Article: Alone In The Dark

IT WAS going on for 3.30am when Lorraine Browne picked up her fares outside the Roma chipper in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan. Ms Browne ran, and still runs, a minibus taxi service out of Kingscourt in Co Cavan. About 10 people boarded her mini-bus. The mood was good, but finely balanced, in the early hours of February 25, 2007.

She told everybody that she was going to Kingscourt, which is 13km from Carrickmacross. Among the group on the bus were four men whom she didn’t know. Later, she would estimate that they were in their late 20s, or maybe early 30s.

One of the four was a big lad, another shorter. The third was bald and asleep for most of the journey, and the fourth sat behind the driver.

“The minute I pulled off, the verbal abuse from the biggest lad started,” she told gardaí. “He started verbally abusing the lady passengers that I had on board. Putting women down, saying filthy talk, and talking about their privates. He was trying to start a row with their partners by saying stuff to them. His mates, one of them, the smallest lad, kept laughing and egging him on. The bald lad was asleep in the bus and the last lad was sitting behind me telling them to stop.”

About 6km along the road, Ms Browne pulled up to let a couple disembark. “When the girl was getting off, the biggest lad grabbed her arse. Her boyfriend turned around and said ‘how dare you mate’. The big lad laughed in his face. The couple then left.”

For the remainder of the journey, one of the four kept shouting abuse at the other passengers. At Kingscourt, Ms Browne told the men this was the last stop, and asked the four of them to get off. She still had about six passengers aboard, whom she knew, and often dropped to their homes. The men refused to get off. One of them kept shouting that he wanted to be brought to Ardee in Co Louth, about 15km away. The abuse continued for up to half an hour.

Presently, the other passengers began to disembark. “When the passengers were getting off, the biggest lad groped another girl.” By then, there was just one other woman left on the bus.

Ms Browne’s statement went on: “At this stage I was terrified so I told them I wasn’t taking them anywhere but I’d ring them another taxi. I then got off the bus and walked to the middle of the road so they couldn’t hear me and rang Bailieborough Garda Station.

“The minute I got off the phone I heard the girl on the bus screaming. I ran around to the side door and saw the big lad had a grip of the girl, holding her by her clothes at the front. She then broke free of him and ran up the town screaming. The girl kept running away. I didn’t manage to catch up with her. I then turned and went back towards the bus.

“They were all on the bus still shouting very loud. I then saw the big, rowdy fella step off the bus shouting ‘where the fuck was she gone’. At this stage, I turned and ran towards Kingscourt Garda Station and hid at the corner of the road so that I could still see them. They all got off the bus and walked up towards where I was, so I ran further up towards the Garda station. I then heard the voices were getting faded so I walked back down towards the corner and saw that they were going back towards the bus still looking for me.”

Kingscourt Garda station was closed at that hour of the morning. She could now see the men from up the street. They hung around the bus, and then drifted over towards the Europa chipper.

“A fare that I was to pick up in Bailieborough started ringing me at this stage and knew I was in trouble, in a distressed stage. They then got another taxi and when they got to Kingscourt rang me to see where I was and picked me up. They then brought me down to the bus and the gardaí landed at the same time.”

The men had left by that stage. Ms Browne felt thoroughly shaken. She gave a statement to the gardaí concluding with an observation: “I was working with CIE as a bus driver, working on route 77 which is the worst one in Dublin, which is the Tallaght one, for five years. Previous to this I was a taxi driver around Dublin for four to five years. This was the worst I have ever encountered in all my years driving.”

THE investigating garda was a probationary officer. After graduating from Templemore, gardaí serve a probationary period of two years to determine whether they are suitable for full member status.

He took a statement from Ms Browne and would have been expected thereafter to investigate the whole matter and prepare a file with a view to sending it on to the DPP.

A report compiled later suggested that charges could have included public order offences, sexual assault, false imprisonment, and assault.

