An Ireland story

Going to do a little "Best of" posting tonight. Yes, I know, the past few posts haven't been up to standard and trust me, I have very little to write about today. I try to make people laugh and smile and, on the rare occasion, think with these postings and with the news from London today I really don't know how to do any of those. Just want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the people of London and all who were in Russell Square this morning, a place I know very well.

I have no idea if this is fitting or not but I found this old vacation story about a special day in Ireland. Sometimes it's the little things in life that stay with you the longest.

Allison Road: For those wondering how this all links in chronologically, all the events listed here occurred over the great weekend, more accurately just getting out of Galway after that interesting night in the hotel room.

I think it is a Contiki thing that every tour has to have an adventure portion. That’s what happens when you have a tour full of younger people. It’s always an optional portion so people like me can always wuss out and do something a little less stressful, like sleep. This time, Rob described the adventure activities. He listed all these great things like climbing ropes, exciting boat rides and all I could think of is this sounds exactly like the OWLS adventure. He then passed around the brochure and I was right, it was on of those team building, let’s push our boundaries, type of things so I stayed the hell away from it. Instead I went to Kylemore Abbey.

So, while the other 5 I had hung around with went to get wet on a boat I went to the Abbey. On the way there I sat in the back of the bus talking to Alison and I had to be the third person to apologize to her for leaving her with Steve the night before. We got there and to be honest it is one of the coolest places I saw in all of Ireland. The Abbey itself is a mansion built 100+ years ago. The guy who built it had his wife and child tragically die after it was built and as a result was so heart stricken he gave up the building completely. After a couple of strange turns of events the Benedictines got a hold of it and set up and Abbey on the sight.

When you first see it, the Abbey is across a river sitting in the midst of a forest with a hill continuing rising in the background. Once we got there, most of the people went inside the gift shop or searched for food. Alison and me seemed to be the only ones willing to spend money and look at the sights. So oft we went, walking down gorgeous trails in what is probably the nicest scenery I ever saw. We walked and talked about the usual small talk (Alison is one of the nicest, sweetest things you’ve ever seen). There was this gorgeous, miniature gothic cathedral on sight with a cemetery full of Celtic crosses next to it. The Abbey itself was just one of those awesome old buildings which fascinate me with their ornateness.

There are two major reasons why I am retelling this tale. One is Alison, who deserves to be remembered, if it is only for me trying to keep her dry that day and brighten up her day a little. Some times you meet people who you wish you had gotten to know better but you didn’t because you were trying to do everything else. That was Alison who had more stories hidden in her than I will ever know. Also, she was the first person to e-mail me when we got back and for that I owe her a story.

The other reason is a spiritual one. I knew that I wouldn’t have much of a chance to go to church on vacation because it isn’t something that 20 year olds do very often. But, for the past several months I have been going faithfully every week and am slowly beginning to appreciate the results. Walking through the cathedral I at least knew that I may not make it to mass but I did find a church and I did thank the man in charge for giving me this opportunity and to show me what can happen in this world. In the end we both lit a votive candle, Alison for world peace and for me the prayers that lie deep within my soul.

While on the spiritual side, I am for the first time in my life wearing a cross. I’ve disparaged people wearing crosses for awhile, especially those who wear them on the outside. But, I bought one and wear one for a purpose, it is next to my heart and reminds me of what is truly my home and reminds me of why I am here in the first place. It stays next to my heart and very few people will ever see it but I know that it is there.

Last note, the adventure people came back wet and pissed. I was blissful which shows why adventure is not always a pleasant experience.