The Every Day Life of Shane

Americanos, Grandkids, Honey 

Professor Shane’s favorite drink was an "Americano", out of all the typical hot drinks served at the Irish cafes. The irony of it wasn’t lost on me that there was such a drink called an Americano, yet it wasn’t an American drink.

 I also found it kind of funny that as an American, I had never had an Americano, but supposedly its origins are from Italy. Now that I think of it, there are probably Americanos in America, but I guess I’m just too much of a tea lover to turn to the dark side of coffee.

Anyway, he alternated between that and tea, (probably Barry’s Tea if I had to guess since it’s the most popular one here) depending on the type of day. It was tea during our regular break in between classes and an Americano when he took the class to the local pubs around Cork. 
One time though, he deviated and ordered a beer! We raised our eyebrows at him but he just laughed, “C’mon now! Get a drink if you want (sounded like wunt)! The university’s payin!” We looked at each other and then shrugged. A few people ordered beer after him but I decided to go with ginger ale, being a lightweight and not wanting to get tipsy on a class trip. 

Now Shane is by no means a drunk but like most people, he enjoyed a drink or two. On a bus ride home from the ruins of a monastery adjacent to a tower house, he told us that after work, he’d often pour himself a glass of red wine and watch “the telly.” It helped him wind down after a long day, not to mention, it was good for his health. I smiled remembering how my father had told me the same thing one summer evening. 

This is the ruins of Kilcrea Monastery that we went to. 

Drinks aside, Shane and his partner have grandkids who live in Dublin and every so often, come to Cork to visit. “They’re bloody nuts!” he spoke animatedly about how they were still quite young and full of energy. He obviously loved his grandkids as a twinkle would appear in his eye as he spoke of them, but I’d expect that he also breathed a sigh of relief when they left. 

Besides the occasional visit from the grandkids, Shane lived alone with his partner Moira (not sure if this is spelled right) and a pitch black cat. He didn’t really talk much about them except when she randomly called during our last field trip.  

“ Hello?” Shane answered. “I fixed the satellite!” she replied quite loudly for some of us to hear the conversation. “Did you now... How’d you do that?” Shane seemed surprised “I just whacked it and it started to work!” came the female voice from the other end.  “Good work!” he exclaimed. They continued their chatter for a few more minutes but then he hung up, shaking his head. 

“Our telly hasn’t been working very well, our image being all fuzzy. She climbed up onto the roof to fix it and fixed it,” he explained. “How?” one of the girls, a blond with big black square glasses, asked. “She hit it” he chuckled and we laughed along. 

He later talked about his cat and how pudgy it is. Apparently, he was a sucker for the cute cat eyes. For the life of me though, I can’t remember the darn cat’s name. Stay tuned for that, I’ll have to ask him if  I see him again.

During a lecture about straw hen nests, baskets, and weaving, he told us about one of his favorite hobbies: beekeeping. I’m not sure what spurred his interest in them, but a few years ago he bought a weaved hive and bees. And every spring and summer day, he took care of his bees and sold their honey. 

This is an example of one the weaved hen nests.  

Apparently, it took a lot of work to get that honey from the hive to fill the jars. He was overjoyed each time he reached the top. Then, after bottling it, he placed it on an outdoor wooden shelf with a sign. It read: “Honey for Seven Euros”  and he just left a box for the money. 

When we expressed our concerns, thinking he could get robbed, he sighed and shook his hand. “I don’t think anyone will steal my honey. After all, most people are good people, including my neighbors. I trust my neighbors.” 

Personally, I was surprised and honestly thought he was a bit naïve. A realization dawned on me then: everyone should be like this. We should be able to trust each other to at least do the right thing and “not steal the honey.”

 In fact, our lack of trust in others is often what causes problems in our society. It’s quite a shame really, that we often always think the worst of people rather than the best. 

I’m glad that Shane has a positive and trusting view of people. Maybe his example will inspire others and start a chain reaction but even if that doesn’t happen, I know he inspired me to try to look at humanity in a more positive and trusting way.