No investigation file was created. Nobody was formally interviewed. No statements from the investigating garda was included. Effectively, nothing in the way of investigating a crime under standard procedure was undertaken. In the subsequent investigation into the handling of the case, the garda in question stated that he had traced one of the suspects to a location in Dundalk.

The garda travelled to the town with a view to taking a cautioned statement from this man. On making contact, the suspect asked the garda for Ms Browne’s details in order that he might apologise to her. The garda refused to pass on the details. “He then asked me if I would ask the lady if he could compensate her for any damage or loss of fares she had incurred and give her a meal voucher also and for her to let the matter go,” the garda reported.

According to the garda, he passed on this offer to Ms Browne, but she said it was a serious matter and she didn’t want the meal voucher, or to meet the man who had terrorised her. Later, the garda says, she agreed to take a written apology and her losses in the fares, which amounted to €150. The officer said that she called to Bailieborough station and picked up an envelope

“After receiving this, she made a statement of withdrawal and I later updated the Pulse system to this effect,” the garda reported.

It is highly unusual for a member of the force to take a statement of withdrawal from a witness or victim, particularly when matters such as alleged sexual assault are at issue. Typically, if a woman wanted to withdraw a statement in these circumstances, it would have to wait until a court appearance. For a probationary garda to do so is unheard of.

The Irish Examiner understands that the updated Pulse entry indicated that the matter had been “resolved amicably” by the parties.

Ms Browne remembers things differently. Last week, she said she accepted the money offered because it was indicated to her that there was little or no chance of a prosecution being pursued.

“He said that nothing would come of the case,” she said. “I wanted to go the whole way with it. In my eyes it was very serious, but he was so determined to tell me that it wasn’t going to go anywhere. I was very taken aback.”

Ms Browne says that she hadn’t been in contact with the woman who was assaulted on the night in question, but she believes she also would have wanted a prosecution.

“That girl was petrified. They kicked her in the stomach. There was just the two of us there in the end, and these were big men. It was four or five in the morning and there was nobody about.”

She said she wasn’t clear about what happened afterwards, but the Irish Examiner understands she did make a complaint about the matter to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. The subsequent GSOC investigation was one of two probes into the case. According to sources, GSOC appointed a serving superintendent to investigate. This is a system that has been criticised by former garda John Wilson, among others, as it ultimately involves gardaí investigating gardaí, albeit under the aegis of GSOC.

THE GSOC investigation came to naught. One of the issues encountered by the investigating officers was a failure to gain co-operation from interested parties. The other investigation was conducted by Assistant Commissioner Derek Byrne, on foot of a complaint by Sergeant Maurice McCabe, the man who has come to be known as the Garda whistleblower.

Sgt McCabe, who was based in Bailieborough, was familiar with the details, and was understood to be shocked at what unfolded. His complaint was examined by Assistant Commissioner Byrne, who had access to the file, and authority to interview all parties involved. He ruled that the complaint of malpractice was not upheld.

“Disciplinary investigation complete — no breach of discipline uncovered,” he reported.

The case was one of a number contained in a dossier furnished by Sgt McCabe to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin in February. Mr Martin in turn handed over the dossier to Taoiseach Enda Kenny and on February 26 Justice Minister Alan Shatter addressed the dossier in an extensive Dáil speech. He pointed out that all the cases had been investigated by the gardaí, and some by GSOC as well.

“While GSOC dealt with a small number of relevant complaints which had been made to it, it does not appear to have felt it necessary to take any further action.”

Two days later, this version was disputed on RTÉ’s Today with Seán O’Rourke programme by former GSOC commissioner Conor Brady.

“I differ from the minister on one point,” Mr Brady said. “What he said was GSOC didn’t find it necessary to take any further action. I don’t think that’s telling the full story. It’s more accurate to say GSOC didn’t find it possible to take any further action. While witnesses were quite willing to tell them [GSOC investigators] what happened, when it came to making statements, they weren’t going to do that.”

