Author Archive: Bill Black
I'm a baby boomer, lefty Democrat, Boston Irish Catholic, born in 1953. I work as a public affairs consultant in Washington.
Briefing on the Livin’ Wright
We had our briefing on the boat. Lasted an hour plus. Shocking how many things can go wrong a boat. The engine, the bilge pump, the electrical system, the head (God forbid) and on and on. We were briefed by Giles, a very young man who sounded like he was from Australia, but actually is a native and was educated in Southampton.
— Post From My IPad
Livin’ Wright – Day One
Awakened by roosters at about 4 am.
It’s a beautiful day in Nanny Cay. We’re still getting aquatinted with the boat. The challenge is organizing your life in a whole different manner. It’s hard to keep track of where things are. And I have to get used to this obsession with protecting resources, water and electricity, mostly. Lots of gadgets to keep going.
Here’s another view of the boat. That’s Captain Gaetjens at the front filling one of our fresh water tanks.
— Post From My IPad
Pictures of the Livin’ Wright
Here’s a view of the Livin’ Wright from the dock. It’s bigger than it looks.
And here’s my bedroom, I mean “quarters.”
Alone in the BVI on the Livin’ Wright
So, here I am on this massive 46 foot sail boat, by myself, at Nanny Cay on Tortola. For reasons I can’t explain, I arrived about 4 hours ahead of the rest of the crew. I had an extended shuttle ride to the marina because “some tourist” barreled down the wrong (U.S.) side of the road and crashed into a local’s car. The shuttle driver noted the injustice in the fact that the tourist walked away unharmed, but the local was apparently injured. But it created utter gridlock in Road Town, the largest “city” in the BVI.
I got a taste of the lifestyle when the shuttle driver saw an attractive, well-dressed young woman holding an umbrella and seemingly waiting for a bus. He stopped the van and invited her in for a ride, which she readily accepted. As she got in, he said, “I only stopped because you’re so pretty.” She seemed mildly flattered.
After he dropped her off, he shared with me his deep affection fo this particular woman and that he has repeated asked her for a date. She said that he was too old. But he was encouraged by the fact that she accepted the ride.
He dropped me off at the marina where I was directed to the boat and invited to hop aboard and get ensconced. No identification, no paperwork. Just jump aboard.
So, for the last 3 hours, I have been stowing our ample provisions and getting acquainted with the boat. It is bigger than I expected. The good news is that the accommodations are luxurious. The bad news is that it’s going to be a bear to sail this beast.
I think everything seems to be working. If you are reading this post, it means I’ve figured out the wifi. I’ve concluded that my biggest challenge is going to be husbanding electrical power for my multiple gadgets.
My crew has checked in by text message and is due to arrive soon and the adventure will begin.
Heading to BVI
I’m sitting at Dulles about to board a flight to the British Virgin Islands. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done. It’s the kind of thing you put on your “bucket list,” except that I didn’t have the imagination to put it there. I’m meeting three other guys and we’re going to sail a 46 foot sail boat around the islands.
I have my captain, Jean Gaetjens, for taking the initiative on this. It’s going to be quite an adventure.
While we’re giving up some creature comforts, we will have wifi on the boat. I’m going to try to blog off my IPad so watch this space. And if I go quiet for a couple of days, call the Coast Guard.
Stay tuned.
— Post From My IPad
Location:Compass Ct,Sterling,United States
The HIstory of Charlie on the MTA
Here’s how the song was inspired:
O’Brien couldn’t afford radio ads, but he had a boxy old truck outfitted with speakers and a platform. He had asked a quintet named the Boston Peoples Artists to compose and record some songs he could broadcast from the truck as it drove through the city, and sometimes to play live from the truck at rallies.
Not So Grim
I’m at Heathrow Airport getting ready for the trip back to Washington. Things got a little better after my last post. Once I accepted the fact that this would be the most expensive vacation EVER, I found some peace.
We stayed an extra day in London. Attended a beautiful high Mass at Westminster Cathedral. It had a large choir (men and boys), a partial Latin liturgy, incense, the works. It was very nice.
Then, since a day without shopping is like a day without sunshine, we went shopping at Harrods. Massive store, packed with people, a woman singing opera to people on escalators and a huckster selling the Vegimax, who was the spitting image of Eric Idle.
Finally, we went to the British Museum. saw the Rosetta Stone, again, and an exhibit on the Books of the Dead from Egypt.
Maybe I’ll post on everything that happened since Kilmainham Gaol, but I can’t promise.
Grim
Our flight from Dublin to London was canceled causing us to miss our flight from London to Washington. I had used precious upgrade certificates for that flight, so we would have been traveling business class. Because the Dublin flight was not booked with the London flight, United takes no responsibility for missing the flight, meaning I will likely have to pay a substantial amount of money to change the flight and we will be put back in coach.
I am deeply depressed and not in the mood for further blogging about this trip. I hope the Muse comes back so I can describe our extraordinary visits to Belfast, Derry and, most especially, Rathlin Island.
For now, just can’t.
Kilmainham Gaol
It is interesting that Ireland’s modern political history is best told in a horrific prison. Kilmainham Gaol is a powerful symbol of the struggles of the Irish people. Architecturally, it resembles the prison in The Shawshank Redemption. Unforgiving stones and steel. Our tour guide was a burly, passionate Irishman with a full beard who talked non-stop for almost an hour and a half in a presentation that was rich with fact, anecdote and drama. For instance, here’s a picture of the altar where Joseph Plunkett, one of the leaders of the 1916 uprising, married his beloved, 3 hours before he was executed by firing squad. His bride lived to her 70’s and never remarried.
But the history of the prison vastly pre-dated this event, having been build in the late 1600’s. All the Irish rebels through the years passed through Kilmainham. The most dramatic story was that of Anne Devlin, who effectively sacrificed her entire family, not to mention herself, for the cause of Ireland. I’m not disciplined enough recount her story, but click here for more. It was our tour guide’s most passionate story and he concluded with the protest that one of the most grievous omissions in Irish history was the minor place to which this heroic woman is relegated.
The prison is now a multi-use facility where there are often concerts or theatrical performances. It has also been used as a movie set, recently in the movie Michael Collins with Liam Neeson, which, outside of the dramatic love story, is a pretty accurate account of the founding of the Irish Republic. Collins, of course, served time in Kilmainham.