Travel Reflections—November 15, 2019

Boone NC 4:00 am 11/15/2019. Finished at 9:30 am

Dear my new Scythian Family and Family and Friends

In the previous entries, the focus has been on events on this journey we have taken as a group with The Band Scythian to Ireland. I’ve been in the USA now more than 24 hours trying to catch up on sleep but I find myself still on Ireland time this morning (up at 3:00 am) so I take my iPad in hand to put words to my thoughts about my final experiences in Ireland and to begin process of reflection.

But first: One final report about the last day for Ellen and Donna in Ireland. When you travel to a country, the flight destinations usually are for landing and taking off. This was the case for Dublin with the added bonus for us of an Scythian concert the last night across town! But seeing Dublin in the dark or when you are so tired that you can’t keep your eyes open does not work for me.

So after a day in Belfast on Monday, on Tuesday, we enjoyed a sunny early morning walk through St. Stephen’s Green and and evening walk on campus with students (ENROLLMENT OF 17,000) at Trinity College, Dublin. These are special memories I will cherish. In between the day was spent walking Dublin after taking the a Hop-on-hop-off bus trip around the city.

(You can click on the photo collages to see better)

One highlight for me was the sculpture memorial to the plight of the starving Irish who fled or were shipped to Canada and other destinations in the 1800’s given to Ireland by the Canadian Government and other donors. This was a very moving display. It still gives me chills as I read what I have written.

As Keith, our Scythian bus driver, said, the problem was not that there was no food in Ireland, the good food produced in Ireland was exported to England and other locations. Meat belonged to the land owners and to hunt on their land was punishable by death. The problem was that the food left for the farmers and others to eat was a diet mostly of potatoes that they grew on their small plots of land which was hit by a severe potato blight. This left over 20% of the population from 1845-1847 to either die or to emigrate from Ireland. As this display illustrated not all who emigrated survived the trip! total number of deaths 1 million!

The shoes mark the end the 100 mile (165 km) walk in Dublin Docks of one group of 1490 starving tenants who were to be shipped to Quebec during the Great Famine in 1847. The shoes can been seen along this 100 mile trail as they mark a location to hear one of the stories of the travelers. You can follow this trail at the address below…this link does work!

Home-New

We were blessed with another beautiful sunny but windy day in Dublin on Tuesday. As I packed in Boone, I prepared for wet, rainy weather, but we had sunshine on Aran Islands, then at the Cliffs of Moher, and mostly sun shine the two days at Dromoland Castle with the rain only bringing a beautiful rainbow. Every day there was blue sky for at least once a day!

Ireland is definitely the Emerald Island! I have never seen so many shades of green (Johnny Cash said Ireland had 40 shades of green).

The climate of moderate temperatures and plenty of rain help to contribute to the color, but the friendliness of the people means that Ireland has earned my “Emerald Award for Kindness “. Even the people we met who moved here from America, Croatia or Hungry were as friendly and helpful as the native Irish! Smiles, patience and a “can we help you” attitude means that this will be a country for a return visit! One man at the Dublin postoffice prevented me from mailing a postcard in the wrong box. Who know how long that card would have taken to reach Tennessee.

Ireland is also green in the its pledge for environmental conservation as seen in their forward thinking attitude for the preservation of Ireland for future generations. Hotels require that you use your door card to activate the electricity in your room. This means that when you leave your room, the lights go off as you need your key to get in next time! Most outlets required you to turn it on before using. In Ireland our hotels used glass reusable bottles for water not plastic and the straws I saw were made of paper. Most food locations used real plates, cups, and glasses and the take-away cartons were either recyclable or compostable.

My final reflection is about my fellow travelers including the band who were strangers that became my friends and are now part of the Scythian Family because of this journey. Donna McNeil and I met through our children (her son, Richard and Erin and my daughter, Lori and Eric) who traveled on this journey in February with Scythian. Donna and I visited in Wilkesboro and Boone before this trip and through Donna I met Judy Miller who is also from Wilkesboro. So technically I knew only two and was a fan of the band but from the distance of the stage at Merle Fest in Wilkesboro! What a wonderful group of new special friends!

Now a word about THE BAND!

The Band Scythian is a talented and fun loving group of “lads” (as Keith called them!), Professionally trained musicians who found their voice in the Celtic music of Ireland. I am so impressed with their talent and their faithfulness to God that is demonstrated in their desire to honor their family and love ones with a song at the chapel at Jerpoint.

Such a moving moment. While I recorded the song using my iPhone, I know it will not load on this blog post. They were so well received in all their concerts across Ireland but especially by the students in Dublin at their final concert! Their next concert in Winston Salem on November 23 is already sold out! And yes, I did dance all night even in my white rain boots!

Our large group of 70 travelers are part of the Scythian family that will meet again and again at Scythian concerts and Appaloosa and will keep in touch through email and Facebook! In my last post I included the photos of my new family of friends so check back to remember and see the photos again!

One connection that I did not get to post was the Appalachian State University Connection. My plan was to take a photo of this group to post but we ran out of time! The first day I wore my hat with the Appalachian block “A” pin. Such a recognizable symbol in NC! So on the first day I met ASU graduates, parents of graduates and even a retired business professional that had hired ASU interns. What a small world!

Looking through my more than 2,000 photos over the course of writing this blog, I realize that this trip has been life changing in many ways. I feel younger than my years of birthdays, even with less sleep than normal, and have a renewed spirit and appreciation for the world we live in and for the special people that we meet along the way. Thanks so much to my new friends who have returned to their homes across the country and to Scythian for making this trip special! See you all soon.

Ellen…(a mirror reflective selfie taken on the trip … In Galway!)