"Of all the bars in all the world my favourite is the bar in Dublin Airport. It feels like the pub at the end of the world. So one day during the usual discussions with the girls about where to go I suggested the Airport Bar. And it was great... sitting there having a laugh. My friend Maura seemed to know a few people there - at least every now and then she nodded across the room or gave a casual wave. I was getting a bit irritated.
"Who the hell are you nodding at? Do you know these people?"
And a little defensively she said that she was saying hello to the planes. She couldn't help it. All her family waved to planes They had started when they were small and the planes were few. These days things were a bit more lively - that was all.
There was a time when some superstitions were common (black cats, walking under ladders etc.) Then we were all as mad as each other. These days we are on our own. Like wearing nice underwear so you won’t get knocked down crossing the street or bringing that pen into the board meeting. Of course these things are nobody's business but our own. If we miss them we are not going to have a nervous breakdown, now are we? It's just that things won't go right, that’s all.
My own superstitions are very dull. I always had to borrow a pen for my exams, my father's pen, and my mother's watch. I can’t write without my wedding ring on. Otherwise I’m pretty free of psychic ticks. Except when it comes to the sea. When I reach the coast I really do have to dip my hands in the water. What's that about? Drowning? Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ? That wave could go all the way back to Dublin Bay. I mean the Pope comes out of a plane and kisses the tarmac. Do we lock him up? No! It’s a personal thing. Of course if we all did it, there would be a lot of missed connections.
So perhaps it is better to be privately mad after all…"
