Ireland 2010
 
 

Day 04

June 13

 
 

The sun comes up on our 35th wedding anniversary but this is not exactly the way we planned on it turning out. Sharyn has gotten a little sleep thanks to the pain meds from the hospital and is still slumbering. So I quietly set up my Toshiba NB305 netbook and get a wifi connection so I can check out our quickest flight options back to the States. The closest airport is the one in Kerry - which is about 75 miles away. I'm beginning to think everything is about 75 miles away from Kenmare. Kerry is a small regional airport, but we should be able to get from there to Dublin and from Dublin to Nashville. Unfortunately, there is only one airline that flies out of Kerry - Ryan Air - and it is of the 'cheap seats' variety. In fact, it is so cheap that the other airlines try hard to make sure you cannot make timely connections with any Ryan Air flights from Kerry. Even though our return tickets are out of Heathrow, I don't want to put that extra flight on Sharyn's already stressed body. So I start looking for what my options are and realize that we have slept through the only flight that would get us to Dublin to make reasonable connections. If we take one of the later flights today, Sharyn will be in airplanes and airports over 25 hours - not a good thing. After a couple of more hours of searching cabs, trains, buses, and other options, I come up empty handed. I finally give in to the reality that the only way to get from Kerry to Nashville without spending 25 hours in an airport somewhere is to catch the first flight out of Kerry at 7 AM tomorrow. So one thing is for certain, we ain't getting out of here today. As Sharyn begins to stir, I whisper to her -

"Happy Anniversary, Babe."

"Happy Anniversary to you too" she weakly replies.

I smell breakfast cooking downstairs so I tell her I will go get her something. But I add in parting -

"This is an awful lot of carrying on just get breakfast in bed on your anniversary."

We both laugh and I head on downstairs. Miss Noreen tells me

"Just let me know what you want and I'll set it up so you can carry it upstairs."

"Well, what are the options?" I ask her.

"Fully cooked Irish breakfast. I also can fix smoked salmon and eggs."

I know exactly what my wife would want - "That's the ticket for Sharyn - smoked salmon and eggs. I'll take the fully cooked."

Not only does Miss Noreen fix a beautiful breakfast, she lays out on a pretty serving tray so I can carry it upstairs. By the time I get back to Sharyn, she is a bit more awake and she perks up when she sees what I picked for her. She was so looking forward to the smoked salmon, that I had kidded her many times about it before we came over.

"Well, at least you're gonna get some of that salmon before you go back" I tell her.

Over breakfast I tell her that it looks like Monday is about our only option. We decide that her having a day just to sit tight and chill is probably not a bad thing. Then 'the discussion' begins.

"You know babe, I'll just fly with you all the way to Nashville, then I can fly back and sort things out. The bike will be fine sitting here and Mike at the rental place will be fine."

"Honey, there's no reason for all of that. All you need to do is get me on the plane back home then go on with your trip. Go see your friends, do your ride and I'll be fine" she tells me.

One of things about being married for 35 years is that you should be able to communicate honestly with each other. We go back and forth on this topic until I realize that she needs me to go ahead. It is something that cannot be explained but I know it when I see it.

"If all goes like it's supposed to, I'll be in Nashville on Monday, in the doctor's office Tuesday and in surgery Wednesday" she tells me. "You couldn't get back in time for it anyway. And Nancy and Dave and Shelia will be there to take care of me."

My 'protector' nature does not like it one bit, but in my head I know it is the best thing to do on many levels. But that does not stop my heart from breaking. To see my wife suffering like she is very hard to take. We talk about a lot of things, especially how about people may think it a bit strange about me not coming back with her. She lets me know up front that she'll tell them real quick it was her decision. So now we have a plan, as uncomfortable as I am with it, and we finish up the delightful breakfast.

I get back on line to start sorting out the travel arrangements, thankful that I brought my Toshiba NB305 netbook and that the B&B has a great wifi connection. I check with American Airlines, US Air, and Continental to see what our Dublin options are and what the prices are available. A one way ticket runs about $600 before all of the nefarious add-ins for taxes and 'dealer prep'. Since we already have our returns booked with Continental out of Heathrow, I call their customer service first. I identify myself and give the rep all our ticket information. I explain very carefully that we've had a serious medical emergency and we need to change our tickets. Due to the nature of her injury, I need to get my wife back to the States quickly for proper medical attention. I ask -

"We will need to fly out of Dublin instead of Heathrow to minimize the number of connections that my wife has to make. Is there any way you can help us?"