So the matter was investigated twice. Once by an assistant commissioner who found little wrong, and a second time by GSOC, which efforts ran into the sand. The case is now among those under review by the Government- appointed barrister, Seán Guerin, who is expected to report in the next week or so.

The probationary guard at the centre of the affair had his probationary period extended, although he had also been out of work for a prolonged period during his probation, as a result of a road traffic accident. He is now based in the north-east.

In his speech of February 26, Mr Shatter referenced the fact that the cases complained about by Sgt McCabe had all been investigated as per procedure.

“Of course, I understand that Sgt McCabe did not accept the outcome of these investigations, and that is his right. But I am sure the House will appreciate that there is no mechanism that can guarantee all complainants will be at all times fully satisfied with the outcome of all investigations. What is important is that there are procedures in place to deal with allegations.”

The effectiveness of those procedures, and whether they are appropriate in the running of a modern police force, must surely be a matter of debate by now.

By Michael Clifford

Photos: Original Colour America 1890- 1920

5 alternative medicine treatments that really work

                STORY HIGHLIGHTS

                1) A number of alternative medical practices have solid science behind them

                2) Acupuncture highly recommended for pain, nausea

                3) Research mixed, but St. John's Wort viewed as worth a try for depression

                

Studies have shown that acupuncture can ease pain, but researchers aren't sure of the exact mechanism.

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Dr. Andrew Weil wasn't sure exactly how he hurt his knee; all he knew was that it was painful. But instead of turning to cortisone shots or heavy doses of pain medication, Weil turned to the ancient Chinese medicine practice of acupuncture. "It worked -- my knee felt much better," says Weil.

Americans spend billions of dollars each year on alternative medicine, everything from chiropractic care to hypnosis.

Weil says alternative medicine can work wonders -- acupuncture, certain herbs, guided imagery.

For example, Dr. Brian Berman, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has done a series of studies showing acupuncture's benefits for osteoarthritis of the knee.

Extensive studies have also been done on mind-body approaches such as guided imagery, and on some herbs, including St. John's Wort.

But on the other hand, there also is a lot of quackery out there, Weil says. "I've seen it all, [including] products that claim to increase sexual vigor, cure cancer and allay financial anxiety."

So how do you know what works and what doesn't when it comes to alternative medicine? Just a decade ago, there weren't many well-done, independent studies on herbs, acupuncture, massage or hypnosis, so patients didn't have many facts to guide them.

But in 1999, eight academic medical centers, including Harvard, Duke and Stanford, banded together with the purpose of encouraging research and education on alternative medicine. Eight years later, the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine has 38 member universities, and has gathered evidence about what practices have solid science behind them.

Here, from experts at five of those universities, are five alternative medicine practices that are among the most promising because they have solid science behind them.

1. Acupuncture for pain

Hands, down, this was the No. 1 recommendation from our panel of experts. They also recommended acupuncture for other problems, including nausea after surgery and chemotherapy.

2. Calcium, magnesium, and vitamin B6 for PMS

Your Health Tools

When pre-menstrual syndrome rears its ugly head, gynecologist Dr. Tracy Gaudet encourages her patients to take these dietary supplements. "They can have a huge impact on moodiness, bloating, and on heavy periods," says Gaudet, who's the executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine at Duke University Medical School.

3. St. John's Wort for depression

The studies are a bit mixed on this one, but our panel of experts agreed this herb -- once thought to rid the body of evil spirits - is definitely promising. "It's worth a try for mild to moderate depression," says Weil, founder and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. "Remember it will take six to eight weeks to see an effect." Remember, too, that St. John's wort can interfere with some medicines; the University of Maryland Medical Center has a list.

4. Guided imagery for pain and anxiety

"Go to your happy place" has become a cliché, but our experts say it really works. The technique, of course, is more complicated than that. "In guided imagery we invite you to relax and focus on breathing and transport you mentally to a different place," says Mary Jo Kreitzer, Ph.D., R.N., founder and director of the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota.

