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Ben Harris

@benharris1.bsky.social

970 followers 460 following 5.8K posts

Resident of the 51st State via Ohio. Lover of 🌶️ 🎸 🏔️ and 🐕.

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Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · May 2

DC after dark

A picture from the platform of the DC Metro’s NoMa-Galluadet station at night, with the U.S. Capitol visible in the background

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 16h

Visited a stone circle in Kenmare today. Near the circle was a Hawthorne “wishing tree,” where people hang wishes for things they want to see in their or others lives. Most were heavy and heartfelt pleas for peace, recovery or reconciliation.

And then there was this person who’s very mad at Nancy.

I WISH THAT NANCY WOULD STOP BLOWING ALL HER SHIT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE!

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 18h

Oh they’re doing great. We were nearly creamed by a tour bus on the Ring of Kerry today, but that was a road design issue.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 18h

Aye. Fortunately I’m not the one driving it.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 18h

Love too drive in Ireland

A sheep on the side of a road in Ireland

A car driving alongside a cow

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

It is so beautiful there. Glad I got to appreciate it properly this time.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

Also: They did receive my Christmas card. They had wondered how I made out after getting whisked away in an ambulance, and were happy to hear from me then and even happier to see me back up and hiking around today. ❤️

/fin

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

I learned that next year is their 60th(!) wedding anniversary. We also finally got to enjoy that sip of whiskey together (tea for Llama). Getting to meet and thank them has definitely been a highlight of my year, and along with completing the hike allowed me to put a positive end to a rough chapter.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

Which is how I came to spend the afternoon in their living room, meeting them for the first time and getting the chance to share how much their help and kindness meant to me years ago. We chatted for around 45 minutes, and their daughter were truly warm, lovely people.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

Anyway, today we were wrapping up our hike, which happened to take us by P and M’s house. I decided to knock on the door. I didn’t even know if P and M were still there. An unfamiliar woman answered, and I introduced myself. It turns out, she was P and M’s daughter.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

Last year, I wrote them a Christmas card telling them how much I appreciated their kindness, and how much they helped me and Tim that day. I didn’t know if they ever received it (their mailing address was something like “the beige house at the end of the lane”).

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

Eventually the CG did arrive, and I was brought down to safety and care. I never had a chance to meet Patrick and Margaret, but their kindness to me and Tim meant a great deal to me, and I always wanted to thank them properly (we never had a chance to meet and, at any rate, I was in sorry shape.)

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

In the meantime, I was alone on this desolate hillside, in pain and having no idea how I was getting down for help. P and M sent Tim up the hill (god bless him) with a blanket and a mug of warm tea to help keep me warm until help could arrive. Meanwhile, P and M helped coordinate help from the CG.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

P initially thought that he and his friend might be able to help get me down, but upon being fully apprised of the situation abandoned that plan and helped my friend Tim arrange for help from the Irish coast guard. P wanted Tim to stay and enjoy a whiskey with him, but Tim regretfully declined.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

After injuring myself I couldn’t get down on my own. My friend Tim hiked down to find help, and ended up knocking on the door of P and M, an older couple who’d lived on the peninsula all their lives. They welcomed him in and, after hearing what happened, they did what they could to help.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

It was a pretty traumatic experience, but I always vowed that I would return and tackle the hike again, this time without any broken bones. And I’m very happy to say that today I did exactly that. Here are pics from the start of the hike, and me at the summit, wet with rain but very happy.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

So, some (many?) of you know the story of how several years ago I had a mishap while traveling in Ireland.

tl;dr while hiking the Garinish Loop on the Beara Peninsula I took a fall and had to be rescued off the mountain. I later learned I’d broken two bones in my leg and ruptured a tendon.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 1d

Proper pint at a proper pub

A glass of stout in front of a fireplace

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 2d

Why, do you have reason to think something might happen?

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 2d

It’s a good time to raise a glass, because I’ve already spent more time on two legs on this trip than I did on my last trip to Ireland. I’ve passed what’s commonly called “The Krepp Line”.

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 2d

It’s pub o’clock

A pint of Irish red on a bar in Ireland

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 2d

Spent the afternoon in Cork—surprisingly fun and bustling city center. I love functional downtowns.

A narrow pedestrian only street in central Cork

People strolling down a car-free street in central Cork. There’s a restaurant on the corner where people dine outdoors.

A view of multicolored buildings along the riverfront, with an old church in the background

A large mural on the side of a building, with a double decker bus running down the street

Reposted by Ben Harris

Martin Austermuhle @maustermuhle.bsky.social · 3d

NEWS: Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto announces that she’s running for D.C. delegate to Congress, becoming the second member of the D.C. Council looking to replace longtime Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton. (At-Large Councilmember Robert White is also running.)

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 3d

American cultural exports in Cork:

A shop selling “Vapes and American snacks”

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 3d

Train time! 🚞🚆🛤️

A view of the Dublin Heuston train station

Ben Harris @benharris1.bsky.social · 3d

Visited the Oscar Wilde house today. Either that wallpaper goes, or I go.

The exterior of the Oscar Wilde house

Portraits of Oscar Wilde in his childhood home

“I drink to keep body and soul apart”

Oscar Wilde statue in Merion Square