June 27, 2001

We want to keep in touch with Edith's Mom, a pretty lively lady also named Edith, on our trip to Ireland. Nana has email and reads it every day. If I'm going to send an email to one person, why not send it to a whole list of people? Lucky you; you're on my list.

I'm writing this on my laptop at 30,000 feet over the Atlantic. Edith is by my side (sleeping) and my sister Anne and her husband Bruce are in the seats in front of us. I dreaded the thought of this seven-hour flight but must admit that it hasn't been too bad so far (even though Bruce tilted his seat back some after promising me he wouldn't).

For the first 27 years of marriage, Edith refused to fly. Then, when our son moved away, her maternal instincts took over and we flew to Orlando and then later to Munich. She still seems to get nervous and I noticed a lot of finger tapping the last two days. However, things seemed to get better as the day wore on. Maybe it was that 15 oz. beer at LaRosas, or the one she had at the Chicago airport, or the Heineken on the plane, or the split of Chardonnay, or...

We bought a few new outfits from the LL Bean catalog, made especially for traveling. I am so proud of my new khaki pants - they even have both a zipper and a button on the back pocket. Air Lingus served us a very nice meal a couple of hours ago. The small tray was filled with dishes and I looked forward to the small salad as I poured the Italian dressing over the greens. I tried to cut the cherry tomato in half and the small bowl flipped into my lap. Those new pants that I am so proud of now have this large oily stain in the worst possible spot.

It's midnight Cincinnati time and the sun is coming up over the ocean as I look over the wing. We are pretty excited about the adventures that lie ahead. The Irish people that we have met so far are very nice. I will try to write a little each day and hope that we can find a place to send our mail periodically.

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