World Series: Irish Silence

Arriving at the Dublin Airport was exciting. I'd always wanted to see Ireland. They say that the whole place is green. They say that the air is clean and the people are nice. Now at last I get to check it out for myself.

The airport was small but that's okay, I like them that way. A car is rented and the bags are put in the trunk. There's a map in the glove compartment and I realize that I can go anywhere. I don't have any appointments. I don't have any deadlines. So I get the idea to put away the map and get lost. No map, no plan, no specific direction.

I get on the freeway and see that the legend is true. It is green everywhere. On the sidewalks, in the mountains, in front of people's homes. Green is the national color and with stunning reason. I'm not sure where I'm headed but my compass in my dashboard tells me that it is south.

I decide to get off and check out the local scene. I see the beautiful homes and can only imagine how simple there lives must seem. Time here passes slower than in a big city like L.A. or N.Y. And that's a good thing - more time to enjoy life and friends. A paved road ends and a gravel one begins so I accept the invitation and go up a small hill not knowing what to expect. As I go up all I see is blue. It's a blue that is vivid. Wow. Then the road starts down revealing the coast and the Atlantic Ocean. There are only a couple of homes out here right on the sharp edge of Ireland. Talk about solitude. I get out and walk around. The breeze is hard but liberating. I smell the freshness of the wind and then notice it. There's no one around. There are no cars (except mine) and there's no sight of any civilization as far as I can tell. It is silent...

-Santiago Valencia