of car that you could imagine came with a few tokens from Corn Flakes.

And for my next trick folks I will attempt to fit the over sized man in the smaller than small car! WOW never knew I could in fact fit my knees in my mouth! Guess there was a use at last for something that big!

As we drove to Maynooth we passed so much that I used to know and so much that I don’t have any memory of what so ever. There were so many side roads that brought back memories of a life that is now quite distant and blurred.

Arriving to the village was odd. There were roundabouts everywhere. I am not sure I was even in the right place. The old shopping center, once O’Brien’s, then Quinnsworth was now Tesco. I had to walk around, even now I can still see the entire village in my head when I moved to America. Trying to align the memories of what I left with what is there now was, and is quite strange.

…. more later

I stopped and spoke to some people I had known and for some it was a continuation of where we left off, 8 years ago. For others it seemed like a shock that I was back.

I decided a quick trip around the supermarket in order to look at the labels. The brands in essence was what I had wanted to see. These were somewhat familiar, some had new packing and some were the same.

After a brief visit to my father’s house I went to my childhood home. The house and the entire estate seemed to have grown and in some placed shrunk. The trees that seemed rather small and new when I was last there had settled well.