| Islands of Song |
| We left the Tiki after midnight and went back to the hotel. Stopped in at the Lounge to spend some time with Jim and Lillian. We had to leave in 4 hours for home. Some of the musicians were already there having a jam session. We sat down with them and I was in 7th Heaven. I so enjoyed their passing the guitar around, listening to people singing songs out of their "genre."
Lillian and I sat back and talked a little about singing. She has a lovely voice and is taking lessons. When Hugh grabbed the guitar and started in on South Australia, I couldn't help but sing along in harmony for the sea shanty. Lillian joined me and we became Hugh's back up vocals for the duration of the song. It was such fun! And no one ran out of the room screaming! Niall came over and talked to me about venues he could sing at in Philly, Siobahn was there and Val and most of the other musicians, I felt very lucky to be there for the session. The rest were staying till Tuesday and would have a few more opportunities to sing together. I'd have to wait for the privilege of hearing them again. All too soon it was 4 AM and the lounge closed up. I said a tearful goodbye to Lillian and thanked her and Jim for inviting us to experience this musical exchange between Ireland and Newfoundland. It was no use going to sleep so Vic and I just packed up and watched TV till the taxi came at 5 AM. I'd miss the driving on the "wrong" side of the street and seeing the busses with the running dog as the symbol. The taxi ride was short and uneventful. And sooner than we thought, we were on the plane. Vic made sure Flat Stanley got on the right plane. The plane switch in London went without a hitch and we were soon on the "road" to home. The magic number was 3445 - miles to New York City. I planned to be sleeping for 3400 miles of it. My back was killing me and my eyes were closing. Sleep - hide and seek dreams on the plane, thirty minute respites from the drone of the huge motor. Waking and sleeping fitfully, I couldn't find a station on the radio I was interested in and "Lemony Snickett" caught my eye. I knew Jim Carrey had a part where he was a Newfoundland sea captain. I watched to see if he did a good job. He sure had the accent and the colloquialisms down pat! After the movie I couldn't get back to sleep. Questions were running through my mind about the four days I had just spent in Ireland. I wrestled with just how much to put online. What you got was most of what happened. Some will stay forever in my journal. Now that I was up, I went back into geek mode and watched the screen as we got closer to Newfoundland. This time we were traveling over Lanse aux Meadows in the Great Northern Peninsula. I figured it was as close as I'd get to Labrador. I loved this view of Northern North America as we flew. I had just never looked at a map this way. It was fascinating to see things upside down. It's -51 outside the plane and the lack of sleep is making me think weird things. Four hours to go. Go to sleep. Missing the company of friends. Jim and Lillian continue to be a constant source of delight in my life. We landed safely in New York City. We had been up for most of the last 40 hours. Heather and Mike were not there yet. I waited with Vic and Flat Stanley and thought about the Pushstars' song, "Waiting, Watching, Wishing." Waiting to be picked up and driven home. Watching for a car I won't recognize. Wishing I was Consequence Free. Wanting to be elsewhere. Flat Stanley is home again. His souvenir? A cast on his arm. He had a mishap with an airline tray table on the flight home. Poor guy! The next step? Go see Niall when he comes to NYC and/or Philly. Somehow get to Newfoundland in June. The music calls. |
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