7/3/2021 blog/

On a recent opinion piece from The Irish Times by Ross O’Carroll-Kelly

The column is written largely in pure quotations, so you can only infer who is speaking (although the author does give some signals). I use the same technique in poems. It seems sleeker than saying so-and-so says. I guess it is a bit confusing.

The column has to do with Ireland not being a nice place to visit. It is a bit odd because many Irish-Americans and others consider it a great tourist destination. I think many places that can attract you for vacation can be much harder to live in long-term. It is why I plan to leave my current city later this month.

Every place has its problems. One line from the column is  “I would rather rip out my own molars with a pliers than go on holidays in Ireland again.” People often want to leave their home countries for personal reasons. I told one school friend who stayed in his home country almost all his life the old saw that “still waters run deep.” He actually got a bit upset with me at the time for saying that.