Ireland

I anticipated this trip to be a trip "home," and I was not disappointed. Ireland is about the people. Pick a location, visit it, but stay long enough to really be with the people. That's where the wealth is. That's what you will take back as a souvenir. Growing up, I wondered why my grandparents did certain things, ate certain foods, or even exhibited a great faith when various life troubles hit. The answers were in me all the time, but I just couldn't see them until the book of life opened a new chapter on this trip.

Let me start at the beginning. The flight over was pretty typical. A friend of mine, Mr. Mac, who had been to Ireland several times, told me to get on the plane and "Let mother take you home. Don't worry about anything." And she did, and I didn't. I was just starting to doze off when the passenger across the aisle started to speak very loudly. The steward went over to him to quiet him down. The passenger said that he was very nervous and getting panicky since this was his first flight since 9/11. The steward then left to get him a drink. The nervous passenger then turned toward me and started to talk about his whole life, his job, and the fact that he just moved out of New York City