ARRIVÉ

The flights weren't too bad.  I had a stopover in Philadelphia for about an hour; just enough time to walk about the airport.  It was already dark there and pouring down rain so I didn't get to see very much.
The people sitting beside me were very chatty in the last hour before touchdown in Philly.  I heard their whole history but I wasn't included in the conversation.  He had half-sisters and half-brothers that he was only now finding out about.  She had half-siblings too but her life wasn't as traumatic.  He was 37 and had nursed his dying mother in the past two years.  She didn't reveal her age but was disappointed that he didn't want to have children (with her?).  As we waited on the tarmac for disembarkation, he showed his tattoos.  Despite prodding from me, she declined to show hers.  Ahhh, the lives of straight people.

Dublin was resplendent when I arrived.  The flight from Philadelphia was only 5 hours.  I only had to deal with one seat mate, a woman from Miami who lives in Kerry.  She slept most of the way across though she did ask me to poke the snoring Hindu lady behind us at one point (Let sleeping Hindus lie is my attitude, but she did persuade the flight attendant to do her bidding).

We were a little early getting into Dublin.  I breezed through Passport Control, passed the long line of Americans waiting to get a leprechaun stamp in their passport.

Timmy came and picked me up, though I had to wait for about an hour.  Helen called me to let me know that he was on his way, but I couldn't call her back even though I had credits on my phone.  Baahhh, Meteor (It might be time to change my phone carrier).

I felt pretty okey when I arrived at the house.  I tried to stay up as long as I could but I started falling out around midday.  I went up to my little nest and slept for eight hours.