ROOTS My Great-Grandfather, Aaron Thomas, was 19 when he came to the United States from Belfast, Northern Ireland. That was about 1880. He was married in Kansas, but he girl he married was from, well, actually, her Morher was from Scotland. So I have both Irish and Scotish roots in me blood.
It was with this family history in mind that I have looked forward to visiting Ireland and Scotland. We chose Dublin to visit. There is a dab of civil unrest going on in Belfast and I really didn't want any part of that right now. Dublin has been much more stable, even though an economic crash exists here as well as back home. But the Dubliners have a pretty good attitude about it and are making the best of it as they can.
I really enjoyed visiting Dublin. I enjoyed seeing 400 year old buildings and a way of life that is, in some ways, similar ro ours. Not to mislead anyone, I am here to confess there is no place like America, the land of the free, the home of the brave. There's just no place like home, no matter how you slice it!
We kept telling people that we don't have anything near as old as Dublin. This place has buildings older than our REDWOODS!
It was refreshing to finally be in a country where there was little hard pressure to sell you something, or so many on the streets trying to beg you out of a Euro or pick your pockets. Dublin is more civilized. It was also nice to hear the spoken language be English! We could order food or drinks or ask directions without having to speak slowly or apologize for not knowing the language. The people of Ireland are much nicer and helpful than in some other countries. They are more laid back!
I suppose the one thing I noticed the most is the Irish people's attachment to their beer! There are about as many pubs in Dublin as there are Taxi's, and they boast to have more Taxis in Dublin than in NYC! I don't know so much about the pubs, but there seems to be more than their share! Their claim to fame is the Guinness Beer. It is a dark brown liquid that has a long history of imbedding itself into the very fabric of Irish society. Guinness is found in most every drinking and eating esta lishment...I believe I even saw it at McDonald's! Yes, the golden arches are EVERYWHERE!
Ron and I took a taste of the Guinness just to see what all the fuss was about. It was a mellow drink, served cool, not too cold, with not too much foam on top. I guess it's an art to learn how to draw a draft! Ron and I concurred that for non drinkers, we didn't care much for the bitterness. To us it was not a pleasant drink and none that we will miss or desire down the road. It occurred to me that Old Man Guiness, back in the 1800's must have been a fantastic salesman! He created something with a bitter taste and convinced the Irish that it was their heritage or something; that they should buy vast quantities of this stuff and consume it regularly! What a salesman! The rest is history!
We enjoyed visiting St Patrick's Cathedral. It is a beautiful building built by the Catholic Church 300 - 400 years ago. It wasn't as plush as some other churches we visited, but it was nice. Christ Church Cathedral was also very nice. Those masons really knew how to put up a building!
We visited Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, a bible hand crafted and hand written by a few Monks back in the 16th century or so. It was a work of art and masterfully done, painstakingly written with quill and ink, without error. It was a piece of work, for sure. It was in a sealed case, viewed through thick glass in dim light and lay open to the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
The Irish Church of Christ was fun to be at. It was established in 1977. They are all first generation Christians with a level of zeal we can be jealous for! Everyone participated in singing (forget the 4 part harmony!). When the sermon was preached. Nearly everyone was taking notes and turning pages to their scriptures. Families sat together and even the kids were listening to the preacher and looking in their bibles. I was amazed at the participation! They seemed very sincere and genuine in their new found faith.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we will be in EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND. Friday we catch a train to London, England. We will be there through Monday. Tuesday we fly to the USA; back to NYC.
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