and glinting with silver morning dew. Smoke blows across fields and
theres the sweet smell of turf fires. Cows and sheep graze in the fields
and I wonder if these are the beasts the priest was talking about. I
wouldnt be surprised because theres no end to the bulls climbing on
cows, rams on sheep, stallions on mares, and they all have such big
things it makes me break out in a sweat to look at them and I feel
sorry for all the female creatures in the world who have to suffer like
that though I wouldnt mind being a bull myself because they can do
what they like and its never a sin for an animal. I wouldnt mind going
at myself here but you never know when a farmer might come along
the road driving cows and sheep to a fair or to another field raising his
stick and bidding you, Good day, young fella, grand morning, thank
God and His Blessed Mother. A farmer that religious might be
offended if he saw you breaking the Sixth Commandment forninst his
field. Horses like to stick their heads over fences and hedges to see
whats passing by and I stop and talk to them because they have big
eyes and long noses that show how intelligent they are. Sometimes two
birds will be singing to each other across a field and I have to stop and
listen to them and if I stay long enough more birds will join till every
tree and bush is alive with birdsong. If theres a stream gurgling under a
bridge on the road, birds singing and cows mooing and lambs baaing,
thats better than any band in a film. The smell of dinner bacon and
cabbage wafting from a farmhouse makes me so weak with the hunger
I climb into a field and stuff myself with blackberries for half an hour.
I stick my face into the stream and drink icy water thats better than
the lemonade in any fish and chip shop.
When Im finished delivering the telegrams theres enough time to
go to the ancient monastery graveyard where my mothers relations are
buried, the Guilfoyles and the Sheehans, where my mother wants to be
buried. I can see from here the high ruins of Carrigogunnell Castle and
theres plenty of time to cycle there, sit up on the highest wall, look at
the Shannon flowing out to the Atlantic on its way to America and
dream of the day Ill be sailing off myself.
The boys at the post office tell me Im lucky to get the Carmody family
telegram, a shilling tip, one of the biggest tips youll ever get in Limerick.
So why am I getting it? Im the junior boy. They say, Well, sometimes
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