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What was I thinking of? One day to see Dublin? Yes, I had been there before and had been to the National Museum and the National Gallery and to Christ Church Cathedral and St Patrick’s Cathedral and every site associated with James Joyce, one of my favorite authors. And I had eaten fish and chipsContinue reading “Ireland 2021: Day 7: September 15”

Sunshine at 8:00 in the morning on our sixth day in Ireland. This was no watery, misty sunshine; this was honest-to-goodness sunshine that looked like it would last for a while. Our friend Jeff had told us just the night before that if we had sunshine in the morning, we should plan to go overContinue reading “Ireland 2021 Day 6: September 14”

Ireland 2021 Day 5: September 13 Bright red meat—lots of it—slab upon slab of what looked to be lamb chops ready to be individually cut, sides of beef that were waiting to be cut into steaks and roasts; in other displays fat, linked sausages spilled out over the sides of their trays. The displays ofContinue reading

Lush greenness everywhere—isn’t that the first description that you always hear for Ireland? We had already seen evidence of this description. The Kilkenny Castle grounds were green and still producing late blooms on the flowers. We had seen green fields of crops to be harvested, although, to be sure, we also saw some yellow stubbleContinue reading “Ireland 2021 Day 4: September 12”

Rain plagued us on the way to the coastal town of Galway, but by the time we arrived, about 1 ½ hours after we left our Bunratty B & B, the sun, still a little watery, was beginning to show through the clouds with promise of a finer day than we had encountered yesterday atContinue reading “Ireland 2021 Day 3: September 11”

The weather wasn’t promising; it was misty, cloudy, and cool. Our appointment to see the Cliffs of Moher wasn’t until 4 p.m., so we were hoping that the weather would clear before then. Meanwhile, we drove from our B & B in Bun Ratty, a small village with a small castle, to Limerick, a largeContinue reading “Ireland 2021 Day 2: September 10”

Arriving in pitch black sky at 5:40 a.m. with misty rain is not perhaps a fortuitous beginning to a trip, but one advantage to an early arrival is that not many other people are going through the lines of immigration and customs. In no time, Jim and I were walking through the arrivals area toContinue reading “Ireland 2021 Day 1: September 9”

A loud thud. “Oh-h-h-h,” a high-pitched voice that dwindled down to a whisper. The creak of the door as it opened. “What in the world has happened?” Jim and I both thought as we rushed through the crowded living room and dining room to the front door. We were having a Christmas season open houseContinue reading “Dr. Shirlee McGuire: a Memory”

I bit into the kernels and first heard the crunch and then the pop of the juices bursting forth. My mouth was filled with the luscious, sweet flavor, and I could feel butter dripping on my lip as I smiled broadly. I was immediately taken back to my childhood summer days with their fresh flavorfulContinue reading “The Garden”

The first time I met her, I didn’t remember her for very long. I had finished my freshman year of high school; she, her second. We happened to be on a bus leaving from Columbus, Ohio, going to Estes Park, Colorado, for an event called “International Institute,” sponsored by the Church of the Nazarene (theContinue reading “A Tribute to Donna L”