There's a long pause, and then the rep says -

"Well, let me ring ratings and see what they can do."

So I wait and wait and wait, only imaging what my cell phone bill will be when I get back to the States. After about 10 minutes on hold, she finally comes back on the line to tell me -

"Well, ratings tells me that there are seats on the plane for the flight you've requested. However, there will be an additional $1,223 charge to change her ticket to leave from Dublin instead of Heathrow."

I am pretty aggravated, knowing that the competition with flights at the same time are a little north of $600 for a ticket. Also I have already paid over $600 for the portion of the return ticket that I already have. So this would put the return rip at over $1,800 for a seat in the economy section. After some real deep breathing exercises to keep from saying what I'm really thinking, I reply -

"You can't really be serious. Is that my only option?"

"Yes, that's what ratings tells me."

"Well, that ain't gonna happen. How about me then - can you change my ticket out of Heathrow to just fly out a week earlier - same flight just one week earlier?"

"Let me check with ratings" she says and I go back to listening to elevator music. I'm thinking at least I can get home a week earlier anyway. And surely keeping to the same flight out of the same airport couldn't be that much.

When she returns, she tells me "That would be $861 charge to change your ticket."

"Well, thanks so very much" and I hung up before I tried to snatch her through the wire. I determine right then and there that old Continental will get a letter from me when this mess gets sorted out. The very idea of folks being in a tight spot like we are and then a company having all of the compassion of a boa constrictor squeezing the last breath (or dollar in this case) out of the victim. With my options now obvious, I get back online and start sorting flights, times, layovers and such to try to give sufficient time for Sharyn to be transported through US Customs and still make connections. I finally book her on American Airlines from Dublin through Chicago to Nashville. Then I book her one way to Dublin and me round trip to Dublin via Ryan Air. My next call is to Nashville to make sure Dave and Shelia can pick her up at the airport and let them know what is going on. Finally, with most all of the dots connected, I can chill for a few moments. She has some prescriptions to be filled, so I go back downstairs to see if Miss Noreen knows where the chemist (pharmacist for you colonials) is located. She tells me -

"Well, they are only open for 1 hour today, right after church is over. Soon as I get back, I'll take you there."

"That would be great. I could walk there, but I might miss it in that narrow window. I'll be waiting at the front door when you get back."

So I head back upstairs to check on Sharyn and try to make her as comfortable as I can. When Miss Noreen pulls in a little later from church, I'm down the stairs in a flash and we make a hasty dash to the chemist. She parks outside and waits while I go inside to get Sharyn's prescriptions filled. As it turns out, there are three different 'levels' of pain pills increasing in potency, so I ask the chemist -

"Can you please mark them 1,2,3 so she can know which is which?"

He's glad to do it, and I rehearse one more time -

"Now, 1 is the strongest, then 2 and then 3."

"Yes, that is correct" he tells me.

"Thank you very much" and I'm out the door to find Miss Noreen.

"Is there a grocery store nearby? I need to pick up a few things if that would be possible" I ask.

"Yes, just around the corner there are two" she tells me.

"Great. I should be able to find what I need there". What I am looking for is some baking soda and super glue to I can repair the damage to the VFR1200 and make it a little more road worthy. That particular combination is easy to find and works really well, having too much previous experience with it. She parks nearby the two stores and I start my search. The first one doesn't have what I need, but the second one does. I pick up some snacks and drinks for us and we're soon back to the B&B. At least now Sharyn has some serious meds to help with pain management and some munchies.

My next order of business to sort out how I am going to carry the extra gear and stuff that Sharyn normally would be wearing. Motorcycle gear is a real 'space hog' when you aren't wearing it and it doesn't fold up nicely. But I don't want her to have to fool with much of anything or have to check anything, so we decide she will just carry back her purse, her helmet, her x-rays, her medications, and her rain suit since it can double as a jacket if she gets cold. I go down to the bike and begin the creating of a bivet - 'ten pounds of crap in a five pound sack'. My cell phone has decided to die in the midst of all of this, so I rig up my charger on the bike. Once it has life breathed back into it, I call Denis to set up tomorrow's pick up. I get Mag, his wife -

"Denis out right now, but I'll let him know. He'll ring you when he comes back in."

I thank her and get back to my snake killing. I finally get it sorted out after a little practice as to just how I am going to carry it all, so I go back up stairs to check on Sharyn. I ask her if she feels like going downstairs and sitting on the deck for while.

"Maybe the fresh air will do you some good."

She decides that it would be a nice change. So I very carefully help her down the stairs and we make out to the deck with no incident.

