by H. H "Hub" Brown

 Last month I left us in Galway Ireland on a cool cloudy morning. Our grandson John Legge was very interested in what Irish farms were like but as I was the only one in the group concerned with farming, we didn't really get to see how an Irish farm was operated. All the farms along the main highways looked to be good, prosperous ones. It would have been interesting to go into the back country to see some of the poorer hill farms. Even though we were there in February, all the fields were green and animals were out to pasture.

That evening, the weather turned colder and the higher fields turned grayish white with snow, but the only ice we saw was in the parking lot of the Johnny Fox Pub where Ron took us all that evening. I was sorry I had eaten as much as I had when we returned to the hotel in Dublin that afternoon when I saw the dishes offered on the menu at the Johnny Fox. This is an old, old pub, famous enough that everyone that goes to Dublin feels they must visit there. The dishes offered ran a lot to sea food. I know it hurt me that evening to not be able to finish my dinner of delicious fish and crabmeat.

 When we first went in the pub, we sat for a while and warmed ourselves at a peat fire. Then we studied the registry where everyone is expected to sign. Lots of famous people have visited there - Kennedys, Reagans, Bushes, and Clintons, among many other famous business people. 

 They seated us at a table large enough for our party besides some of Ron's friends and business associates. Although I knew our Dad's mother came from Ireland, I had never thought of Dad as a typical Irishman. I found that a lot of the young Irish fellows were built like Dad always was, tall and thin with a lot of the sayings and stories of his had to do with the Irish. Since then, I've heard Ron say how he got a kick out of Gramps sitting there telling Irish stories to the Irish. 

 When we left there we went to the home of an Irish couple in Dublin. They burned peat to warm their house except what they used had been compressed so that the pieces were smooth and shiny. When we headed back to the hotel, I saw tulips in bloom.

 The next day when we headed for home, the plane had lots of empty seats and the flight attendants, as soon as we were in the air, told us we could sit any place we wanted. There seemed to be an over abundance of food for more than once they came through and even offered us salmon. I never realized how far north Ireland is until coming back across the Atlantic, I looked out a window and could see nothing but snow and ice. I watched for quite some time, hoping I'd see a polar bear. The only sign of humans was a group of hangars and cleared runways. There were no indications of who they belonged to. 

 The next day we went to visit Ron at his office then they took me to the airport and I flew to Pittsburgh and then to Broome County, ending a trip I'll never forget.