A Report From An American Vacation
Embroiled in exasperating and heartbreaking nonsense for the last 10 or so days, I’ve been busy writing a story I don’t want to post.
Meanwhile, I’ve been seeing a man about a dog. Originally I was planning to use a crate 21? high and 26? long but the actual crate I’m using to transport my dog to Ireland is 1 inch higher and 2 inches longer. Today I found out that has just cost me an extra $130 for the Aer Lingus leg. Expensive inches.
This spell in Kansas City has been dominated by cold weather with snow and ice staying on the ground and making getting around without a car difficult. On the plus side scooping up the remains of the dog is more palatable when you can grab a fistful of snow or ice.
Yesterday with the sun shining I walked for over an hour in the slush and mud and ice and snow, on non-existent footpaths, on closed footpaths with no alternative routes, and on actual footpaths buried in filthy snow and ice by the efficient snowploughs. And all in my best shoes. I don’t think they’re my best shoes anymore.
A couple of times my foot went through into a hidden hole and I was lucky not to do damage to my ankle or knee.
Last week in the blistering cold I was free to be able to attend a local meet-up of KC Bloggers down in the river market area. Somewhere on foot on my way there I was asked to help make a downpayment on a cheeseburger, just to remind me I was back in Kansas City. It doesn’t do much for your self esteem when the people begging on the streets have more money than you do.
A few years back I wouldn’t have guessed that I would ever meet up with anyone I knew only online, but they’re a rather creative and humorous bunch in person as well as online and I’m looking forward to meeting some more bloggers in Ireland in a few weeks.
The absence of life on the streets is so marked here compared with Dublin. Last night I went to a late showing of I am Legend with the person I have attended more films with than anybody, and I was so glad because coming out onto the deserted streets of Johnson County bore more than a little resemblance to the deserted streetscapes of the movie. In fact I screamed for a solid 5 minutes upon leaving the cinema - not because the creatures of the night were throwing themselves at the car but because of the ferocious cold.
On Saturday gone I was one of a special few invited to the final event of my favourite bookstore in the world before it closes its doors finally in a couple of weeks. Used bookstores draw a certain kind of person and the group that frequent Kansas City’s Bloomsday Books and drink copious amounts of wine there on a more than weekly basis have long been like a family to me.
A screen was erected and we watched Casablanca stopping as always for everyone to sing along to La Marseillaise. I have a post coming bidding goodbye to 14 years of this special book shop. Jason, who took over my job when I left after a year working there has his own eulogy in the Pitch.
For the most part I have reverted to your Irish stereotype on holidays, burning myself with the cold tap, walking to the wrong side of the car, and not realising there is enough time to take a nap while the kettle is on.
This trip to America is a reverse of so many trips from America to Ireland where I’m squeezing in friends at short notice. It will be good to see them some day on Irish soil. And I mean soil literally; I don’t see me affording anywhere in Ireland with an actual floor.
More Adventures of an Irish Artist:
• Suburban Walks of an Irish Immigrant
• Guns, The English, And Americans
• In Sligo Reading Brian Keenan
• The Driving Range
• An Irish Odyssey in Kansas City
• A Christmas Drinking Story
• Pub Crawl Memories
• Growing Up In Dublin with U2
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
It was really good to see you, my friend!
Sorry I departed so abruptley, but that is my part of the milieu I cultivate to add to my mystique!
Kind of like Batman!
You are always welcome here.
Hope you come back soon!
Keep in touch! It was good to see you again. Stay warm!
It was nice to finally meet you. Take care of yourself!
So did you like “I am Legend”?
The dog was great, wasn’t she?
XO - It’s working, and leaving through the toilet window was a stroke of genious
Heather - And it was nice to meet you. Keep mixing it up.
Spyder - I will. And You. And I will.
Medbh - I did like “I Am Legend”, quite a lot. I prefer my thriller and horror moments to be psychological so could have done without the elements that played on the Boo! factor, but I definitely enjoyed it and it left an impression.
Yes the dark seekers were a bit too CGI-y for my liking and many plot points make you go “hey wait a minute…”, but I still felt it was a reasonable adaptation of good concept and he was nicely solid. The dog was superb of course though not a great time for me to watch her, well, you know…
Apologies for my late response to these comments - in my traveling distraction I thought I already had!