The Irish way

Claire -the hostel owner- is super nice. Tonight she said she's going for ice cream and asked if I wanted to come. Since my night plans involved things barely more exciting than obtaining maps of Donegal via my iPod, I said "sure!"

So in the car I go, passenger side. It's evening. She said she likes driving through cities at night whenever she gets into a new town, even if there's no destination. I remember feeling that way especially in Wildwood, NJ. There's something about the beach town feel at night that's...different.

But this is her town, and she told me about the motorbike races they have. They fence off the sidewalk and the public can watch. We drove over the road they use for the race. Someone usually gets injured or dies every year. Last year a local who won five races in a row died during a practice run, and it hit the town hard. She knew his sons from school trips.


Local town culture and tradition...where was this in America? I suppose it was there but....it's not. We're too big & too busy to notice such things. To me these things stand out. Like a little world within a world..


She's thinking about moving to Australia. Everyone is moving about. I'm planning on going to Donegal tomorrow. The world is like an anthill. Somehow it all works out..