The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.
Stephen King

Today is Pentecost. Reason to hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will help those who can allow us to make a difference for the ones we love, see and understand that they will need to act. Not at some time in the future, not following the slow and horrible death of more people, not following another enquiry into how their medieval treatment could have been allowed to continue despite all of us knowing better. But now.

Euripides was a real innovator in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, known for his unparalleled sympathy towards all victims of society. No better parallel to Pádraig’s approach to life. Some of Euripides’ writing is full of humour. Another of Pádraig’s traits. As long as the humour is not German he will always share a great, brilliant smile with you when listening to a funny conversation or a good joke.

Trust is an issue that came up repeatedly over the past week. It made me wonder how innocent I am. We all are. And how much we support liars with our trust. Which begs the question: should we smarten up a bit? Like, now? Right now? Instead of becoming accomplices?

Trust in those who are supposed to look after you

Barak Obama has been quoted of saying, “If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and to promote their common welfare – all else is lost.”

RTÉ, the national Irish TV broadcaster, last week aired a shocking report into the horrific way older people are treated in (some of the) Nursing Homes in Ireland. It was documented using life footage taken by secret cameras. Elderly and helpless residents were recorded calling for help. Calls that were not answered. When they asked to be taken to the toilet, they were told there was no staff and they should “pee” into their pads.

Trust in Government and the Civil Service

Since the programme was aired earlier in the week, all hell broke loose. First, it transpired that the nursing homes in question had been given a clear bill of health by the State’s inspection authority. Consequently, the very competency of that Agency was called into question. Which was followed up by reports about the unbelievable amount of money some of these commercial, private nursing homes are making.

There is a reason, many families in the An Saol Foundation ensured that their family members were either removed from nursing homes and brought back home, or never went to a nursing home in the first place.

You could give that ‘reason’ many names, but it all boils down to their fear for the life of their loved ones.

The elderly shown in the documentary were vulnerable and helpless. But they had a voice.

Our injured family members don’t. Literally.

So, if we cannot have trust in those who are supposed to look after our relatives, if we cannot have trust in those who should monitor them, then our relatives cannot, cannot, live in nursing homes. Because they would be left there entirely at the mercy of profit-making, staff-restricting, and merciless multinational conglomerates. Without any chance to protest or call for help because of their condition.

Why the Government doesn’t, right now, make the funding available to the non-profit, charitable An Saol Foundation for its ‘House of Life’, Teach An Saol, is beyond comprehension.

Morning Walks

Early in the bright early summer mornings, I am alone walking through the nearby park. No distractions. So I see things, that would be drowned completely in the noise and business of my ‘normal’ day. Last week, I took some pictures of these moments.

See the Heron in the background? At least I think it’s a heron.
He, obviously, cannot read, no matter whether it’s Irish or English, and he couldn’t care less about the order of “No Fishing” anyways. Wild and Free.

Often we use metaphors from soccer, saying things like, “we just need to keep the ball rolling”.

Well, this ball was rolling. It actually never stopped rolling. The same way the water in the river never stopped flowing .

Yet, it didn’t advance anywhere.

Sometime, even though the ball is kept rolling, there is no progress, no movement.

Activity is no guarantee for advancement.

That morning, the warm early summer sun was right behind me and cast a long shadow of myself ahead of me.

That long black shadow looked ginormous but didn’t give anything away of my real height.

Problems that look unsurmountable and enormous, dark and threatening, are often just spoofy shadows.

When, in reality, they can be tackled with the right amount of effort, support, persistence, and courage.

Yesterday, we were watching the “Celebration of Life” of Dylan Leonard. He was 17 years old when, last week, he tragically passed away.

On the 6th of October 2024, while in Sicily, his sister Hannah was completing her final long distance training run for the Dublin marathon. Sadly, she never got to finish the run but was hit by a car and suffered a devastating brain injury. She is now in Beaumont Hospital about to be transferred to the NRH in the coming weeks.

We had planned to go to Bray yesterday morning and attend the service in person but eventually had to watch it using a video link. We still got a sense of the tragic loss and the incredible person Dylan must have been.

Everyday is a school day. Right?

What did you learn in school today?

I learned that I have to smarten up so I am no longer a most useful tool for liars.

I learned that being busy, spending my days filling in forms and sending out emails, again and again and again, does not necessarily make any difference to anybody or anything – except that it wears me out.

I learned that what appears big is just that: appearance. No need to fret.

Finally, and tragically, I learned (again) and I was reminded that just when you think things couldn’t get worse, they do.

Therefore, enjoy every second of your life. It is as good as it gets.