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Mar

Diving Deep Into the Sea of Travel Memories

by Joyce McGreevy on March 31, 2021

A movie theater marquee comments during the pandemic, the epic wait when visions of normal life, travel memories, and other dreams kept hope alive. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Worldwide, many people replied to the epic wait with quick wit.
© Joyce McGreevy

Our Epic Wait Reveals What Matters Most

As our voyage back from quarantine nears the shore of normalcy, vaccination sparks anticipation. What are you waiting for? To see friends and loved ones? To return to school or the workplace? To make new travel memories or simply to regain your memories of “ordinary” life? Given our epic wait, we’ve all had time to ponder such questions.

How much time? By my calculations: 2020 to the nth degree, x number of months + the square root of insomnia, minus hours binge-watching gazillion seasons of “Law and Order,” carry the 1 = A LONG DANG TIME. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy Comments

Art of Travel/New Zealand

Mar

Around the Wacky World of Sister Cities and Twin Towns

by Meredith Mullins on March 22, 2021

Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, with cherry blossoms, a twin town with Rome and one of many sister cities around the world. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Who wouldn’t want to be sisters with Paris, especially in the spring?
© Meredith Mullins

It’s Not a Dull and Boring World

A story that features the words dull and boring can still show promise. We begin with a tale of two cities. Sister cities—Dull, Scotland, and Boring, Oregon.

This particular familial friendship (also called town twinning in Europe) was based on the humorous pairing of their town names. They even added a third city to the clan, creating a celebratory menage à trois. Bland, Australia was invited into the partnership, launching a possible new trend of town tripleting. Read more...

Meredith Mullins Comments

Cultural Encounters/Worldwide Sites

Mar

Memories of St Patrick’s Day In and Out of Ireland

by Joyce McGreevy on March 15, 2021

Ireland’s blue sky and green meadow in March evoke memories celebrated with cultural authenticity on St Patrick’s Day in Ireland. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

How Real Was My Cultural Authenticity?

What could be more Irish than memories of St Patrick’s Day in Ireland? Picture it: County Limerick, March 17. Sunlight illuminates my boarding school overlooking the banks of the River Shannon. Such cultural authenticity! We’ve the day off from classes. Cue the festivities!

The Dripping of the Green

Ah, but this is 1970s Ireland. St Patrick’s Day is a holy day, not yet a holiday. To “celebrate,” we each pin a clump of sodden shamrocks to the front of our school uniform. At Mass, I watch in dismal fascination as brackish liquid oozes along the wool grain of my personal upholstery. Read more...