The Old Lone Ranger

Chasing Fireflies

By Rich Marin | July 15, 2019 by Rich Marin

Chasing Fireflies I read a report by The Farmer’s Almanac, a strangely vestigial but somehow authoritative reference point on things both naturalistic and Americana, that fireflies were at risk of being eradicated by a combination of pollution (both pesticides and light pollution) and the civilized landscaping of our properties. I do not pretend to know what the firefly does for us ecologically, but these Lampyridae are bioluminescent reminders of things past. That bioluminescence during…

Love

The Love of My Life

By Rich Marin | July 14, 2019July 14, 2019 by Rich Marin

The Love of My Life As we wing our way back to New York from Ireland, I am seated across the aisle from Kim, my wife of twelve and a half years and the love of my life for fourteen years. As I look at her sleeping with her headphones on, she looks like any other person curled up in a row of ten business class sleeper seats. I am reminded of that powerful…

Retirement

Who Wants to Live Forever?

By Rich Marin | July 14, 2019 by Rich Marin

Who Wants to Live Forever? The Highlander is a cult classic about Connor McLeod, a Scotsman who is chosen to engage in an immortal battle of good versus evil. He is played in the four Highlander movies by Christopher Lambert. The weapon of choice is the broadsword and the age is imprecisely Medieval. Who should school Connor in the sacred ways of the sword, but an unconvincing Spaniard (more likely a Glaswegian) played by…

Love Memoir

Home Again Home Again, Jiggety Jig

By Rich Marin | July 13, 2019 by Rich Marin

Home Again Home Again, Jiggety Jig Vacations are supposed to recreate and relax. I believe we have found the perfect formula for that. Yes, Ireland has been wonderful and greatly exceeded our expectations. We really enjoyed Normandy, and Rome is very special to me and would always be a pleasure. México, both Cabo and Akumal, were fun and restful. Todi in Umbria was perfect for exploring the hill towns of central Italy. Next, we’ve spoken…

Love

Driving Ms. Susie

By Rich Marin | July 12, 2019 by Rich Marin

Driving Ms. Susie The oldest members of our group in Ireland this week are Pete and Susie Jones of Wabash, Indiana. Both were teachers in Kim’s home town. Susie was Kim’s choir director at their Presbyterian church. That connection lasted over the years as Kim wandered to Los Angeles and then New York, pursuing her musical theater career. Kim had dwindling family connections in Wabash, but Pete and Susie were a strong and important anchor…

Love Memoir

The Silence of the Rhododendron

By Rich Marin | July 12, 2019 by Rich Marin

The Silence of the Rhododendron The Irish countryside is as lush as its name, the Emerald Isle, conveys. Everywhere you look where there is no stone, there is something vital and green growing. In fact, when I learned that the Irish soil was generally lacking in the nutritional qualities to support much agriculture, I was surprised. I would have guessed the opposite. The give-away is that when you look at the hillsides you see what…

Love Memoir

Our Trip to the South Pole

By Rich Marin | July 11, 2019 by Rich Marin

Our Trip to the South Pole Killarney is a fine old town that has a grand cathedral in Saint Mary’s, the Killarney National Park and plenty of other attractions and shopping. That said, I’ve been in Killarney four times in ten days and have been in the cathedral (the stained glass and the stonework are indeed exceptional), have been to Ross Castle twice and Muckross House once and driven through the National Park twice on…

Memoir

High Tide at Westcove

By Rich Marin | July 10, 2019 by Rich Marin

High Tide at Westcove Southwestern Ireland is comprised of four fingers that project out into the Atlantic Ocean. There is a road that meanders through all four peninsulae called Wild Atlantic Way (it actually covers 2,500 km from the top of the island to the very southern part of Cork). The common aspects of that road are that it follows the sea and it’s about as narrow as any road you will ever drive on.…

Memoir Retirement

Tempus Fugit

By Rich Marin | July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 by Rich Marin

Tempus Fugit I am no Latin scholar, but I did take four years of Latin in high school. My mother, who had never taken a moment of Latin during her education through graduate school, was convinced that Latin was an extremely useful course of study for a young man heading out into the world. You may recall that doctors used to write their prescriptions in Latin so as to make it less likely that scoundrels…

Politics

Reason and Rebirth

By Rich Marin | July 8, 2019July 8, 2019 by Rich Marin

Reason and Rebirth The Old Country is not so very old any more. I just had occasion to look at Ireland’s level of household income versus that in the United States. The US is at $44k where Ireland is $25k. But when you look at it based on purchasing power parity (PPP dollars) the numbers skew considerably to $60k versus $76k. So in absolute terms the income level in Ireland is only 57% of the…

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