Dublin Day 5: Oscars Cafe & Bar

It’s Day 5 in Dublin and today I woke up to a cooler and windier morning. Shouldn’t complain – upper 30s is at least 30 degrees above the Polar Vortex. So I bundled up – wool scarf, thick socks, leather gloves – and headed out.

The first stop was Oscars Cafe and Bar. There I enjoyed a traditional Irish breakfast and then treated myself to hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant. It is Sunday, after all. And I’m testing out my favorite warm beverage at every food establishment I visit.

As I sat down at a cozy table against the wall and enjoyed the brunch, I  kept watching and listening to the patrons in the place: mostly groups of women catching up on their lives, a young couple on my left that never stopped discussing law and what looked like a married man enjoying a (quiet) meal to himself at one of the high tables.  Some groups of people would recognize each other and embrace and talk endlessly.

On my left and straight in front of me stood floor to ceiling book shelves, filled with old, gorgeous books.  Both bookcases also had signs asking patrons not to steal the books, as it’s a new business trying to survive and if patrons did steal them, Oscars put their names on Facebook. Gotta love public shaming, Irish style.

To my far left was a full sized bar and to my far right a huge window, where on the long bench a girl nestled into a space filled with person shopping bags and throw pillows, she pulled out a book of poetry only to, 30 minutes later, pull out another book on how to write poetry. Far ahead of me stood a piano. Later, I noticed a projector on the ceiling and, following to where its lens was pointed, realized there was a pull down screen on the wall behind me.

And that’s the difference between most American bars and most Irish pubs. In the former, it’s all about the alcohol. In the latter, it’s about the culture.

Culture that offers itself up to anyone who will notice.

Something very strong happened during my time at Oscars: I brought my new journal with me and while there the Muse showed up. As in 10 hand-written pages of thought and energy that didn’t even feel as though it was coming from from me. Instead it was coming though me. It was just flowing and kept going and going and going. My food was getting cold, but I didn’t care. I kept writing.

And, so, five days into my trip, in addition to the two thematics of the DNA search and the Dublin sights that I’ve been blogging about, a third story has surfaced, emerging out of nowhere. I’m not sure where it’s going to go because right now it’s very conceptual and there’s no action or dialog or sex. You know, the things that are supposed to sell stories. But it’s only the beginning. The Muse did just show up today.

And whether it’s Oscars or Dublin or Ireland, it doesn’t really matter. Something, many years ago, pulled me back here. And I listened. And so I’m here. Answering a calling I don’t yet quite understand.

Perhaps Oscars knows better than I do.

For today’s 2 videos, click below: