When both my grandparents had passed away, my mother’s brothers who had been still living in what had been the family home had to relocate. That’s a whole other story unto itself, but not the point of the current ramble…
Luckily, the lads were able to purchase a mobile home and put it in the garden of one of their other brothers. The only problem was, when the time came for the move, it was the end of January of 1987. The weather was dire, land had turned into a quagmire.
Thus, a tractor and flatbed trailer were required to get the mobile in across the field. But before the tractor could be even put to work, timber sheeting had to be put down so the tractor could negotiate the field gateway.
Now, of course circumnavigating the boggy terrain was no bother to the big Deutz DX 6.10 – a beast of a machine in its day – but even that’s not the story here. Being the dear friend and wonderfully generous neighbour that he is, Pat Clarke had sent the then brand new green machine and trailer down to assist.
Paul, my brother was working with him at the time and, though a few months short of his 16th birthday at the time, the boss had no bother putting him in the cockpit, from where skilfully guided the new dwelling to its location. It was a different world then, a much better one.
Third level education was the preserve of the wealthy and/or those of a certain political persuasion. So when the youth were finished with school, whatever age that happened to be at, the only option was to go out and work. To assume some responsibility, make their contribution to the world and, in some cases, provide vital supports in some areas too.
What they certainly weren’t doing is going around gathering up guns and snuffing out lives before they had the chance to even properly begin. Yet, what was once the best and most inspiring place in the world, the self-styled Land Of The Free is being held hostage by gun-wielding nutcases. And, even worse, by those who back them up.
Should we be surprised that the stain on humanity that is Donald Trump defended the gun nuts? Of course not, it’s self-important airheads like him who condone and enable grotesque movements like the NRA.
What sort of society is it that, though a person is not deemed old enough to drive or drink alcohol, they can walk into a shop and buy a gun? Or two, as was the case with the shooter in the latest heinous tragedy to beset the US and, by extension, the world.
How in God’s name is that possible? Is there no vetting of who’s fit to own and operate a firearm and who isn’t? Don’t dare fly mental health as a kite with which to defend or explain away the barbarism of wiping out what here in Ireland would be classified as primary school children.
However, as ironic as the following truly is, as bad as Trump undoubtedly is, his disdain for Ted Cruz is both well founded and easy to latch onto. Even if the walking orange split calling someone else a liar is beyond irony.
Still, slithery, slimy Ted sprung from the traps defending the NRA and the right to bear arms. For all Trump and Lying Ted spent an entire Presidential campaign sniping at each other, they do, at the end of the day, belong to the same odious Republican Party. After all, there hasn’t been a decent Republican President since Ronnie Reagan – and even he came over from the better side.
Since then, they have produced the two war-mongering Bushes and the insurrectionist clown that the world thought it had got rid of. Now, that a sizable percentage of Americans wouldn’t be top heavy with intelligence is hardly breaking news, but how they could pass over somebody like Hillary Clinton in favour of blundering Bush and the other bloated gasbag boggles the mind.
As for Lying Ted, you wouldn’t need to be Stephen Hawking to decipher that the reason he is so comfortably tucked up in bed with the gun lobby is because no other politician has got as much money from them as the man who jetted off on a holiday when those he is elected to represent were in the midst of a crisis.
It’s at that point, though, that the old Irish saying, ‘You reap what you sow’ comes into play. Put another way, lie with dogs and you’ll rise with fleas. And, even though thankfully there’s a Democrat back in the White House, Sleepy Joe is not who America or the world needs at the wheel at a time like this.
The Mayo Irish-American is undoubtedly well intentioned and as genuine as the day is long but its hard to escape the feeling that his own party doesn’t even listen to him, never mind Congress, Americans in general or the rest of the world.
But, just like the Ulster Final in Gaelic football today, all it takes is somebody to be ballsy enough and at least try to break the stalmate. Derry had numerous warriors on the pitch today, but who in the US has it in them to take the gun lobby – and the likes of Trump and Cruz – down from their f*****g perch?
You suspect for a lot of reasons Kamala Harris would if she ever end up living on Pennsylvania Avenue. But how many more Columbines or Sandyhooks or the likes what we saw in Texas last week have to happen before somebody does something?
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