Irish
Irish
6. A good run is better than a bad stand
I am grateful to everyone who contacted me. I am grateful to everyone who replied to me. Yes, I gave in to romanticism and I gave in to sentimentality. Forgive me for it. I couldn’t help it. Wonderful nature moved me. It’s clear that my talk inspired you.
Some of you praised me and some of you criticised me. Róisín Rua wrote that I was right to be hopeful. She wrote that I was right to inspire people. She enjoyed the story. She said she really enjoyed the story. She enjoyed the swallows. She herself was watching the swallows as she was writing to me. The story gave her hope, she said. The story gave her courage. The story inspired her to take action. She won’t give in to despair. She will take action, she says. She will do something to rectify the environmental issue.
Everyone wasn’t of the same opinion as her, however. Daoi20 wrote that I had no sense at all. He wrote that I was fooling myself. He said that I was fooling the public. He said that there was no good in romanticism. He said that it wouldn’t be long until the swallow and all the other birds on the earth would be dead. Global warming was happening, he said. Global warming was a fact. We had to face the problem. The solution to the problem was not to be found in romanticism. There was no point in being sentimental, he explained. “A good run is better than a bad stand” he said. A good run is better than a bad stand. There’s sense to that, isn’t there? It stands to reason.
That’s the bad thing about me. I am a reasonable person. I am a sensible person. I am a scientist. Daoi20 stated a fact. A fact. There’s no escaping facts, is there? There’s no escaping them if you are a scientist – and I am a scientist.” A good run is better than a bad stand. That saying is in my head day and night. A good run is better than a bad stand. The romanticism didn’t conquer despair. That’s the problem with me. I’m a pessimistic person really. I can’t help it. If things are good I believe they will get bad. If things are bad I believe they will get worse. I can’t help it.
Be that as it may, I’m not going to lie back on my oars. I am going to act. I will carry on with the campaign. I will write to the politicians. But I will look after my own affairs as well. Many of the politicians have little sense. A lot of other people have little sense. But I have sense. I won’t be at a loss due to bad advice from politicians. A good run is better than a bad stand. I will run therefore. Or perhaps I should say that I will fly.
The person who is not strong has to be cunning, they say. I’m not strong. I have no power. I have no army. But I am cunning. I know how to build things. I know how to fly. And I know people who will help me. I know a woman who will help me. If I run I won’t be by myself. But I have one companion who brightens each day for me. She is my beloved. Yes, sometimes scientists believe in love. Here, I’ve said enough for tonight. I will speak to you again tomorrow night. In the meantime, be active.