There's a guided imagery demo at the University of Minnesota's Web site.

5. Glucosamine for joint pain

"It's safe, and it looks like it's effective," says Dr. Frederick Hecht, director of research at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. "It may be the first thing that actually reverses cartilage loss in osteoarthritis."

All our experts warn that since alternative medicine is financially lucrative, a lot of charlatans have gotten into the business. They have these tips for being a savvy shopper:

1. Look for "USP" or "NSF" on the labels

"The biggest mistake people make is they don't get a good product," says Dr. Mary Hardy, medical director of the Sims/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology. She says the stamp of approval from the United States Pharmacopoeia or NSF International, two groups with independent verification programs, means what's on the label is in the product.

2. Find a good practitioner

Make sure the alternative medicine practitioner you're going to is actually trained to practice alternative medicine. One place to start is the Consortium for Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine

3. Be wary of crazy claims

"Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is," says Weil.

And once you do start on your journey with alternative medicine, here's a piece of advice: Take it slow. Alternative medicine works, but sometimes not as quickly as taking a drug. "I tell people it's going to take a while," says Hardy. "I tell them to do a six- to eight-week trial, or even 12 weeks."

By Elizabeth Cohen

Money Saving Tips In Running The Home

1 Sunday make a large batch of pastry. Then, when the joint goes in the oven for the roast dinner, start baking: apple pies, mince pies, sausage rolls, jam tarts, rock cakes, scones etc.

This will last all week so you don’t have to put the oven on again until next Sunday, then repeat the process.

2 Make your own tonic wine/cough mixture with elderberries. One of the most prolific wild berries, elders grow both in country woodland, on field margins and also in cities, on vacant lots and building sites. The berries are juicy, tart and packed with vitamin C. Boil about 2lbs of berries together with cloves, cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg and some finely chopped fresh ginger. Simmer for 10 minutes, strain and when cool mix in a glass of brandy for every pint of liquid. Bottle and keep in a dark cupboard. It lasts forever and is a soothing tonic for coughs and sore throats.

3 Forage field mushrooms, which adds dense flavour to meat dishes. Slice the mushrooms, layer with salt and leave overnight. Wash off the salt and simmer for an hour with red wine vinegar, finely chopped garlic and plenty of black pepper. When almost black, strain through a muslin, then bottle it.

4 Invest in a pressure cooker or slow cooker: these are the two most economical ways of cooking food and will start to save you money after very little use. You can also cook cheap cuts of meat such as neck or brisket and they’ll taste like the choicest fillets after a few hours’ slow cooking.

5 In early spring, harvest sorrel from woodland walks – it makes a delicious lemony soup. Boil potatoes in stock first then add the sorrel leaves; simmer for no more than two minutes; mix with yogurt or crème fraîche for a richer, silky texture.

Heating

1 Seal draughty gaps in floorboards with DIY plastic strips. This is a quick, fun weekend job with gratifyingly instant results.

2 Adding secondary glazing to windows: Get a carpenter to make wooden frames for each section and inlaid a brush seal all the way around before fitting with laminated glass. 15 times cheaper than double glazing.

3 Revert to wood heating with a wood-burning stove. Beats oil, creates atmosphere and is eco friendly.

4 Hunt down all those unexpected leaks in your home’s fabric with a thermal imaging camera. Contact your local community recycling/sharing group to see if someone locally has one you can borrow or swap for something else.

Cleaning and laundry

1 Gentle lotion for cleaning wood or delicate surfaces made from elderflowers: pick fresh elderflowers and bruise with a pestle and mortar. Pour over boiling water and leave to steep until the mixture is cool. Strain and add one part white wine vinegar to every two parts of elderflower water. Bottle in clean jars.

2 Sweet-scented bags, folded into washing as it dries in the airing cupboard help add freshness to the laundry.” Eight measures each of crushed coriander seed and powdered orris root; one measure each ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; three measures of dried lavender and a cotton wool ball soaked in geranium or rose essential oil. Fill small cotton or muslin bags (ideally from fabric remnants) with the mixture and sew up carefully.

