I traveled back to America yesterday. On previous trips to the US I had been very nervous going through immigration in Dublin airport. With good reason too. This time though, I had a visa and had jumped all the hurdles that the worlds only superpower had put in my path. Kevin 1, America 0.
The peace of mind of having the visa gave me the reassurance that one would get from owning about 10 bunches of rosary beads. I am not a religious man but I know the beads give comfort to those who own and use them.
I was all psyched up for another grilling by the immigration officers and possibly a date with a surgical glove followed by rejection of my attempts to enter this fine country. But, the entire day including events outside the airport was fantastic.
I awoke early and messed around the house for a while. I spent some quality time with the dog, who is in his autumn years and I know his days on earth are numbered. Saddening really. Not sad for him though, because dogs are eternally optimistic and probably don't have the need or ability to look into the future and become depressed at their fate. They live in the present.
Soon after paying my respects to the dog I talked with my grandmother for a while. I came away knowing great things about deceased relatives and other knowledge that brightened up my day.
After checking in my luggage at the airport I decided that my hungry stomach needed to be filled. In an attempt to burn up my remaining currency I decided upon a somewhat fancy meal. No point eating McDonalds or some other dirt as I am about to leave the homeland for a considerable period of time. I was on a mission for spuds and meat.
I made a quick tour of the restaurants and settled on what I believe is the restaurant that has been there for at least 15 years, well, it is definitely older and more established that the other places anyway. The menu looked great. I went for the shank of lamb with new potatoes and carrots. Real food. I was just picking up my tray to go and find a place to sit when a man in his late 60's asked if I could help him. He wanted me to carry his tray to a table. I had two options.
1. Be a prick and say "I don't actually work here mister, do it yourself".
2. Help the man out.
I went for option two. He was a bit confused by the whole setup so I carried his stuff over to the cashier and we got sorted out. I noted that he was having the exact same food as me. Great minds think alike. We exchanged names, places of birth and purpose of visit to Dublin airport. He was heading off to Fatima in Portugal in hope of seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was extremely religious and told me that most of his holidays are spent going to places like Fatima, Lourdes and other holy sites. We made small talk about the quality of the lamb we were furiously eating. It was very high and as the meal vanished more and more I realized that €12 had been a fair asking price for both the quantity and quality of what we had been given. I'd sell my soul for another lump of lamb like that. I began to think that the man had dedicated so much of his mind to religious matters that he had become a little out of touch with the workings of the country and systems such as air travel. His flight was to depart at 18:10 yet here we were sitting together at 12:30. And, he said that he had already been over to the airport church for a mass earlier. Many more weird things happened but if I was to explain them in detail it might look like I am making fun of the man. Not true. I thought he was a nice guy and he said that he would say a prayer for me.
I think that prayer may have paid off because my treatment in the immigration department was none other that enjoyable and worry free. The guy even cracked a few jokes and as I took my stamped visa from him he said "hope it all goes great for you, pal."
Pretty good start to the adventure if you ask me.
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