CÉAD MILE FÁILTE, A HUNDRED THOUSAND WELCOMES (THURSDAY)

 

Céad Mile Fáilte!
A Hundred Thousand Welcomes

To Ireland! It was November of 2000 and we went to Ireland.  

And I have the books to prove it.

First, we had to get those little blue books, PASSPORTS, but Calvin's would only be good for a few years as he was a minor, an 8th grader.  We were welcomed on Aer Lingus by the green suited, red haired flight attendants and again at the gates to Dublin/Shannon airpot before we went on to Limerick.  

A nice MAGAZINE titled Cara was in the pockets on the seat backs of Aer Lingus which also contained the mandatory air masks, and excrement bags.  Cara contained a Welcome (one hundred thousand), a map, articles about the peoples like Gay Byrne and Marian Keyes, and destination guides.

On the trip home, again via Aer Lingus, an airline CATALOG called SkyShop was in the seat back.  It was a book of all things you could purchase "In-flight, Duty and Tax Free."  I was tempted but wasn't confident so the offer of souvenir ink pens, toy airplanes, traditional Ireland cap, and Waterford crystal remained unpurchased.

Smyths had a CATALOG which came home with us.  One evening, Calvin and I walked from sis' apartment to the shops and browsed Smyths.  We took the catalog for fun-perusing later, we wanted to shop the store shelves now.  Much like here they offered the trendy Pokemon cards, lunch boxes, and battle figures.  I bought a Barbie doll dressed like an Irish lass.  You couldn't purchase an Irish VHS (the most trendy techno item at the time) because they wouldn't play in the U.S.  I wonder, if I take the coupon from the catalog for 2Ł off a Symphony Gym would they honor it, LOL.

WE KISSED THE BLARNEY STONE!  

We have the PACKET to prove it.

Blarney Castle's image is printed on the envelope, their crest is stamped on the certificate, and it's signed by Sir Richard La Touche Colthurst, County Cork.  Calvin was promised the double gift of gab 'cause he kissed the stone twice, once for a friend.

All this was written down in my red book, I kept a JOURNAL as I traveled.  It's one I've referred to several times over the years. So many details get lost in the memory banks, such as

 like the Irish's love of tea and how they offer it up with the phrase, 

"It'll all come out in the wash".

Back to our native land, days later, Sis very kindly gave us each a SCRAPBOOK.  It's green, appropriately, and contains post cards of St. John's castle, our luggage tags, confirmation of my "international incident", and photographs of Calvin participating in ceili dancing, sis petting a sheep, and many, many other things.

From the Garda, to the rental clerk, to the store keeper, to the man who's truck I hit, 

from the owner of the fish and chip shop, and the landlord of the bed and breakfast,

we were given "A Hundred Thousand Welcomes".

I have a stack of books that says it all.

"Tis glad I am

and glad I'll be

that you like knowin'

the likes of me!"