Day 6,7&8. Long Island

On our eventual arrival at JFK, thankfully we were collected by CC’s cousin W and we drove to Long Island. 

The following day we toyed with the idea of going to NYC to do a spot of shopping. However, being tired after the previous day’s extended flight, we decided against it. That afternoon we walked to the local village and purchased wine. The owner of the wine shop, having asked us where we are from, wanted to know how Dublin lost to Tyrone and how Mayo was still cursed?  It appears this area has a very high Irish population. 

That evening, we walked  to the village again with our host and dined at an excellent Italian restaurant, Poppy’s, where as usual, the portions were huge so we brought home next day’s lunch!! 

As we walked home at 21:00, the snow had commenced falling and there was a light smattering on the ground but next morning, when I awoke the scene was one of a winter wonderland. 

It snowed all day. The village shops were closed with the exception of the four Irish pubs - Jameson’s, Fallon’s, Mc Carthy’s and Duggans’. We spent the day looking at the news channels charting the blizzard along the north east coast, the cancellation of flights and the odd reference to the Ukraine. 

Later that morning, the neighbours attempting to clear the footpaths as one could not distinguish the road from the side walk!! Snow depth was 12”-18” and deeper where the snow drifted with the winds. 

This morning, as we awoke, the sun was shining. A thaw had begun. People were on the move again! Cars, driveways and paths were further cleared 

We went to Mass in the nearby church. There was a police patrol car directing the traffic!! There’s a police car there every Sunday.! The large church was almost full. The congregation without exception was Caucasian, social distancing no longer required and 70% or so wearing masks!! 

After Mass, we did a little shopping. Every shop was open from the Beauty Rooms to the Supermarket, from the diner to the bakery. 

It was refreshing to breathe fresh air!  We returned home, where we will remain in for the rest of the day, to allow the clean up to take place and as we expect our host’s son and grandson for dinner. 

Day 5 Dallas - NYC

                It never rains but it pours!!!

We decided to spend a few days in NYC before returning to Dallas to link up with J and complete our business there. 

We were flying on an Airbus A -220, reputed to be the most modern aircraft in the world, part developed by Bombardier in Belfast and completed by Airbus. 

TG for Sat Nav aa we negotiated our way through this massive airport to drop off the beast of a car hired by J. 

Luckily petrol is cheap here as it did 10 miles to the gallon!! One word of warning - the diesel pump is coloured green in US and the petrol back!! 

Boarding was delayed as we were informed that a new software system was being installed. Eventually, we boarded and the plane had to be shut down once again to re- install the software. 

We took off and an hour into the flight, we were informed that the toilets could not be used but the crew were liaising with the engineers to fix the problem. Problem solved or was it ? A further hour later, we were advised that we were diverting to Detroit in order to fix the problem. With a mere hour to go, I thought we might have continued to NYC but no!  Luckily, we have no connections to make unlike many passengers! 

We have just landed in snowy Detroit 

Earlier, on boarding, the stewardess informed us privately that a couple had collected their baby in Dallas  and were on  their way home to NYC. We were asked if we would  write a message to the couple, sending our good wishes. I wrote a few lines in Irish and the stewardess later informed me that the couple are delighted, especially as the husband was Irish!! 

We should have reached JFK at 16:15 local time (gaining one hour) but as I write, we are departing Detroit at 17:35 with another hour’s flight to JFK - two hours late !! ETA now 18:38!! What a day!! 

Day 4 Texas School Books Depository

Today, we visit the Texas School Books  Depository Museum. 

We decided to go downtown on the DART, yes the DART that is Dallas Area Rapid Transit. We had taken it on the return journey on Monday last - the Red line to Lovers Lane and about a 20 minute walk from the station to Doubletree Hilton. 

It is very interesting that every time we walked to and from the DART, we were the sole walkers. The car is still king here ! It is interesting to compare Dublin and Dallas! The former is building cycle lanes, encouraging people to walk and forgo the car, while here in Dallas the opposite is true - not a cycle lane in sight, no walkers, a DART service for the most part used by the lower echelons of Dallas society, possibly due to the fact that this week the DART and its link busses were free to all. Multiple highways teeming with  cars ; a city with a comparable population to Dublin!! 

This morning, we dined in a real American diner. 

When I first visited the USA in the 1970s, the Diners were numerous but they have declined  over the decades. It is sad to see that the Diner had been replaced by Fast Food outlets serving food in polystyrene  packaging!! We had a tasty,  inexpensive breakfast  - eggs and sausage for CC and French toast for moi, all washed down with copious cups of coffee. Most of the clientele were frequent customers and were greeted by the kind, elderly waitresses, who appeared to know their customers’ favourite  foods !! 

Arriving at Dealey Plaza, we adjourned to the museum.  Covid measures were strictly enforced and one was instructed to ensure the mask covered one’s nose.   

