Mrs. Teabody Greets the Day

“Going on pilgramage without change of heart brings no reward from God. For it is by practicing virtue and not mere motion of the feet that we will be brought to Heaven.” The Book of Lismore Cloister at Ballintubber Abbey Many, many decades ago, Mrs. Teabody sat in one of her upper level college English classes called “Chaucer: Poet and Philosopher.” Great, enduring literature has lost much of its charm for nascent scholars in the twenty-first century, of course, as it can be challenging and opaque. Recent interviews with potential high school English teachers reveal that this current crop “don’t like” Shakespeare or find Chaucer “boring.” In the 1960’s, however, folks still thought of college as a means to learning as much as possible about the world through its history and letters. A college education was not merely some sort of enforced residency and financial exchange for a few letters to place after one’s name on a job resume. Or maybe Mrs. Teabody is just ticked off that sh...

We saw him playing rain or shine We sailed into Galway Sunday, September 11 as our first outing of our recent stay in Oranmore and Galway showed us the business end of her weather stick. On our return visit on Tuesday, she charmed us into thinking we never wanted to leave. Sunday it rained. Tuesday the sun shone. Sunday the wind blew so hard that it knocked one of the banners off its pins on Eyre Square. Tuesday folks played frisbee on the lawn in shorts in Eyre Square and dined al fresco, stood listening to the hurdy-gurdy man. Sunday the surf spat sand and water against houses one hundred meters away. (Okay, maybe not THAT far but a very long distance, nonetheless). Tuesday? I wore sandals. But my raincoat was in my backpack. That day and every day. Forty-eight hours can make a big difference when it comes to the weather in Galway. So can forty-eight minutes for that matter. Such is life in Ireland. Best learn, as the Irish have, to roll with it. As Hamlet advises, ...