In this Journal, I will attempt to strip away my protective veneer to view and communicate honestly what the truth is as I perceive it. My intent is to grow, for without an honest evaluation of the truth, how else can one fully absorb life's more difficult lessons and benefit by them. If I do this in secret, then I am still hiding behind a protective veneer, so it is being published online. If you find this Journal, you are welcome to read it and hopefully grow from it as well.



Sunday, July 29, 2012

7/26/12: An Update To Kyle's Family Trip To Africa

This is the latest update on Kyle's family trip. He sent one other update just prior to this one that I have so far been unable to post here. As usual, Kyle's descriptions are insightful and funny and a joy to read.

Dear Fam,

Sorry for the verbose descriptions of Africa as my thumbs now resemble Arnold Schwartzenegger's steriod 1970's biceps from all of the pecking at my blackberry.  This will go back to a more normal length and the surprise ending will be like a prize at the bottom of a Crackerjack box.  I know, nobody eats that sugary creation and the prize is now totally crappy but you know what I mean...

After a wee bit of traveling, we landing in bright sunny Shannon, Ireland.  Ok, it was really cloudy and drizzly which was a change of pace from being very near the equator in Kenya.  The Volvo that we rented was manufactured incorrectly as the steering wheel was on the right, the stick shift on the left and the rear view mirror was to my upper left.  Luckily driving is on the left side of the road so it all came together in a beautifully dangerous way.

We were to meet the Beilke family (Keoni's buddy Riley and his fam) at family home in Cahir (the Cahir Abbey House - 3 story and quite large) which is between Shannon and Cork on the west side of Ireland.  The home plus some other houses and stables is on 50 acres, very near to an old castle.  The first recorded sale of the house was in 1700 and it was built by the Quakers with the hope of making Irish Quakers as familiar as, well you know...  They, the Jews, Muslims and Mormons lost in the recruiting battle for souls... 

William Penn spent some time at the house so while I didn't actually become educated at his University in Philadelphia, I believe that I came closer to him than those who did.  An honorary degree bestowed upon myself from UPenn at Cahir if you will...

Dan (the patriarch of the fam) made Irish breakfasts for us (amazing sausage with fatless bacon and some eggs).  While not exactly the China Study diet, it was very tasty.

We traveled to Cork and then to Blarney Castle so that we could kiss the Blarney Stone.  Legend has it that those that kiss the stone are given the gift of eloquence or gab or to be able to cajole people while being full of Blarney.

It should be noted that to get to the stone, one has to climb very steep midevil like circular stair for about 6 stories.  The stone is above a large hole although they have some bars that Keoni could easily fall through and maybe Kevin too.  There was a staff photographer next to the hole and a guy whose job is to make sure that one doesn't go head first down to the ground for 6 stories.

Diane the cliff diver said, I'm going first, she sat facing away, leaned backwards, laid back, grabbed the bars (mounted on the stone) and put her lips on the rock before giving it a smooch.

he rest of us then followed suit with Jared and I strongly holding all kiddy feet.  Being slightly neurotic, I popped up after my sensuous moment with the rock and asked if I now had Blarney herpes.  Nobody was disinfecting the stone after each amorous moment which was continual... 

We enjoyed nice food and fun strolls through the quaint towns.  See attached photo of Keoni and his buddy Riley as they bellied up to the bar at a local pub in Cahir. 

Jared and I ended the evening with a pint of Guiness at the Abbey Pub (named after the Abbey and Abbey house where we stayed).

After 2 days, Keoni, Diane and I said goodbye to the Beilkes (we'll meet up with them in London on Friday evening) and drove to Dublin.  We bought lots of spinach, broccoli and fruit and made a nice blend with enough for 2 per day throughout our stay.

We then enjoyed a walking tour starting at Trinity College and ending at Dublin Castle.  Sadly since the Irish never really had a golden age or empire, the city lacks the grandeur that many of the cities in Europe enjoy.  That said, we followed our walking tour with a literary pub crawl and enjoyed 2 local actors giving their renditions of writings of and stories about great Irish figures (from Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, GB Shaw to Michael Collins).

As this is Keoni's world and Diane and I simply live in it, we started today with a nice bike tour around Dublin.  See attached photo of us in front of sculptures depicting the potato famine starting in 1840.  We were inappropriately smiling because of the great weather and fun time and clearly ignoring the message so starkly conveyed.

All of the guides have been jovial while being pessimistic and totally sarcastic about the future of Ireland and the Irish.  We passed some wonderful looking real estate, both in newly redeveloped areas and in long established posh areas.  I know prices are well below the peak but don't know the strength/weakness of the rental market.  Might be worth investigating the high end...

The surprise is from an e-mail which we received from Ukraine.  Our surrogate is pregnant and has been so for 16 weeks, things look good and it is a boy.  See attached.  A nice bit of news as Irish eyes are smiling!

Best,
Kyle

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

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