Rites Of Passage
Thomas J. Rice
Installment #1

Six hours on a cramped red-eye from Boston had Donovan in a foul mood—jumpy and irritable. He’d resisted this journey for 18 years; never thought he’d find himself back in Ireland with this mission. Still, he reasoned, if things worked out, this would be the first and last time he’d have to make the dreadful trek. For a man who hated to travel, once was plenty. All the more reason to make this one count.

He’d been jerked from a semi slumber by the screech of the landing gear on the Aer Lingus jumbo jet, slicing through the dense fog over Shannon airport. His wristwatch—which he’d set five hours ahead—showed “5:45 a.m., February 3, 2005,” as he vaguely tuned in to the faux-British accent of the young stewardess prepping the passengers for landing.

Strapped pertly in her seat outside the cockpit, her short, green skirt showing off a pair of long, sexy legs, the stewardess rotely issued a litany of commands: “Please secure your tray tables and be sure your seats are in the upright position for landing. Check the seat pockets for personal….” Donovan tuned her out, reflecting on the pitiful irony of native social climbers still trying—and failing—to mimic the upper-class accent of their former British colonizer, fifty years after independence.

From his window seat near the front, Donovan smiled grimly at the familiar mosaic of green fields, brown fences, and silver streams decorating the luscious landscape of the Limerick dawn. As they came in for landing and taxied down the runway, he retraced—for the umpteenth time—the chain of events that led him to this ‘homecoming’ moment.

To Readers

Note to Readers #2

My apologies for the lengthy hiatus from publishing these installments. Turns out my injuries were extensive (16 fractures in all, including 12 ribs, 1 shoulder, and 3 facial) and it took longer to recover than I’d imagined. However, the glad tidings are that I’ve fully recovered, and I’m now ready to complete this series. I hope you find the rest of the series rewarding and worthy of your precious reading time.

Note to Readers #1

On the morning of Wednesday, August 10th, Thomas was completing a cycling circuit on his beloved Peaks Island. On a steep descent, he hit a divot in the road and came off the bike.

He was hospitalized at Maine Medical in Portland, where he is now recovering from his injuries. The road ahead remains quite lengthy but he is characteristically stoic and determined to recover.

He would also like to let his readers know that he will make it up to them once he is released and hopes to start publishing new installments early this fall.