e Miscellany

A moment of quiet to recall that this is 9/11.

A reminder to those who care, I'll be on vaca for the next month or so. I may or may not have a chance to capture a few thoughts here. Much depends on the internet cafe situation in New England, Ireland, No. Ireland, and England. If that sounds ambitious, it is. I've just had two days of solitude in the mountains of Colorado getting rested up for this big trip. But I am excited to be in the air and on the road. While in Ireland I'll hear Michael Longley read--if I can get from Galway to Cliften in time--and do some genealogy, visit places where some of my family originated. And see The Burren, the Aran Isles, Galway's Oyster Festival, The Giant's Causeway and anything else that catches my fancy and doesn't cost more than my ticket home.

After I get back to the US I'll spend some time in New England with family, and go to the Fryeburg Fair! For those who don't know Maine, this is the final and my favorite of many regional fairs. That it happens the second week in October only adds to the flavor. Foliage and harvests will be in full swing. I'll visit all the animal barns, especially the horses and the oxen, amazing creatures, goats and fowl and rabbits. I'm not too fond of sheep and who knows if we will be allowed in the swine sheds. I'll see my human family, my dog family, and my horse family. I'll sit in Brian Boru's Pub in Portland, ME and visit with my poet friends. I'll come back to Colorado exhausted and full of images and ideas. Probably no poems, because I don't write well on the go. I'll keep a journal and that's about it. But then, it's a vacation!