To say I spent time in pubs in Galway, Ireland, during
the fall/winter of 1996 is a gross understatement. It was school, friends, pub. (And, to my parents' disappointment, not always in that order.) I had my fair share of
Guinness and Murphys, Baileys and Bulmers. Afterwhich, I had a few more. The pub
is very different than the American bar scene. It was not unusual for a pick-up
group of musicians to sit in a nearby booth and start playing. Pretty damn cool. The pub was so much more than just a Place To Drink. I wish I could go back. Not just to the country itself, but back in time. Alas, I can't. I think that's what part of this project is about. Virtual time travel through writing.
Every pub I went to, I wrote down the name of the pub on my drink coaster with my white pen. Here are just a few of the beer-stained coasters I brought back, noting which coaster came from which pub.
I particularly remember the Hudson Blue coaster with "Murphy's" scribbled on it. That was our second day (I think) in Galway and my friend, Chad, and I ditched orientation to find the red-fronted Murphy's Pub to have a pint. The memories of the other coasters aren't nearly as distinct, having been destroyed either by time or Guinness, or both.
(On a side note: I'm still trying to figure out how to use TypeLists and Photo Albums in Typepad. That bit on the left is not quite how I want it to look. But instead of sitting on an unpublished gallery, I figured I'd just post the link, live with the ugly design, and move on until I had time to make it beautiful. If anyone knows Typepad and wants to give me a 101 lesson in how to pretty up that left side ... I'm all ears.)
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