FARE THEE WELL

It is saturday afternoon, and we have bid goodbye to some of our friends. Bruce and Pep left yesterday, charging over time zones to get to a wedding today, where I'm sure they will be the life of the party. I say thanks to my Dad for an incredible birthday toast, where he covered one general topic (comparing me to Homer), one specific topic (my grade school expulsion), and sang a song. The yard was awash in tears.

[sorry, the pictures won't upload today]

This morning my brother Mike left the Ould Sod for Buffalo, chasing time zones to make it back in time for his son Michael's 7th birthday party. Mike was an incredible presence on the trip--he literally picked up every person at the airport, no matter what time, and happily carted people on trips to get tuxes, pizzas, bananas, booze, etc. The reason is that Mike fancies himself an Andretti on the narrow roads of Ireland, and supremely enjoys the challenges of the tight pass around a narrow bend with stone fences on either side. And while I chided him on his crazy driving, his comeback was on the mark: I was the one who drove into a stone bridge (just a wee scrape, no worries). He was most generous as well, handing me a laser range finder as we walked down the first fairway at Doonbeg. We'll miss ya, Mikey, but the sheep and cows who use the local roads are feeling much better.

Mike and Yvette left today as well. Mike also laid down an unbelievable and truly humbling toast at my birthday party. While not as carefully structured as my Dad's, it was every bit as heartfelt, and I agree wholeheartedly that Mike is like a (big) brother to me. Again, the lawn was flooded with tears when Mike finally raised the glass. Yvette was a great guest as well, and had herself a nice side trip to Dublin, where she left the shopers (Shannon O & MK) in the dust to do some aggressive sightseeing.

Jonathan and Ann Marie departed with the crowd. I deeply thank them for taking the time away from their four kids (Isabella, Sarah, Rosa and Noah) to help me celebrate getting old. Jonathan was one of our key drivers here, and even got out on the golf course for my birthday, where he swatted the little white ball around quite well after a 5-year break from the great game. Ann Marie is about the sweetest person in the world and showed it all week long, taking care of everybody in all kinds of ways. And this morning she got out and ran in the first annual Ballyhannon 5K! Nice job, AMH.

My old friend Sue Spoerk left us too. Sue showed great fortitude in coming here, and we are all very thankful she did. As usual, Sue was in fine form day after day, always bubbling along and toting around Heinekens (which, by the way, are brewed in Limerick). Everyone showed their love of Sue in helping her deal with a recent loss, and hopefully the trip has helped. She played in my birthday foursome at Dromoland Castle, and though we didn't win, we had the best time of all the groups, in large part because of Sue's upbeat attitude. A true friend she surely is.

Bill and Andrea Taylor have said their goodbyes to the greatest country in the world. Bill came in second place in the Ballyhannon 5K, just a few seconds behind Nels Mitchel. The back of Bill's running shirt ran true for me: "Get used to the view." Andrea was great all week, looking sharp in her new sketchers and stunning in her red gown at the big party.

Joe and Kelly Wiesner were perhaps the biggest travelers on the trip, driving to all points west and south, and then taking a two-day trip to London. Joe took third in the Ballyhannon 5K, passing my fading a** about 300 meters from the finish despite his bum knee. The good news is that we were both running in our Run Against Bush shirts. Kelly was a peach and made the run as well.

Finally, Kate O headed off to Frankfurt Germany today, continuing on her long European holiday (she's a teacher). I thank her greatly for joining us here, and for showing us the pictures of her new beau, Carlo.

Various folks are off traveling and sightseeing today, while my beautiful bride and I are simply relaxing at the castle, all by ourselves. As they say here, lovely.