At times the information gained in the Trolley bus differed from that of the museum. The exhibition was divided  between the 6th and 7th floors. It traces Kennedy’s 1,000 days in office - the changes he proposed in terms of civil rights, the health care and foreign affairs. 

It details the fateful day in Dallas. The naivety of the security - however, a President hadn’t been shot since 1901!

Had the Secret Service advice been followed the lunch would have been held at the more secure Women’s Building at Fair Park, and thus the cavalcade would not have been passing the Texas School Book Depository near the Grassy Knoll on that fateful day! In  addition days before the precise route was published in the local newspapers. 

The 6th floor window from where the shots were fired - the Xs on the road show the location of bullets. 

After the shots rang out silence not panic enveloped the limousine 

Kennedy and Connally were rushed to Parkland hospital where Kennedy died 24 minutes later Connally survived. 

Oswald was eventually arrested but before trial, he was assassinated by Jack Ruby 



Lyndon B Johnson, a Texan, and Vice President was sworn in as President. The Kennedy’s and the Johnson’s abhorred each other. Kennedy had chosen Johnson as his running mate to capture the southern vote - an excellent decision as he narrowly defeated Nixon. 

Johnson was under investigation as to how he had accumulated $70 million ( in today’s terms). His wife was wealthy but this didn’t explain the enormous accumulation of wealth. However, once inaugurated as President, the investigation ceased!! 

Johnson did, however, have JFK’s legislative package passed through Congress. 

He was an able negotiator which smoothed the bills through the Upper and Lower Houses.   

Day 3 Airport - Outlet - Forth Worth

This morning, we took J to the airport and continued to a shopping mall - where for the first time since Covid began I purchased some clothes !! 

From there, we drove to Forth Worth, established 1849.  It has a wide horn cattle drive twice daily. It also sports  a rodeo arena - the  word ‘rodeo’ was invented there, FW claims. 

We arrived in the afternoon and walked the historic part of the city. Today most of the buildings are souvenir shops, bars and restaurants. On the sidewalks are tributes to famous cowboys as in Hollywood. 

The building is quite spectacular from outside and inside it holds 



a display of the development of the stockyard 

a large rodeo ring - the word was coined in FW, it is alleged !! 

and a Hall of Fame where all the famous rodeo cowboys are honoured. 

We quitted the Stockyards and walked down Mule Alley  

where a poster explained the value of the horse to the cowboy. 

We returned to Main Street to catch the 16:00 cattle drive. Meantime a poor wide- horned cow was tied to a railing while people mounted her and had their photographs taken for $2!! 

The drive began. The cattle appeared very tame - probably bored by the twice daily routine!! 

Just outside the town is River Ranch, 

where conventions, parties and if you fancy, it will oblige with real Texan wedding!! 

We made the one hour return trip to Dallas in the height of the rush hour traffic - with the aid of the Sat Nav on the iPhone - the car’s Sat Nav refusing to co- operate !!! 

Day 2 The Trolley Tour.

We awoke at 07:00 after fitful bouts of sleep to a beautiful sunrise.

The temperature is 50F - I cannot get used to Fahrenheit again!! 

We breakfasted with J and then en route to the hospital, he dropped us at the Texas School Book Depository at Dealey Plaza, 

the building from where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK. 

Unfortunately, the museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. We toured the area where the events of November 22, 1963 took place. 

I think that everyone of a certain vintage can recall where s/he was when the news of the assassination took place! I recall being at home watching TV when the newscaster Charles Mitchell, announced the shooting of JFK and later his death. 

The Texas School Book Depository is the location where the gunshot rang out from the top right window of the sixth floor of the building, where Oswald had a perfect view of the cavalcade as it passed the grassy knoll. 

       Above a photo just prior to the shooting 

The injured  President and Texas Governor Connolly, were  rushed to Parkland hospital

          Floral tributes left after the shooting 

After the shots rang out, the police entered the Texas School Book Depository building and took a roll call of employees - a recent employee, one Harvey Oswald was missing.

Meanwhile, Oswald, on leaving  the building, had taken a taxi in the direction of his recently acquired lodgings.

He didn’t want the taxi man to know where he lived, so he exited the taxi a couple of blocks away. As he walked towards his home a police car passed him, so he turned back in the opposite direction. The policeman seeing this became suspicious and turned his car and attempted to interview Oswald. When he got out of the police car, Oswald fatally shot Officer Tippit. 

The spot on the road where Officer Tippet was fatally         

                           shot by Oswald. 

The police on hearing of the death of one of their own, deployed numerous patrol cars in search of Officer Tippit’s  killer. Oswald continued walking and each time he saw a police car, he ducked into a shop. When he entered the cinema, 

without a ticket, an employee became suspicious of someone moving about when the whole city was watching events unfold on TV. The police arrived and Oswald was arrested. 

