"Home" Again

     After two delightful weeks in his own house in Nags Head Uncle Jack is finding himself a bit conflicted as to where "home" is these days.  He loves Baltimore but he never stopped loving Nags Head when he moved to Charm City so maybe he should just think of both of them as home and consider himself lucky.  This is not exactly the worst dilemma that could befall a person.
     Actually the dilemma that befell him yesterday afternoon was worse.  He had to choose between going to the symphony at 3 p.m. or staying home and watching the Packers and Bears on his 52-inch, flatscreen, HDTV you-know-what.  It was a tough decision but he has to say the Baltimore Symphony did a terrific job on Shostakovitch's monumental fifth symphony and he did get to watch the Steelers beat the Jets later on and that was probably as much excitement as he could handle in one day anyway.
     It is very cold in Baltimore---so cold that he and Mrs. U.J. had to do their daily walk inside the palatial Towson Town mall this morning.  The owners open the place up for walkers at 7:30 a.m. which is long before the stores open.  Either they are being very civic-minded or they are hoping the walkers will throw off enough heat to cut down on their electric bill.  Either way it's a great amenity for penurious, exercise-seeking old people like Uncle Jack, especially the third floor where Victoria's Secret has some very inspiring window displays.
     He would like to thank all those readers who have taken time to comment on his Baltimore Blog over the last couple of years.  There is supposed to be some way for him to respond to comments but he still
hasn't been able to figure out how to do it so he hopes this blanket response will at least serve as an apology for not responding in a timely fashion.  He does enjoy reading your comments and he thanks you again for sending them.
   A number of readers have suggested that if he doesn't have anything new to say,  which seems to be happening a lot lately, that he go back in the archives and pull out something that hasn't seen the light of day for several years.  He has been thinking a lot about Ireland lately because of its economic problems which are even worse than ours in some ways.  The last time he was in Ireland several years ago the country was in the midst of a boom that threatened to wreck the country in much the same way that prosperity has changed the Outer Banks so radically.  This column was written at that time and my how it brings back memories.




                        Ireland


     Memories of Uncle Jack's big trip to Ireland are fading
fast now that he is back working for a living again so he thought
he would get a few down on paper before they are gone forever.
  
May l7: Visited "Famine l50", a traveling exhibit commemorating
the l50th anniversary of the Great Famine of l846 which resulted
in the deaths of more than one million Irish people and the
emigration of a million more---many of them to the U.S. The
exhibit was on display at "Leisureland", an amusement complex
in a summer resort near Galway and was one of the few cultural
events in Ireland this year not sponsored by Budweiser or
McDonalds.

May l8: Dinner at the Oyster Room of the Great Southern Hotel,
one of Galway's leading restaurants since l849. "Buffalo Wings"
one of six starters on the menu. International cuisine at its
finest.

May 20: First day in rental car. Thirty miles outside of Galway
Uncle Jack attempts to widen stone bridge with his Opel to make
way for oncoming eighteen wheeler. He predicts that one day
in the near future two German tour buses will reach that bridge
at the same time, wedge themselves together and bring traffic
to a complete halt all over Ireland.

May 2l: Uncle Jack and Mrs. Uncle Jack wait patiently as mother
goat finishes feeding her kid in the middle of the road near
Belmullet. Other stops caused by flocks of sheep, herds of
cattle, and oncoming vehicles which had to back up to the nearest
wide place in the road. (Uncle Jack never could find reverse
gear in that Opel). He could not help thinking that this is
all very quaint but if Ireland wants to get serious about
accommodating tourists they are going to have to tear down
about a million miles of stone fences, widen all the roads to
at least six lanes and keep those animals penned up where they
belong. "Quaint" is going to have to go.

May 21: Lunch at Ashford Castle, ancestral home of the Guinness
beer family and now an 85-room luxury hotel frequented by the
likes of President Reagan, Teddy Kennedy, Joan Baez and Woody
and Mia. Mrs. Uncle Jack had a "Ceaser" salad while Uncle Jack
munched a "ham and chesse" sandwich. The familiar menu misspellings
make them momentarily homesick for the Outer Banks.

May 22: Visited the Gallarus Oratory, a l300 year old stone
church overlooking the ocean near Dingle. After thirteen
centuries of battering by some of the worst weather in the world
it is still completely intact and does not leak a drop no matter
how hard it rains.  Uncle Jack was thinking there might be a
few clues here for the builders who are working on that federally
financed project to design hurricane-proof structures
up in Southern Shores. Junket to Ireland anyone?        

May 23: Dinner at Moran's Oyster House near Galway where the
Moran family has been in the oyster business for over 200 years
in the same location. Unfortunately oysters were out of season
but Uncle Jack's corned beef sandwich was extraordinary.

May 24: Spotted basketball hoop fastened to the wall of a
l4th century stone tower. Boy with fuchsia hair and ring in
nose
practicing rebounds. With satellite TV covering the countryside
Irish children can find their role models where they will,
apparently---even in the NBA.

May 28: With fear and trembling Uncle Jack returns battered
rental car expecting to have to fork over the $l00 deductible
for damage inflicted during his bridge-widening efforts. Lucky
for him the Budget Rental man was unable to distinguish Uncle
Jack's dent from all the others decorating the left side of
his Opel and Uncle Jack was not about to point it out to him.
If they would widen the roads over there this sort of thing
would not happen if you ask him. So much for moral dilemmas.

May 30: Took the train to Dublin. The only civilized way to
travel if you ask Uncle Jack. Fortunately farmers have learned
that train does not stop for sheep on track. One-fourth of all
Irish people live in Dublin and Uncle Jack would guess that
at any given time half of them are stalled in traffic which
could only be described as world-class. Unable to breathe diesel
fumes Uncle Jack stays in the pub at Wynn's hotel for two days
while Mrs. Uncle Jack sightsees for him. Her description of
the Book of Kells in Trinity College also breathtaking.

June 5: Back to U.S. via Aer Lingus. Had last Guinness with
lunch on plane. Two hours to kill in Kennedy airport where
bars serve only Miller Lite and Heineken.  Two Heinekens: $9.00.
Home sweet home. Alas.