3 Home-made beeswax wood polish: melt together beeswax, soya wax and a little white wine vinegar; stir in briskly a handful of soap flakes and a small cup of boiling water to create an emulsion. Add a few drops of your favourite essential oil. When it cools, it should be a creamy consistency. Keeps a long time in a screw-top jar and, with plenty of elbow grease, and a duster, buffs wood up to a mellow shine.

4 “Eco-cloths” – Many cleaning product manufacturers now make these finely woven cloths; the weft is so dense that the fibres literally eat up dirt from smooth surfaces, obviating the need for expensive chemical cleaners. A drop of water and plenty of elbow grease is all you require to polish glass, mirrors and porcelain tiles.

5 Dry your clothes outdoors all year round with a rotary washing line cover – no need for tumble driers and no damp clothes hanging on radiators.

Lighting and electricity

1 Switch from tungsten to the new generation of LED bulbs. The first of its kind to be recommended by the Energy Saving Trust, the ledon bulb, lasts 25,000 hours and uses 10 watts of electricity to produce the same light as a 60-watt tungsten bulb.

2 Replace your ordinary shower head with the Ecocamel “Jetstorm”: it aerates water droplets to provide a powerful shower using a fraction of the normal amount of water – and electricity needed to heat it.

3 Rather than use a light in dark corners, install a “sunpipe”. Light from the sun – or moon – is illuminated and magnified as it is piped to where it is needed through mirrored ducts, creating a soft, natural and surprisingly bright light.

4 Towel-dry hair rather than use an energy-guzzling hair drier.

Decorating and interiors

1 Organic wall paints are infinitely less damaging to the environment than vinyl ones. Any unused paint from decorating can be recycled into children’s playroom creations as they are safe to use. They also smell lovely – rather like playdough.

2 Next time you need to replace a pillow or duvet, go for a wool-filled one. Wool is making a welcome comeback and supports upland farmers. Organic wool mattresses not only help regulate body temperature but don’t contain harmful flame-retardant chemicals.

3 When cushion covers become more “shabby” than “chic” replace with fabric swatches or remnants from your local interiors shop – fashions in interiors fabrics change so quickly that those fabric swatch books rapidly become obsolete for designers – but provide perfect cushion-size squares of gorgeous fabric for you.

Want to Start a Business? Consider These 5 Invaluable Lessons Before Diving In

 On Friday nights, most testosterone-driven high school guys head out to the football field to either put on the pads or chase after the girls in the stands. I went to turn a profit.

At 16 years old, I started my first business among the throngs of a community gathered on muggy summer nights to cheer on the home team. Cheering means one thing: yelling. And yelling means that people will have tired, sore, dry throats.

For the penny pinchers unwilling to spend concession stand prices for their carbonated relief, the school had conveniently provided a pop machine in the stadium that would deliver an ice-cold can of heaven for 50 cents.

This pop machine had a particular quirk that lent itself fantastically to my young entrepreneurial spirit: it stubbornly required exact change. 

A lot has changed since 1998, but one thing hasn’t: nobody carries exact change. I set up shop beside that beautiful, glowing, humming machine and offered people exactly what they needed: exact change.

For a small fee to compensate my kindness and service, I’d sell them two quarters. Because they needed to soak their thirst, they’d gladly give me one dollar and I’d kindly give them two quarters, easily turning a $10 profit each home game.

It wasn’t much of a payday, granted, but I learned five invaluable lessons from that pop machine that helped me build the two successful businesses that I’m running today. 

Lesson #1: Be Necessary

If I’d sold can-koozies at the game, I have a hunch that I would have had far less success. Why? Because people needed a cold drink, not a holder for one. In my experience, I’ve learned that there are two types of business ideas: 1) “It would be nice if” ideas, and 2) ideas that make necessary things better.

