A Tale of Two Cities...

Last night, I made a quick comparison between Dublin and Boston.  Today, I am ready to confirm that these two great cities have a lot more in common than I had ever thought.  We woke, broke our evening fast, and boarded our bus to have a quick tour of this fair city.

Our guide, Martin O'Reilly is one of those characters that you will remember forever.  Our driver commented that most people kiss the blarney stone, but Martin had eaten the whole thing...and it was true.  Martin is one of those guys that knows everything about his city.  He is the epitome of a Duck Boat driver or even an old school Boston cabbie.  You trust a guy like Martin when he's telling you a story.  It's tough to recall exactly what Martin said about all of the sights we visited, but some of them stick out.

Down the road from our hotel is the National Post office and a statue to Daniel O'Connor.  These two monuments are right in the heart of the city, but they represent a very difficult time for Dublin and Ireland too.  The Easter Uprising occurred where almost 100 years ago.  The evidence exists in the form of bullet holes.  As much as this story is difficult to hear, it is equally uplifting.  This city has faced tremendous violence in its past, and yet, it's people are among the friendliest I've ever met.  There is a resiliency in Dublin.  The older folks remember tougher times and younger folks have been taught some valuable lessons.  While I am nearly 3,000 miles from my favorite city...I feel at home with these people.  They are genuine.  They work hard.  They are immensely proud of their history...the good and the bad, because it made them who they are.

It's funny that I feel this way, I think.  I've been to quite a few European cities and I am always comparing them to home.  As much as I love travelling, I equally love flying over Boston struggling to find my house in Saugus from the air.  This city, however, seems to have that same charm.  I talked to a bunch of kids today about Dublin.  I asked them what they thought about the city and almost all of them told me that they love it, that it reminds them of Boston, and that they'd move here in an instant.  The kids see it too.  Maybe they walked along Grafton Street today and thought, this is just like Newbury Street.  Maybe Dublin's Henry Street reminded them of Faneuil Hall.  They might have noticed how connected Dubliners are to their sports teams (albeit in Gaelic Football and Rugby) and felt that same connection to the Sox, B's, Pats, and (dare I say) the Celts.  The visit to Trinity College might have reminded them of visiting Harvard or attending a game at BC...or BU.  My guess is that while they missed their Dunkin' Donuts, they felt at home walking past a ton of "Insomnia" coffee shops.

I was sitting with some kids earlier today and I asked them to tell me how to get back to the hotel.  It's a routine I practice often with the kids, to build their practical geography skills.  One student said, you walk past the Spire until you see Cheers and then you turn right.  I was confused for a bit, but on the trip home, it all made sense to me...

...this wasn't the only connection that I saw, but it resonated the most.  This student may have never even watched the show, but he knows what Cheers is...and he used it as a reference point to get back to the hotel.  I think that is wicked cool.

One of the more poignant moments of this day occurred nearer the end of our bus tour.  We entered into Phoenix park.  It's their version of Boston Common, but its much larger.  We saw a bunch of fields, some deer sleeping under some trees, and a huge obelisk that looked just like the Bunker Hill Monument.  There are only two houses in this park; one belongs to the President of Ireland.  The other belongs to the United States Government.  Our embassy is literally across the street from their White House. (It is actually White and was the inspiration for ours)  As we slowed down for a closer look, the reality of life back home sprung forth.

There is nothing like seeing your country's flag at half staff and knowing it's because of something happening at home.  But here...just like 3,000 miles away in Boston...the flag still waves, with a resiliency that has, and will, stand the test of time.  These tragic times will make us stronger.  We will band together as we've always done...and we will continue to move forward; never forgetting our past and using it to guide us into the future.

It is possible for a people to recover from tragedy...I saw it first in New York and I'm reminded of it Dublin. I hope I am not the only one who cannot wait until the next Boston Marathon.  I may not be able to stand at the finish line, but my guess is that the good people of Boston will be there in my place.

Mr. Lavoie, from a McDonalds on O'Conner Street which the kids have renamed McDublin.