The Month of March ... Celebrating the Inner Irish in All of Us - Chapter 15
To whet your appetite and help you prepare to celebrate the upcoming MAJOR INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY, St. Patrick's Day, I thought I would share a few photos and a wee bit of the story about a trip we made to Ireland. I will post a wee bit each day until St. Patty's day. Hope you will follow along.
I thought it might be a good idea to re-introduce you to the cast of characters in this story. The purpose of this trip was to return the ashes of my wife's mother, Mary, to her homestead in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, Ireland.
Chris, my wife, (Be patient. You'll find out tomorrow)
Eric, her son, the surfer, aviation student at Western Michigan, farm hand and NOW psychologist/entertainer
Barbara, her sister, NOW mine explorer
Ed, her father, the man who never took a bad photograph, and NOW honorary Irish
Me, her husband, NOW demolition derby driver
Wee Bit No. 15 - Our last full day in Ireland is finally here, and in a wee bit, we will be going over to the thatched roof cottage where Mary was born, to have a private little ceremony and sprinkle her ashes...you remember those, don't you? Then you also remember how we "hatched" the plan to smuggle her ashes past security at the airport. You also may remember how I described this metaphor was as "fragile as an egg..."
So last evening we visited Michael and Roseanne Biernes
at their family home, once owned by Michael's parents, John and Greta Biernes in Drumshanbo and met some other relatives from another side of Mary's family. We gathered around the fireplace in the living room in sort of an informal "meet and greet." Michael Biernes mentioned Mary's homestead was undergoing a complete renovation inside and out, with new asphalt shingle roof, stucco sidewalls and many changes inside.The smell of peat burning in the fireplace created a warm and friendly atmosphere.
As we chatted, we let them know our mission for this visit and how we planned to go to Mary's homestead the next day for a wee bit of a ceremony with the ashes, and asked if they would like to take part. They indicated they would meet us over there around 10 o'clock.
So this morning, as usual, we had another one of Maírín's never ending scrumptious breakfasts, again served with rainbows on the side. It struck me a bit unusual that today it was a double rainbow and I thought, "well that must mean something."
Well, Maírín had tempted me with just one more breakfast item I had never tried, so I fell a bit behind the others. Bobbie and Eric went upstairs to get ready for this outing while Ed and Chris retired to the sitting room across the hall from the dining room. I could hear them chatting a bit and planning the day while I was finishing up breakfast and enjoying the rainbows.
As I finished up the last savory bite of Maírín's special treat, I could hear Ed and Chris' conversation winding down. Chris, trying to get this "show on the road" so to speak, said, "Okay now Grandy (the name Eric called Ed), why don't you go upstairs and get the prescription bottle with the ashes and we'll get going."
Well, there was a wee bit of a pause before Ed replied, "Chris, I thought YOU were bringing the ashes." This conversation was rapidly punctuated by the sound of Chris running up the stairs in tears.
So, does anyone out there care to venture a guess as to the exact location of Mary...every single white powdery wee bit of Mary, at this exact moment?
That's right, folks. We are in Ireland without the ashes.
Since there was nothing we could do at this point to change the course of events, we saddled up and drove over to Lustia Lake, Mary's birthplace. From the doorstep, there is a beautiful view across the road of fields and an inviting path that leads to Lustia Lake. After taking the renovation tour, we started down the path to the lake.
At this point is the series, you're probably thinking this story is over, but I suggest you come back tomorrow and you'll find out there is yet another twist. Please mouse over the photos for more description.
This photo has not been retouched or enhanced in any way. It is exactly as taken by our old Olympus C-700 digital camera. Although Chris and I have our own ideas, I am interested in what you think this is.
In case you have missed previous chapters, links are below:
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Life is good when there are flowers in the garden.
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