LETTER FROM AMERICA
Sullivan County, New York – 19th October 2011
EllenIn October of 2008, I visited Ireland with my favorite traveling companion, my dear, beloved and now departed Mother. God rest her soul. We enjoyed every bit of our holiday, met many precious Irish people who were to become treasured friends, reconnected with family separated by 7 generations and had the time of our lives. Now, if you think I am going to speak volumes about this past holiday of mine, you are sadly mistaken. Instead I bemoan the fact that due to difficult financial circumstances, both in Ireland and in the USA, I most likely will not able to visit my “motherland” this year at all!
To begin with, every time I exchange one American dollar for a Euro, I lose money, lots of money, more money that I can afford to lose today or any other day. The market dictates I would have to pay $1.38 for each €1. WHOA!!! That is a huge “chunk o’ change” by Irish OR American standards. This fact weighs heavily in my decision not to travel to Ireland this year but is certainly only part of the reason.
Ireland is experiencing a constant upward swing of inflation with no apparent end in sight. In September 2011 inflation rose 2.59%. Although the Euro is strong against the American dollar, I cannot purchase as much in Ireland when spending Euros as I can here at home in New York when spending dollars. For example, a 42” Sony television set in a New York Walmart costs $799.00 USD yet the same set in a Tesco up in Cavan costs €1799.00. A quart of milk in San Diego goes for $1 US while a litre of the same thing goes for €2.25 in Galway. This shows that not only are Americans losing big time on the exchange rate but also paying higher prices for the same items they can buy at home for substantially less.
Neither have airlines been a favorable persuader while making my decision to stay home this year! Heightened security, although surely necessary, has become annoying to me and millions of other average travelers like me. Standing in endless lines, random body searches and too many rude attendants all contribute to my decision to "think INSIDE the box". Baggage weight limits, carry-on restrictions, poor in flight food and a service: all the more reason to stick with domestic travel.
And yet................Ireland pulls me to it like no other place. The bones of my ancestors call to me "Come home Ellen, we are here, you belong to us, Tá tú san áit a bhfuil oiriúnach dom.......” Dillon’s, Sheridan’s, Lynch’s and Naughtons! My people! MY people! It is difficult to put a price tag on unconditional love and loyalty for both surpasses the grave eternally. It is hard to weigh dollars and Euros against the value of an individual’s own heritage. It is impossible to compare the price of an airline ticket to the pleasure of spending time with people whom I have come to know and love dearly.
In any event, before I get too carried away with sentiment, I still can't afford to go on holiday to Ireland for all the reasons I have stated. I wonder though, if I buy a lottery ticket this week...................Hey! You never know! If I am the lucky winner, I'll take the entire family along with me. Now THAT really would be something!!!
Ellen Neumann
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