So sure, I did end my diary on the 27th, but the journey was not yet over.
I woke to my own alarm, which was good for no one called for me. I was ready ahead of time and went into the empty lobby and waited, not as eager as I thought I would be to get on with the business of getting home. The taxi driver came and loaded my heavy suitcase into the trunk and off we went. I just left my key to the Shrewsbury Suite on the desk.
On the way I don't remember what we spoke of, but I was taught that I had been pronouncing Nollaig Shona wrong in my head and the last word rhymed with how-na, as opposed to hoe-na. (For that matter, Howth rhymes with Both, but I bet you knew that. And then again Emmet writes into to tell me to say 'Nullig Hunna', and from here I have no choice but to recommend searching the gaeilge-b archives for more of this topic)
I did not have to wait too long at the counter and there were a fair number of people there in the black morning, all in good moods but respectful of the early hour. This time I got to see more of the airport, including the duty free shops. It was not that long before I was seated next to a cheerful plump Dutch woman and her son on our flight to Amsterdam (had never seen such a dark-featured Dutch person before and actually asked her what language they were speaking). The Duty Free shopping was being held in the air and I very narrowly beat out a man wanting the same last CD set of Irish music (I guiltily admit it is quite good) which I bought to use my Amsterdam paper money and get some Amsterdam coins for my collection. Before long we were landing in Amsterdam and I was hustling to my gate, with no time to shop and get the obligatory wooden shoes as I had so hoped.
The flight back, although about 90 minutes longer, was a million times better. An increasingly drunk older suburban cowboy businessman and I shared three seats between us, and I took some good photos from my window. It was daylight all the way, and our movies were "The Rock" and "Independence Day." The food gave me no adverse affects and the only bad moment was when I used the toilet and forgot to check the seat first. Ew. My mother taught me better than that.
Once into Houston it was dreadfully dull for I could not get an earlier flight and the terminal was amazingly hot, with everyone eventually asking everyone else if they were hot too. I called home, half-wishing someone had shown up there to surprise me, but everyone was still sick with the flu I never caught. I waited and waited and, well, what more can I say? Eventually I got a flight home, was met at the airport by Dad, went to eat Mexican food, and the next day I hauled all of my film to be processed in an hour and although I can blame part of the bad photos on the lab (for in several cases the negs look fine, but I blanch at the cost of individual reprints) my camera has never been very good since. Quite the mystery.
I have not been back to Ireland since. I have to assume I will, although I can't see how it will happen for many a year, but who knows. As the expression goes: Is glas iad na cnoic í bhfad uainn. Related Irish Vocabulary
- alarm - aláram
- coin - bonn
- photograph - fótagraf
- journey's end - ceann cúrsa
Hey Sheri
Are you serious...hope you just kidding!
The Disney's Cruise video is just a typical tourist home video with very amateur camera movements and the only thing that is interesting that "song" which goes back and fort play by the two ships...But then again I'm sure all cruises have this established in their program schedules. So it is belong to home video memories ....nothing more.
As for your comment that the second video is the worst video on the net, my comment is:It is an artform, there is a meaning , a metaheristic and symbolical meaning wich perhaps most Americans can not understand because of your polished, soup opera culture. However who ever did that commercial mend to say that by using plastic prototype , an artificial sea and sand ...and most of all NO people on BOARD...This my dear is call Symbol..In art symbol is use to express irony, dramatic meaning , parody and so on...The Idea is Great...The symbolic meaning in her is...PEOPLE means nothing in the ARTIFICIAL AMERICAN society...They don't exist...There is no one to be in this ship because the ship itself is a mean-less it self, the cruises are mean less as a part of life and they are only SHOW OFF as a status existing only means only in an artificial society... The only problem I have with that is there as not enough effort or time perhaps to use an Animation technique, better sound effects and music to express that idea and turn this video to a masterpiece..
You can keep my comment off line if this embraced you...
Best regards
Posted by: Ivan | 01 October 2009 at 06:57 PM
Hey Ivan - who is Sheri?
(Just kidding - I'm not that obtuse. I am mystified in general at why people so often incorrectly spell the name of the person they are addressing, especially if it is plastered in big letters all around them, but that's more of a genuine interest in the social phenomenon than a criticism. It's also probably a reflection of my nerdiness.)
I'm lost because you're talking about cruising and this post talks about Ireland, so I'm not sure what you're referring to... I am having some trouble with your English (no offense), and all I can gather is that I've said something that you disagree with. Sorry! Again, not being deliberately difficult, but I've made so many posts about and references to cruising on this and several other sites, I'm not sure what you're on about.
Thanks for sharing, anyway.
Update to comment, now that I've re-read: Oh, are you talking about the Queen Mary video that was staged on the plastic tarp? I enjoyed that video very much, although perhaps my critical view of it is slightly different than yours, but such is art. Not unlike when one writes with layered meaning, uses hyperbole ("worst"), or embraces casual diction for a flippant but friendly tone. Sometimes people don't get it when their sacred cows are at stake, but hopefully they are amenable to clarification.
What I don't enjoy are your abusive assumptions about my personal cultural scope. (Not to mention categorizing hundreds of millions of people into your "this is what an American is" pigeonhole.) Why not just leave a polite comment of disagreement with your major points and get a dialogue going? I am boggled.
Oh well, at least I was able to appreciate the Disney ship horn video, as amateur and routine that it was. It must be terrible to not see beauty in the mundane.
Posted by: Shari | 01 October 2009 at 10:20 PM