23: 43: 51 and counting

Last time I looked at Annie's countdown to Ireland, the headline above revealed the time as it continues to tick away.

Of course, for me, the countdown is less than that.  I have to get to where Annie is to go with Annie.

So, there's a little advance time for me to start this trip, which I view as a life-altering experience.  Of course, every day is life-altering as is every second of any countdown.

We never know from one second to the next how our lives are going to change---for the good, the bad and the ugly.  I've been witness to some very dramatic examples of that lately, so I do not take for granted one second of my own good fortune.

Going to Ireland has been on my bucket list long before someone came up with the term for those things we've just gotta do while we're on this earth.
Believing that I'd ever go to Ireland has been lukewarm at best for most of my life.  

Now, it's becoming reality, thanks to a member of the generation of Irish descendants that follows me.  Annie broke trail two years ago.  

Every day she was there (March, 2009), I lived vicariously through her photos and telephone calls.  One time when I called her, she was driving through the Irish countryside---very slowly---to avoid some sheep.  

The scene sounded good to me.

Then, she put together a DVD of hundreds of photos taken on her weeklong journey.  She set it to music.  It lasts about 45 minutes.

No matter how many times I watch it, I get goosebumps and sometimes tear up, thinking that our little "Precious," now a grown woman of the world,  took off on that adventure all by herself.

Going off on adventures all by herself is an Annie trademark, but when she takes one of us along, it is a monumental happening for all involved.  

She and her dad climb mountains.  She and her mom take long drives through unfamiliar countryside, take a few hikes and take lots of pictures. 

That is how it will be for the next several days.  And, I've got goosebumps just thinking about it.  

I don't have goosebumps about the long flights--to New York and then on to Dublin, arriving around 8:30 a.m Dublin time (about 1:30 a.m. our time).

Flying is just not fun like it used to be.

I remember the first time I ever flew, it was to Dallas on Branniff Airlines.  My friend and classmate, the late JoAnn Rogers, owned Easyway Travel at the time.

She outfitted the bunch of us----Cathy Russell, her father and sister Jack and Omerita; Linda Woolsey, Dan Lund, Jane Lund and my new "summer romance" Bill with big, fancy travel bags with "Braniff" on the outside.

We dined like royalty on the airliner, which at that time, landed at none other than LOVE field.  The flight was royal treatment from beginning to end.

Nowadays, we're lucky if we get eight pretzels to go with our coffee or cranberry juice.  And, definitely no travel bags but definitely a steep price for having the nerve to bring a bag along.

Big changes, but one thing never changes in this life---the yearning to see new territory.  And, Ireland promises to be both new territory and old.  For the first time in my life, I'll be seeing man-made structures more than a few hundred years old.  

Also, we'll go to some places where the outside world seldom comes in and where the language has kept its ancient tongue clear into the twitter age.  I can't wait to hear Gaelic.

Much to think about but much to do to say good bye to snow and hello to beautiful shades of green.

I'll have something on the blog tomorrow and will do my best to post every day wherever we are.  It will be fun to share this with my slightdetour readers.  The thought of you always adds a very special dimension to every trip.  

For now, top o' the morning to ya . . . and get ready for the journey ahead.

Postscript:  Just have to report that I saw a very unique possibility for the "People of Wal Mart" website.  It came in the form of another Border Collie lover who-----in Wal Mart---showed me and yet another Border Collie lover her tattoos. 

One on her ankle, one on the small of her back, one on her wrist----first two:  rather well crafted images of Border Collies, last one three hearts, devoted to her three Border Collies.

No names revealed, but the recognition that this lady sure does love her Border Collies.