 
   
 

Old Gypsi the guard dog wanders over to me as if to ask -

"Is everything all right, mate?"

She leaves, then just keeps coming over to me to make sure, and I give her a good petting. Then I tell her -

"Thanks, Miss Gypsi. Everything will be okay."

The headset in my helmet has died along the way, so I figure while I'm sitting here I'll do a headset swap with Sharyn's helmet. It's a beautiful view from the deck, but there is a bit of a wind kicking up. In her weakened state, she gets chilled pretty easy even with a blanket wrapped around her. So I help her back upstairs and get her settled in. I tell her -

"I'm going to go downstairs and see if I can repair the bike now that I've got the stuff. You gonna be all right?"

"Yes, the pain meds are starting to work really well."

I give her a gentle kiss, then head out to the bike to do the business.

 
   
 

Most of the damage is strictly cosmetic, but the right pannier is severely cracked right at the hinge. This will be a real test of my 'magic potion' but it's the only option available at this point. I glue it carefully and then pour the baking soda over the glue. I know better than to touch it cause it gets really hot as the chemical reaction sets in. I sort out a few more things on the bike since I'll be traveling alone and have the time to make some adjustments. I leave the cell phone to charge and I head back up stairs. The pain medicine is working really well for Sharyn and she is sound asleep. I decide I'll head out to the village and let her rest without me banging around. There's a quiet path through the adjoining forest that will take me out to the main road to Kenmare.

 
   
  The walk is good and gives me a chance to clear my head a bit. When I pop out of the woods, I'm in striking distance of the bridge that leads to the village.  
   
  It's about a mile or so from Water's Edge to the town proper, but there's a good sidewalk for most of the way.  
   
  Most of the town is situated along two streets that intersect and form a triangle of sorts. The hotels and the pubs are intermixed with various shops and such on both legs of the triangle.  
   
  I walk up and down, looking for a place that holds my interest. I see the Coachman's Hotel has what looks like a nice place to eat so I wander in. There's not many folks there, which suits me just fine. When I look over the menu, the shepherd's pie reaches out and grabs me. It comes with a big helping of chips (fries for you colonials again) and a nice salad.  
   
  When I finish, I figure I'd better get something for Sharyn since she'll probably be up by the time I get back. I remember the grocery that Miss Noreen took me to earlier, so I wander over to the other leg of the triangle.  
   
  They have fresh made sandwiches, so I pick one I think Sharyn will like, some crisps (potato chips for colonials), some cookies and some drinks. As I make my way back toward the B&B, I spy the 'doc in the box' car sitting on a side street. I am still amazed that a town of this size does not have at least a clinic or a small hospital. So much for national health care service, I guess.  
   
  Back across the bridge, I find this stone trio of musicians. Somehow I can't seem to hear what it is that they are playing. But they do look pretty much into it from my point of view.  
   
  As I get back to the point where I head into the woods, I realize it's a pretty good climb up the ditch. But I just grab a root and growl and make it up fine, even with my couple of bags of food in hand.  
   
  The path reminds me of a lot of the old cow paths I used to run on my grandparent's farm. They just sort of weave in, out, and around trees, rocks and roots on their way to somewhere.  
   
  Soon Water's Edge is in view and it's up one more little incline and I'm home.  
   
 

When I get upstairs, Sharyn is awake and somewhat in this time zone. I ask her -

"Are you a little bit hungry?"

I know pain meds mess up your digestive tract, or at least they do for me.

"Yes, I could eat something."

"Got you a sandwich, some chips, and a little sweetening ... besides my kiss" I tell her.

As she is helping herself to what I have provided, there's a knock on the door. Miss Noreen says -

"It's Denis on the phone for you" as she hands me a house phone.

I explain to Denis what the deal is and he once again extremely helpful. He knows the run well and exactly how long it will take. He tells me -

"I'll be there at 5 AM. That should give us plenty of time to get there and for you to check in. You can just ring me just before you get on the flight back from Dublin and we'll be waiting at the front door of the airport to pick you up."

"Denis, you're a real blessing. Thanks so much. We'll be at the front door at 5 AM sharp. See you in the morning."

Miss Noreen comes in to say good bye to Sharyn and give her a gentle hug, since we'll be gone a long time before they get up.

Once Sharyn eats, she takes some more meds, and she falls off to sleep. I go back down stairs to do a final check on the bike as the sun sets.

 
   
  Tomorrow will be a long day for both of us, but as I drift off to sleep I have no idea of just how 'long' and bizarre it will be.