Police quickly found the location of the shooting on the 6th floor where the gun, cardboard cartons (to conceal his presence as he awaited the arrival of the cavalcade) and a paper bag (in which they assumed Oswald had carried the gun into the Depository ) which  upon examination, Oswald’s finger prints were found. 

He was arrested but while being transferred from the City to the County jail, he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby.

Ruby was a nightclub owner, a former boxer with a short temper, AKA Sparky!! He was well in with the police and knew of the transfer. He had links with the Mafia and was believed to be in financial trouble but died of cancer before being tried for fatally injuring Oswald. 

A number of events conspired to cause both Kennedy and Oswald’s death. Kennedy’s exact itinerary was only organised a few days before; because the weather was warm, he travelled in the open cavalcade otherwise he would have been in a  bullet proof car and had had his advisors not insisted on he giving his speech at The Trade Mart in lieu of another more secure venue favoured by the Texans, he would not have been passing the Grassy Knoll; the location of the shooting. 

There were multiple opportunities to assassinate Kennedy as he passed down Main Street with thousands of people lining the streets. So enthusiastic was the crowd that it spilled out onto the streets, thus making it difficult for the cavalcade to make progress.

The main attraction was Kennedy’s wife, Jackie, who had not been seen in public since the loss of her baby, nine months earlier. Kennedy has persuaded her to come to Dallas, as she would attract a huge crowd  and help his re-election. She was a fashion icon. When in Europe the previous year,  Kennedy had remarked that he had accompanied Mrs Kennedy to Europe, acknowledging her crowd pulling power - for younger readers, she was the Princess Diana of the 1960s!!  

Oswald was supposed to have been transferred by bullet proof car from the City to the County jail but the car wouldn’t fit through the entrance, so the car was sent as a decoy and Oswald was transferred by private car, where Ruby has the opportunity to shoot him, while in police custody. 

The trolley bus tour is well worth taking. 

The trip gave us a great overall view of the city. We drove past the house where Oswald had taken a room days before the assassination , now a museum, the spot where Officer Tippet was shot  and the location of the cinema where Oswald was arrested. We passed the entrance to County Jail where Oswald was assassinated and down Main Street to Dealey Place, beside the Texas School Book Depository and Grassy  Knoll, where JFK was assassinated  

The trip takes  an hour, departing from Dealer Plaza, near  the Grassy Knoll ($18pp) it was very informative. 

  

2022 January 23 Dublin - Dallas via Toronto

It’s been a nightmare  organising a trip to Dallas in 4 days!! 

We eventually got a flight Dublin to Toronto and onwards to Dallas. 

 

Next we had to apply for an ESTA -which came through in a few hours. As it’s Covid time, there was a requirement that we get an Antigen test one day prior to our departure. 

Our son advised that even though we were merely transitting at Toronto, we may need a visa. We had visited Canada in the past and none was required of an Irish citizen. However, the rules have changed and an eTa was required and in addition a negative PCR required within 72 hours of departure. 

This necessitated a trip to the vaccination centre on Saturday, where we got the the required Antigen and PCR Tests, €29 and €69 respectively. 

We decided to travel light as we didn’t want to have to  to go through customs at Toronto, thus possibly missing our connection to Dallas. 

Our  usual taxi man wasn’t available, so in case the taxi didn’t arrive, which was a previous experience, we took the 07:03 air coach which got us to the airport at 07:40. Much to our relief, there was no queue at the check-in, so within minutes, we were breakfasting. 

We had met a very helpful Canadian Airways staff member. She advised that the flights were lightly booked and though we were on standby, she could book us all the way to Dallas and consequently, we could check our bags through.  Our negative PCR test was checked!! 

We boarded and it was a ‘spot the passenger’  moment.   The plane was only about a third full. I took an exit row to myself and when I later wished to sleep, I stretched out on a middle row. Lunch was served immediately, and then much to our amazement, the lights were dimmed at c. 11:00 hrs!!!

Seven hours later, we arrived in Toronto and we had gained five hours. As we descended, the landscape was a sea of snow and snow ploughs were visible on the runways. We disembarked and felt the chill in the air.!!

We went through Canadian customs. The half litre of Irish whiskey, was taken from its sealed packet created in Dublin airport and analysed on a machine before being returned to us.!! We proceeded to the US emigration, where we were asked the purpose of our visit, if we were carrying any presents to our son or  any plants? We replied in the negative. We were not asked for the Antigen results!! 

J was arriving at A terminal and we had arrived at E. Dallas/ Fort Worth is a massive airport. It makes Heathrow appear very small. It took us 15 minutes in the transit  coach to reach A. J arrived, he hired a car and we headed for the Hilton. We had added another hour to our lengthening day!! 

After check-in, we quickly washed as J had arranged to meet a friend and her daughter for dinner. As it was late, our choice was limited, we went to Bistro 31, where we had an indifferent meal. 

We returned to the hotel at 23:00 - a long day from awakening in Dublin at 06:00 plus 6 hours - a mere 23 hour day but I felt fine!!