Here are three questions to ask yourself to figure out if you have an “it would be nice if” idea or one that makes necessary things better:

▪                Does this help someone do a necessary action more easily? Does it make someone’s job, responsibility, or task less of a pain in the neck?

▪                Does this idea save someone money? What about time? Will the idea provide a way for people to do something more efficiently?

▪                Is this idea a game changer? Does the idea change the way that people behave, operate, or think? Will this idea revolutionize an industry? How?

If you can’t answer yes to at least one of these three questions, you have an “it would be nice if” idea on your hands. Proceed with caution.

Lesson #2: Do Something You Know Something About 

Over the years, I’ve had hundreds of seemingly great ideas for a moneymaking business. Some of those ideas have since been discovered and turned into great profit by someone else. I should be bitter, right? I’m not. Here’s why:

I wasn’t the right man to lead the companies that would be birthed from those ideas. 

Over the last two years, I have raised over $1 million in investment capital for my technology start-up. All that nerve-conquering, sweat, presenting, and hustle served to teach me an invaluable lesson: the leader’s story (read: your story) matters.

Your background, experience, and education must align with the business that you are creating. Your business must be a part of you. I was able to raise the necessary capital for my start-up because I spent seven years preparing myself. Before building a digital marketing software product, I built a digital marketing agency. That means that I prepared myself to be the one person capable of executing my new business model.

Everyone has ideas. Successful people aren’t measured by the amount of ideas they have, but by their ability to execute a chosen few.

Lesson #3: Resolve Is Your Biggest Asset

Despite anything that you’ve heard or seen on TV, starting your own business isn’t very glamorous. It’s a grind that involves obsessive dedication and an unrelenting amount of effort and resolve.

It took five years for my digital marketing agency to fit into the “successful” label. I wanted to quit every single year before that. There were too many hurdles, too many unknowns, too many obstacles for the company to thrive. Many late nights, I laid awake justifying walking away from it all.

I can’t tell you how glad I am that I stuck it out. Here’s the lesson: Your resolve is the real “X” factor for your business.

Every start-up will encounter obstacles that will threaten to shut it down. Every beginning business will face seemingly insurmountable odds. Getting your idea off the ground will require your weekdays, weeknights, and weekends. There’s no getting around any of that.

To be successful, you must be resolved. 

If you’re launching out to start your own business, you must be able to answer one question without a hint of hesitation: are you prepared to fight? Will you be willing to stick to the plan even if it seems that it’s failing? Are you willing to make the sacrifices today that might pan out in 5 or 10 years?

Building a successful business from the ground up requires the resolve of Leonidas and the patience of Mother Teresa.

Lesson #4: Doing Something Awesome Requires an Awesome Amount of Side Hustle

When I started my first business (which failed), I had enough cash in the bank to support myself for six months. Young, and without the wisdom of the side-hustle approach, I promptly quit my full-time job and dove into the shallow end of the pool head first.

Two years later, I was renting a bedroom in a friend’s house for $200 a month, driving a downgraded car, eating off dollar menus, and living on a salary that brought in less than $1,000 a month.

I could have saved years of my life if I started growing my business while staying employed somewhere else. If you’re toeing the line and thinking of starting a new business, consider keeping your current job. You’ll keep your income and benefits, which will help you to make more level-headed decisions about your start-up and its future.

There should be one important caveat here: If you’re side hustling, don’t cheat hours on the clock. Your priority is your current job, and a man with integrity takes that responsibility seriously. Respect the person who took a risk to hire you, keep producing at your desk, and be a valuable contributor to your current company.

Once you get your start-up off the ground, you’ll expect the same from your employees.

Lesson #5: Ideas Are Cheap, Execution Isn’t 

I once had a friend approach me about a business idea that he was ready to set into motion. He wanted to build a company that would rent high-quality packing/moving crates in order to keep people from buying (and, more importantly, throwing away) boxes when they had to move. Letting him work through his business model and pricing structure, I noticed an unfortunate flaw: to make any real money off the company, he’d need to have several thousand boxes in circulation. Per week.

