11 Years On
or

Hear My Song

A lot of things have changed in the last 11 years.  11 years ago, you could go out to the pub any day or night of the week and find people to chill with.  11 years ago, you could have a smoke with your pint, in the warmth of your local and converse with people of all ages.  11 years ago, the Cush was still open.  Actually it was still open this time last year, but 11 years ago it was the old Cush, with the poker machine and video juke box.  Maybe not 11 years ago, but certainly 9 or 10 years ago I sang Meatloaf songs while dancing on the pool table to an audience chilled out on the tattered couches down the back of the pub. 



11 years ago, I was in the shower at about ten past seven in the morning when the 'phone rang and a part of me changed.  I put on a pair of black jeans, my docs and an Aran jumper, tried waking my brother and walked a short distance, three houses, down the road to gather with family, friends and neighbours.  And yes, I could walk back then, no problem.  And thus began a surreal week of waiting, self-conscious laughter, bikes, mass, a poem recited, Stairway to Heaven, music and beer.  And we didn't have to go outside to smoke.  We didn't go to the Cush that Wednesday, we settled in Martin's.

Now, even the road down to the village has altered.  For years, everything stayed the same on the Brownstown to Suncroft Road.  I remember my Granny saying nothing had changed in the last 30 years.  She passed away in 1990.  And things stayed the same for another decade and a half or so.  Now, not only are there new houses, there's new housing estates!  The house, known in my youth as Mrs Swinburns, is still boarded up as it has been ever since the fire.

Back then my (Dublin) friends were all single.  Now they're all married (or on their way!) except me.  No rush, I'm not ready to settle yet.  Most of my mates had not even met or hooked up with their spouse by then.  Now, babies have started to arrive.   People own houses.  A night out is a rare occassion and needs to be planned well in advance.  The last two times we met up we had dinner! In a restaurant! Not in the wee hours of the morning after a copious amount of drink, dancing and arguments over whether Luigis or Cascarinos had the best chips.

11 years ago, my Corolla was still a new car to be admired.  My hair was short as it is now, but hasn't been in the mean-time.  Every time I pass a mirror, it's a reminder.  My brother was living with me, in the midst of his Masters.  I hadn't yet started my Masters back then.  I finished it 5 years ago.  YouTube was three and a half years into the future.  We wouldn't have been able to use it even if it had been around - broadband was not widely available then.  I think it would be another 5 years before I was able to get it at home, although it was available in urban areas before then.  It would take another number of years before Bebo, MySpace, Facebook or Twitter came into being.  Bebo and MySpace have come and gone in the meantime.  Now, not only does everyone have mobile 'phones, increasing numbers are accessing the internet on their 'phones.

How different things were back then.  It wasn't my mobile that rang that Monday morning in 2001, it was the landline, in the bedroom.  A short time later, I 'accidentally' cut through the telephone cable in my room.  Forever more the landline would be confined to the hallway.  I never want to get a phone call at that hour again.