IRELAND

Linda and I spent a week in Dublin with Eli, who is taking his junior year abroad at Trinity College, in the Department of Theater Arts. We happened to be there for the student theater company premiere of his full-length comedy, "American Joel," which he wrote and directed. It is a satire on an American student at Trinity - the hero spends his junior year on Mars. It is hilarious and suitably sophomoric. For example, Ireland's national beverage, Guinness, shows up repeatedly during the play as a pint of Canal Water. Eli's classmates, who comprised the bulk of the audience, howled with glee. Afterwards we had him and some of the cast over to our little flat for dinner - beef stew with Guinness.

We took the Dublin city tour, visited James Joyce sites (a thrill for me), and ventured out of Dublin to see the 5,000-year-old stone age tombs at Newgrange and Tara. Eli took us to a couple of plays and a movie. His friends are a clever and endearing lot, and we were sorry to leave after only a week's stay.

We flew to London on Friday night and my brother Tim picked us up at Heathrow and took us to his house in Brighton. We had a late pizza with him and Stephanie, who are both in the London theater. Stephanie couldn't come with us to France because she's currently in a play. Tim is "between engagements," picking up some voice-over work from time to time, leaving him free for such adventures as being driver for our Normandy trip.

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