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Beirt mhac ina gContae na hOraiste.

Thiomáinaigh mé ina mo Vholvo ar feadh Lá na Leorghnímh seo triu ar fud na gContae na hOraiste. Chuaigh Leon agus mé ag feáchaint mo h-athair. Is Cathal é. Tá tinn air. Chuir cuairt againn dó féin ar a teach banaltrais.

Tá Cathal ag teacht chugat féin as breoiteacht. Bhí niúmóine aigesan. Tá seisean féin ina shláinte níos fearr, ach níl Cathal ina chló féin go hiomlán aríst. Mar sin féin, iarraidh sé biseach a fháil.

Níor cloiseann Cathal ar chor ar bith anois. Déanimid a thabhairt dó leis mo lámh a chur ar an bpeann. Scríobh mé leis Cathal faoi Na Cleasaí, Obama in aghaidh McCain, agus an aimsir go halainn in aice leis an tra Naomh Sheain na Capistrano.

Go luath, gheobhaidh Cathal ar ais a bhaile nua ina Coill Mhurlach. Bhí sé i gconai ansiud go deireanach, ach níl ábalta a fanacht go leor fós. D'fhag Cathal ar oispidéal go tapaidh sula go raibh ag tosaithe ag imirce a dhéanamh ansin.

Chaith Leon go maith leis féin. Ní raibh go furasta ag fáil a shean-athair chomh seo. Tá Leon ag fásadh chomh céann go raibh mé féin nuair bhí mé nios og. Tá mo mhic go bhfuil comhaois é féin agus mé féin nuair go fuair Cathal faoi a ailse. Bhí dhá agus leathanta blianta a deich fichead go ham seo.

Fhillim ar an bothar mór ar ais ina gCathair na hÁingeal inniu. Bhí sé cúig míle agus cuigead ar shiúl. Chodladh Leon leis a chluasanaí. Chonaic mé comharthaí ar an bhealach. Bhí cuimhne liom nuair go raibh a feicthe go tosach sa ainmneachaí céann féin. Bhí dhá blianta scór ó shin sin. Thiomaint Cathal a Vholvo eile.

Léigh mé Bothar Griolsa agus Bealach Phairc na hAirt; Cnoc Dhearg agus Gleann Chóróin; dul amach leis Éilisaigh agus Seithrun. Thuig mé go raibh imeacht siad ag imeall. Bhí céann cuid hamannaí agam ag trasna ina gcontae difríula chomh cuid agamsa féin. Thuigim ar an bhealach a foghlaim fúthu úrthimpeall.

Bhí mian le a ceannach nua baile ansin. Ní raibh airgead go leor, chomh ar tharla. Bhí maith linn aer. Bhí níos fuar agus níos úrdha ina gContae na hOraiste Thuaidh.

A Pair of Sons in Orange County.

I drove during this Day of Atonement through the whole of Orange County. Leo and I went to see my father. He's Charles. There's illness upon him. We paid a visit to him in his nursing home.

Charles is recovering from an illness. He himself had pneumonia. He is in better health, but Charles is not recovered himself completely again. All the same, he wants to recuperate.

Charles cannot hear at all now. We communicate with him by me putting my hand to paper. I wrote with Charles about the Dodgers, Obama vs. McCain, and the lovely weather near the beach of San Juan Capistrano.

Soon, Charles will go again to the new home in Laguna Woods. He was living over there lately, but he's not able to stay much yet. Charles left for the hospital suddenly before he was starting to move in there.

Leo did himself proud. It's not easy to find his grandfather like this. Leo's growing the same as I was when I was younger when Charles found that he had cancer. That was thirty-two and a half years ago.

Today, I returned on the freeway back into Los Angeles. It was fifty-five miles away. Leo slept with his headphones. I saw signs on the way. The memory came to me of when I first looked on those same names. It was forty years ago. Charles drove his other Volvo.

I read Jamboree Road and Oso Parkway; Red Hill and Crown Valley; Alicia and Jeffrey exits. I understood that we were going away over the border. This was one of my first times crossing into a different county than my own one. I got on the way to learn about these surroundings.

He had a wish to buy a new house there. We did not have enough money, as it turned out. The air pleased us. It was cooler and fresher in southern Orange County.

Iómhá /Image: Online Archive of California: "Fruit Crate Labels" Search