It’s unbelievable how the excitement of an idea can cloud our senses of judgment. It happened to me. And it happened to my friend above, who, despite my caution, dove into the shallow end of the pool head first and quickly realized there was no water.

No matter how great the idea, the numbers must add up if you’re going to be successful. Work through your overhead costs and schematics. Factor in your salary and the costs of your production. Know up front how many sales you’ll need to consistently make (and maintain) in order to turn a profit. You’re starting a business, after all, not a hobby.

The old adage holds true: You must do the math.

One Final Word

There’s one final lesson that the soda machine taught me during those humid summer nights: most people are addicted to convenience. That’s what helped me get away with charging a dollar for two quarters. Sure, I was saving them money because my product was cheaper than the concession stand, but I was also saving them time.

A lot of people will talk about starting a business and day-dream about being their own boss. Very few people will actually take the leap and invest the time. And a ridiculously small amount will actually see their dreams come to life.

That’s because building your own business isn’t convenient.

You’ll be misunderstood and frustrated along the way.  While your friends are busy buying nice cars and going away on fancy vacations, you’ll be pinching pennies to pay the bills and staying up late to answer emails. There are times that you’ll feel isolated and a bit foolish, and will be close to giving up and walking away from it all. When you have these moments, remember this quote, which I used to keep on my bathroom mirror and read to myself every morning: Plant those seeds and hang in there. It’s worth every second.

By Justin Spring

Photo Minute: Grizzly Bear Family Hanging Out On The Alaskan Beach

Barry Clifford: The Swimmer

As a boy, I watched a movie called The Swimmer in the 1960’s. Somehow this movie connected with me and yet the subject matter had no relevance to my life then, but as time marched on I understood it more. When it came out it got mixed reviews of being too dark, too deep, or both, but strangely entertaining that held your attention leaving questions that really had no answers. Today it is understood better and seen to be timeless, and by the movie ratings online internet site, Rotten Tomatoes, it now enjoys a 100% rating.  

In essence it is a story about a middle-aged man who decides to visit his neighbours swimming pools and them poolside on a hot summer's day. He is met by various but increasingly hostile reactions by those he meets. He thought himself successfull with beautiful daughters within a happy marriage, but it was soon revealed in different ways that nothing could be further from the truth and his own unhappiness was finally exposed by others and at last by himself. This final humilitaion comes to pass at the close of the day when he eventually returns after his poolside marathon to his family home only to find it boarded up and deserted under the umbrella of a storm; over two years had passed too over the course of that one day. He finally had to confront that which he already knew.

I have seen this story play itself out many times since and in relative terms not much longer than a day either.   

One personal tale in Galway in 1998 was when I was building the brickwork for monumental walls on what could only be called the Babylon Gardens of a magnificent new house. It had its’s own large indoor swimming pool, chandeliers hung in the great hall, en-suites in the many  bedrooms of epic proportions built to awe; and in case awe might be missing, this man also built two outer buidings the size of small houses to accomodate more guests. It seemed he had more friends than many on facebook.

One affair and a collapsed marriage since and with the banks beating a path to a door of the mansion that he no longer lives in, I pass this place now and again and think of The Swimmer. On the main road you can see the faded For Sale sign and the garden acreage of the front of the house is now divided into sites for development to help pay for the bank’s losses. What had become of the man and was the price worth it for the mistress went as quickly as the money did? From the time the last brick that I layed on those walls less than 10 years had passed when the life he wanted to embrace was over.

There is no lesson to be learned by it all in the round for we are all so different driven by varying impulses from desire to bragging rights, or from a need to prove or erase something from the past. Too often though it is what is in front and around us that which is more than enough, and it is when we falter when we go looking for something that is not there. John B Keane meant something more when he said that Ireland will only ever be happy when each man has more than the next man.

By Barry Clifford