Shannonbridge
Remember when you were so young that when someone asked you your age, you said "5 and 1/4" and that extra ¼ was always so important!!
When I was at that age, my family would go up to Shannonbridge for a week during the summer. This was usually our familys holiday for the year. Shannonbridge is a beautiful town next to the River Shannon situated between Co. Roscommon, Co. Offaly and Co. Galway and this was the place where my Father was born and raised. All my fathers brother and sisters lived her with there wives and children, but all my cousins were all three times my age!
Over the course of the week we stayed with my Uncle Sham who was my fathers oldest brother. For the week we went fishing, went on long walks, went on boat rides and all the running around a young healthy boy could do. My Uncle Sham (pronounced Shem) had gotten polio in the 1950’s in Ireland when there was a scare. The meant one of his legs was shorter than the other and he had to walk around with a brace on. I only found out that it was polio he had when he died at his funeral. Up until then he told me he broke his leg whilst playing when he was younger and it was never right since.
I slept in the room next to my Uncle, which was situated upstairs. It had giant old fashioned wardrooms and had giant picture of Our Lady and Jesus looking at me with there huge eyes whilst I tried to sleep in my sleeping bag. I even had a chamber pot because the toilet wasn’t actually in the house it was out in a shed. I never got the hand of this pot. I had to kneel down over it and somehow manage not to splash the wooden floor, which I always ended up doing!
Every morning I was woken up by my Uncles alarm clock and if that didn’t wake me, the church bells did. I used to sneak into him then to talk. I’d lift the latch on the door (the house didn’t even have door handles!!) and pop in to help strap on all these braces and straps to his body so he could walk. The room was dark and those braces and straps hung over all the walls next to the giant bed.
My Uncle used repair bicycles and print the memorial cards for people that have passed away. He still was able to drive and always went places. I guess what im trying to say about all this is even thou he was disabled he never acted like he was. He never stopped this disabilty from his everyday activites. I didn’t notice this when I was younger, but I certainly do now.
When I was at that age, my family would go up to Shannonbridge for a week during the summer. This was usually our familys holiday for the year. Shannonbridge is a beautiful town next to the River Shannon situated between Co. Roscommon, Co. Offaly and Co. Galway and this was the place where my Father was born and raised. All my fathers brother and sisters lived her with there wives and children, but all my cousins were all three times my age!
Over the course of the week we stayed with my Uncle Sham who was my fathers oldest brother. For the week we went fishing, went on long walks, went on boat rides and all the running around a young healthy boy could do. My Uncle Sham (pronounced Shem) had gotten polio in the 1950’s in Ireland when there was a scare. The meant one of his legs was shorter than the other and he had to walk around with a brace on. I only found out that it was polio he had when he died at his funeral. Up until then he told me he broke his leg whilst playing when he was younger and it was never right since.
I slept in the room next to my Uncle, which was situated upstairs. It had giant old fashioned wardrooms and had giant picture of Our Lady and Jesus looking at me with there huge eyes whilst I tried to sleep in my sleeping bag. I even had a chamber pot because the toilet wasn’t actually in the house it was out in a shed. I never got the hand of this pot. I had to kneel down over it and somehow manage not to splash the wooden floor, which I always ended up doing!
Every morning I was woken up by my Uncles alarm clock and if that didn’t wake me, the church bells did. I used to sneak into him then to talk. I’d lift the latch on the door (the house didn’t even have door handles!!) and pop in to help strap on all these braces and straps to his body so he could walk. The room was dark and those braces and straps hung over all the walls next to the giant bed.
My Uncle used repair bicycles and print the memorial cards for people that have passed away. He still was able to drive and always went places. I guess what im trying to say about all this is even thou he was disabled he never acted like he was. He never stopped this disabilty from his everyday activites. I didn’t notice this when I was younger, but I certainly do now.
posted by idledude at 20:16
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