Blue Skies Smiling

Summer has finally fled New York, and the beautifully cool air has been reminding me of Ireland. I've been hard at work on my writing, but still trying to get outside more.

A few nights ago, the sky at sunset reminded me of one particular day on Inishmaan.

Sunset over NYC

Storm passing by Inishmaan

It's hard to see from the photo, but looking out into the distance, beyond the railing, the blue sky over the Hudson was almost the exact color blue in the Inishmaan photo, with a layer of flat clouds drawing a parallel line over the horizon. There are guardrails in the Inishmaan photo, too, but they're made of a different kind of material. And across the water there's another bit of land. For Inishmaan, it's Inisheer.
For us, it's New Jersey.

In other news, I went camping for the first time last weekend. Synge would be proud, I think. He had great respect for the nomad:

This old man I have spoken of wanders about Wicklow. As he sleeps by Lough Bray and the nightjar burrs and snipe drum over his head and the grouse crow, and heather whispers round him, he hears in their voices the chant of singers in dark changers of Japan and the clamour of tambourines and the flying limbs of dancers he knew in Algeria, and the rustle of golden fabrics of the east.

Granted, I was just a nomad for one night, but for me (an admittedly anxious person to begin with, afraid of bugs, the dark, and things that go bump in the night) it was a great accomplishment. And I had a great time and even got 8 hours of sleep!

As soon as I have the photos uploaded I'll share my camping experience, as well as hiking through a ghost town in the woods, just an hour outside NYC!

Hiking at Bear Mountain

We Weathered the Storm

So as you've probably heard by now, Irene was not the mega disaster city officials feared it would be. Though millions did lose power, trees fell, streets and towns flooded, and a few deaths were caused (I believe the unofficial count now is 16, but I'm not sure on that), it really could have been much, much worse.

NYC officials defended the decision to shut down subways and buses, as some of the train yards in low-lying areas did get flooded, and had the trains been there, it would have been a real mess.

I spent the night in with Kyle, eating pretzels and Cadbury chocolate, baking muffins with flax seeds and sunflower seeds because I forgot to buy bread, and watching a Parks and Recreation marathon. I wonder how Leslie Knope would handle a hurricane. Probably she'd try to save the penguins from the zoo, first.

Leslie saves the penguins from the Pawnee Zoo

Damage in my neighborhood was really minimal:

Columbia University Campus - not too bad

Riverside Park - a little swampy

A few trees down

All in all, New York City fared pretty well. There are even a bunch of places open for brunch today. You know us New Yorkers. We can't live without our bagel and shmear.

No ferries from Aran needed for me this time around. Thanks anyway, Mr. O'Brien. I'll let you know next time I need a ride.

The Big Wind is on her Way!

Taking a break from my blog hiatus to update on Hurricane Irene.

The NY Times is answering questions about how to prepare for the hurricane, HERE. 

Friday in New York we enjoyed a sunny day of calm before the storm - Hurricane Irene is on her way to possibly pummel New York and the east coast of the U.S. We don't know much right now about the storm's expected trajectory or what category hurricane it will be by the time it gets to us, but NYC Governor Cuomo has ordered evacuations of low-lands and shoreline residences in the Rockaways, Battery Park, and Coney Island, as well as other parts of lower Manhattan.

A calm East River, looking across at Manhattan from Astoria Park

The entire subway and bus system is also going to begin shutting down Saturday at noon in preparation for the storm, along with the LIRR and NJ Transit.

New York isn't used to all this talk of hurricanes, and all the last-minute panic got me thinking about how so many places in the world, including the Aran Islands, are used to wet and wild weather on a more routine basis. The islands themselves have survived countless storms. The Night of the Big Wind in 1839 brought incredibly destructive hurricane force winds and rain to the islands. An ice age melt left these stones deposited all over the islands:

Ice Age deposits. "Tourists"

Other places in the world are more prepared, both logistically and mentally, to deal with this kind of a weather event. I have a feeling that most New Yorkers are not sure if we've adequately prepared ourselves.

Maybe if I had a curragh I'd feel better.

Curraghs at the old pier on Inishmaan

Every few years a hurricane grazes us here in NYC, but usually does not cause this level of alarm. This is the first time we've had evacuations, and the first time the MTA has issued a total shutdown. In my last blog post I wrote about how a somewhat heavy rainstorm got the subway stuck underground for an hour. No wonder the MTA has cancelled service.

Grocery stores this afternoon were swarmed with confused shoppers buying up the city's supply of canned beans and peanut butter, bottled water and batteries.

No more bread at the Gristedes at 103rd and Broadway!

As long as my power doesn't go out, I'll update again soon.

If you don't hear from me by Monday, send over one of the Doolin Ferries to come get me!

The Happy Hooker - how much does a one way ticket from Manhattan to Inishmore cost?

 

Be back soon!

Letters to Aran will be on hiatus until Labor Day weekend as I write, plan work, research, and gear up for the fall, and then I will return with more posts about Synge, Aran, theatre, and NYC!

Summer Sunset, Killeany Harbor, Inishmore

From the Garden to the Gaeltacht - Synge and Wicklow

During my trip this past summer, I traveled from Aran to the Wicklow countryside, in the east of Ireland. I wanted to see what was "home" to Synge - what he had grown  up around, what made the Aran Islands seem so wild and exotic to him. I wondered, as I took the ferry to Rossaveal, the shuttle bus to Galway, the GoBus to Dublin, the train to Rathdrum, and a cab to Avondale, how Synge made this journey a hundred years ago. For me it took from 8am to 6pm (with wait times in between connections). I imagine it took him much longer to make his way back east.

The rainbow that wished me farewell on the ferry from Aran

Synge used to walk and cycle around Wicklow. Synge's walks in these areas, and the people he encountered, inspired the plots and characters of many of his plays (in addition to his time spent on Aran). In his Wicklow writings he mentions places such as Glenmalure, Sally Gap, and Rathdrum. I wasn't able to make it to all the places he talks about, but I did see enough of the area to get a good feel for it.

The Wicklow landscape is so different from Aran. Aran is bare, exposed, gray-brown-green, angry waves, and raw slabs of stone.

Inishmaan, Aran Islands

Wicklow is called "The Garden of Ireland," for good reason. Trees and bushes and ivy and grass and flowers abound.

Golden field near Avondale, Rathdrum, County Wicklow

The Wicklow mountain peaks scrape the clouds. The gaps between the mountains form secluded glens.

Upper Lake in Wicklow National Park

Wicklow is wooded, with green trees, carpets of grass and moss, and bubbling streams, and rolling fields.

Trees, grass, moss galore! Wicklow, Ireland.

The Avonbeg River, flowing through Glenmalure, Wicklow, Ireland

It's no wonder to me now, after having seen the place Synge came from, why Aran was so strange to him. If Wicklow were a chalkboard, Aran is what it looks like after the eraser dust settles.

Considering where I was coming from, it was a real change for me, too.

NYC

Next time: more on Synge's plays that were inspired by Wicklow...