Dublin-- Fish & Chips By Hook or By Crook

The Irish poet, James Joyce, once wrote:

All day I hear the noise of waters

Making moan,

Sad as the sea-bird is when, going

Forth alone,

He hears the winds cry to the water's

Monotone.

The grey winds, the cold winds are blowing

Where I go.

I hear the noise of many waters

Far below.

All day, all night, I hear them flowing

To and fro.

Landing in Joyce's Dublin, Ireland after an uneventful 7-hour Atlantic crossing, I was surprised by a shining object I had rarely seen around these parts before—and which I am sure Joyce would have marveled at as well.

“Hasn’t happened since 1887,” said the taxi driver, a retired local whose opinions shone as brightly as the celestial object. Irish taxi cabs remind me of their Lebanese counterparts. Every time I’ve come to Ireland, they’ve seemed increasingly willing to engage in conversation; happily voicing their thoughts and opinions with little if any inhibition.

“What you mean sunshine?” I asked him, wondering by his mature age whether he was speaking of personal experience!

“Yes, it hasn’t rained here in well over three weeks. Not a cloud in the sky. The Irish farrrrmers are screaming bloody murderrrr. The Guinness Book of records has marrrked it down already.”

“Is that right? Why?”

“Ask bloody Trump! He doesn’t believe in climate change! But it’s now all washing up on his bloody Golf Course just down the road. Flooding and all.”

“Really? He owns a course here?”

“Oh yeah. Bought it for fifteen million during our 2010 downturn. It’s worth double that now. And guess else he’s doing with it?”

“Tell me.”

“Building a bloody wall around it to stop the sea water  flooding the greens. Can you believe it? What’s wrong with that man? Him and his bloody walls. ”

We were heading to the seaside town of Malahyde, some 15 miles away from Dublin airport. Famous for its castle, gardens and village. I figured it would beat sitting in an airport waiting for my connection to Munich later that evening. It would give me a chance to see parts unknown to me and above all a taste of fresh local fish and chips. Mind you, I was admittedly feeling a pinch of guilt for even the thought of all the battering and deep frying. My wife had us on plant-based nutrition the previous few weeks. After some initial adjusting, I had started feeling light and energetic. The whole exercise had made me think how far away humanity had gone from what it was designed to actually consume. Not sure evolution had planned for the extra intake of caffeine, salt, corn syrup gluten, GMO… —each addictive in their own way … Fascinating though is how quickly de-sensitization occurs when one puts their mind to it. It's as if when the mind purposefully decides “No More”, the body dutifully goes along beginning a detoxification process. And with what instant speed! All of a sudden salt, sugar, bread, caffeinated beverages all magically transform from being necessary to becoming superfluous elements that the body acquiesces forgoing. Somewhat paradoxically, as de-sensitization occurs, the senses become more and more acute, getting tickled with a mere whiff of what was needed before. Years of potential bad eating habit turn on a dime.

But hey! I’m in bloody Ireland and by God nothing is going to stand in the way of my fish and chips, not immigration, not customs, not taxis, buses, or plant-based diet! Karim had recommended “the best fish and chips in Dublin Dad” in Dublin. But my flight in had been delayed in arriving, which meant I did not have enough time to go all the way down to Dublin... A disappointment considering I had been hoping to drop by Trinity College’s library, one of the most distinguished in the world. Mentioning it to the driver, he goes:

“Guess who was at Trinity last week?”

“No idea. Obama perhaps?”

“Close, Hillary Clinton." he said adding, "She received an honorary PhD. Kennedy was the first President to ever visit Ireland with his wife Jackie; and since then every single American first lady has visited Trinity.”

“You don’t say …”

“Yep. Mind ye, I don’t think Melania Trump will be showing up. She doesn’t even know how to read!”

"Are you sure about that."

"Based on what I've heard her say, I've no doubt--"

“Nice roads you got here,” I said, admiring the nicely organized roads with a typical grey stone walls separating stone houses from the road. 

The drive from the airport to Malahyde wiggled through some upscale neighborhood, which were clear proof that over the past two decades, Ireland had been among the EU’s biggest beneficiary. The airport itself was modern and very busy; with many services readily available upon arrival—much more so than those back in the US. Even in a village as small as Malahyde, the roads and infrastructure were as good as it does in England or Germany. This bodes well for the EU, I thought, which unlike what some claim was a project meant to transfer wealth from the European South to the North. This said, economic productivity is a magnet for money... Has been and will always be in Europe, America, and everywhere else. If in the case of the European Union, the South is less productive than the North, an unintended consequence of the union would be a transfer. Perhaps that is the true essence of the dilemma that Europe is facing, as opposed to the migration smoke screen that supposedly is the source of all economic ills. Incidentally, the same applies in the US. Globalization has flattened the economic playing fields (at the behest of the West, ironically). It would be pretty disingenuous of the West to now claim the rules of global competition are unfair. 

Countries need to compete to survive. Ireland decided to compete and by the looks of it and the fact that they now enjoy among the highest per capita income in Europe, have done well for themselves. Google, Facebook, Apple and many other large IT companies have headquarters in Dublin, making it one of the most attractive places to live and work in the EU.

Wandering through Malahyde’s gardens and then savoring my gluten free fish and chips (don’t ask) on the village's seaside promenade, I reflected on Ireland’s journey of war, peace, and prosperity; and that of other countries such as the ones that I would be seeing on my upcoming trip, like Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, all of which were previously Soviet satellite states.

My reflections were interrupted by tens of thousands of cricket fans who had suddenly descended upon the village for a cricket test of sorts. Most of them seemed of Indian heritage. ‘Can globalization ever be reversed as some politicians seem to huff and puff?’ I wondered to myself. Highly improbable and impractical, beyond populist sound bites. But if ever it did, it would go against the very nature of human being’s wish for freedom of movement, innovative enterprise, and borderless love. 

Borderless love, now that’s a thought! Isn’t that what the FIFA World Cup is all about? All kinds of cultures and people’s coming together from all over the world to celebrate the one thing they all love?

Can’t wait to join my fellow man (and woman) in arguably the world's largest love fest. But first off it’s a quick business sojourn in Munich, Germany and the excitement of re-connecting with my son in Warsaw, Poland.