Me: Where shall we go today?
Him: Let's check out Victoria Lock, the first lock on the Shannon river upstream from Lough Derg, to begin with.
Me: (checking Google maps) Lock or Loch?
Him: Hope the rain will stop
Me: I'll pray that the rain will stop at our destination (s). You have to be very specific so as not to deprive others who need the rain.
I like to learn. Never being exposed to much engineering knowledge, Wikipedia told me that a lock is a device used for raising and lowering all sorts of watercraft (think boats, ships etc) between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways.
Clear enough.
Anything beyond that, the brain will scream : Cannot compute. Information overload.
The trail to Victoria Lock went cold. Faded signposts led us to muddy farms and dead end roads. Not uncommon. After all, we were not searching for what Father Ted would say a Class One relic.
But we did find another lock tucked away in Shannon Harbour. Lock 35. (not to be confused with Phantom of the Opera's Lot 666 a chandelier in pieces.)
The rain stopped.
I was watching the engineering wonder very closely.
It is all in the specifics.
Behind the gates of the lock, the water was crushing at great force, as if trying to break through. Pounding hard like medieval marauders with a huge log of wood thumping at the castle gate, trying to break into the castle while soldiers defending the castle poured hot oil on the invaders from the turrets above.
On the other side of the gates the water was very calm, totally oblivious of its raging neighbour.
Me: Which side personifies you?
Him: I don't know.
Me: I'm the raging side trying to smash down the gates.
The thing is the gates cannot be opened all at once or the water will just gush down. They have to be opened gradually so the water can be regulated and the impact gradual.
That would be the most frustrating process for me.
Because let's say I want improvement but am met with resistance.
I'll have to learn to be long-suffering and patient. I have to accept that some things might change but it may not be now. So it is this process of thinking, negotiating and hoping that keeps the adrenalin pumping. This is what is called the excitement of living.
As we made our way home, we noticed that clear skies had become grey again. The moment we reached our neighbourhood, the rain started.
Me: Did you notice that it didn't rain at our destinations but it is raining now?
Him: Yeah
Me: It is all in the specifics. 😊
He's a retailer, he told me once.
ReplyDeleteI went to the Panama Canal once and it is very interesting.
I am the calm side of the river 😊
Ivania.