John McLaughlin
Community Newsman
Good “crack” isn’t hard to come by in Ireland.
It’s everywhere for bushy-tailed tourists like me. And local police don’t care, granted your brand of it remains innocent during your adventures to their wonderfully green island.
I speak of fun, of course, certainly not the illicit drug. But the Irish are still quite tickled by the phonetic similarity between English “crack” and Gaelic “craic,” its meaning varying from news and gossip to fun, entertainment or just enjoyable conversation.
And so, good craic I found—all around.
A few weeks ago, I expressed my readiness for adventure with the coming of cool weather. Soon after, I found myself in bustling, diverse Dublin to start a guided trip that meandered south and west along the coast of Ireland, eventually curling north to Galway, before heading east back to Dublin.
This isn’t a travel piece on my phenomenal trip, however. It’s about perspective.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
You’ll see many people quote this remark by Mark Twain, otherwise known as Samuel Clemens. He was known as an epic wanderer. And what he says is true.
To me, touring Ireland proved a comparatively easy way abroad to witness how life can be fundamentally different on this planet, with no doubt far deeper (and more expensive) options for those able to make the dive.
During the nearly 10 days of my recent roamings of the Emerald Isle, I was able to see things in living color that I had only imagined, while clearing up ideas that could only be made clear by reality.
Post-travels, it took days, really, to unpack my thoughts and experiences during this trip and its very real impact on my day-to-day life, my perspective.
To me, Ireland made Mark Twain’s famous quote ring true, more so than any of my broad adventures in the United States.
John Muir also comes to mind. Muir is another favorite of mine, not only for his famous wanderings, but also because of his role in preserving natural wonders in the U.S. He’s known as the father of the National Park System and co-founded the Sierra Club, serving as its first president.
He’s also known to sum things up pretty well regarding the inner change that occurs in stepping out:
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
Take a trip. Take a walk. Take time to soothe your soul.
John McLaughlin is a general assignment reporter for The Hutchinson Tribune. He can be reached at john@hutchtribune.com.