Letter to America - The Irish Podcast - Chapter 59 - The Peace Wall

Wow, It's Time to Get Real with Letter to America - Chapter 59 - The Peace Wall!

In which host Jett Loe misses his coffee, Wayne Van Ry ruins his shoes, Unpaid Intern Erin gives us her pick of this week's Belfast Culture and Brad Pitt goes all Oirish.

All this and more on the "Watch Where You're Steppingl" Irish Podcast.

Comments

[Aorund Par]

Is this picture from inside the new place? I think the image reminds me of those freelance private investigators that look for missing kids and stuff like that. Have you ever thought about being a private investigator, Jett?

[Jett Loe]

Re: Private Investigators - used to hang with them when I was working at a Criminal Law Office in the New Mexico. If you're ever in New Mex and need a P.I. I can recommend someone.

[Jama]

Fair enough, Jett. The comment was an obviously failed attempt at constructive criticism. I wasn't trying to be heavy, I was trying to be helpful. I forget sometimes that not everyone wants to that sort of thing. No hard feelings, I hope.

[Aorund Par]

Just listened to this episode... More and more, I wish I could be there! I enjoyed the episode and it's good to know you made it back safe to your house. Oh, I know you're always Jonesing for your coffee, and my recent fascination with it led me to this link ( http://www.tillintallin.net/free/print_outs/coffee/ ). I have a technologically religious edict I'm developing, and I'll send you an audio file about it once I finish the bug fixes. Looking forward to chapter 60! Keep up the good work and the good word!

~iPar~

[Phil]

Jett - do you think you could paint a large American flag on your roof so we could identify your house on Google Earth?

[Deborah]

Just found you guys - this is classic! Love it! I was born in Dublin but moved to the US when I was eight. Somehow got it into my head to move back with my Yankee husband, so your cast really made me feel at home! We're not alone! :-) We're going to visit Belfast for the first time later this month, so the site is super helpful too! Thanks - can't wait for more!

[Jett Loe]

Glad you enjoyed the show Deborah - thanks for listening and good luck in the move back! :)

[Judas Trainwreck]

I've heard this episode, and I'll download the previous other episodes when I get access to a faster connection, but hey, keep up the great work, and maybe I'll get some resources and put something together too...

[Dave]

Great episode Jett, do you keep the battery low on the MD recorder just so you get the great "effect" from the micro cassette?

More important though - have you found a local supplier of caffeine in a relatively safe area? The thought of being without the most important substance in life is a most harrowing of prospects.

The show has a commitment to "the truth", but who is to say what is true, or imaginary? either way, its jolly enjoyable stuff, young fella.

[Dave]

Just checked on the irish blog awards results.

Wished I could say "congrats", but its more a case of having to say "you've been screwed mate". Have you asked for a recount yet?

[Jenny]

I hope things look up with the house Jett... my last and current homes also could be classified as shanties and I definitely had some moments of despair in my first few weeks. But I've found that the process of moving in fully, meeting neighbors, and making a place your own can make just about anything feel like a home. I wish you luck...

[Penelope]

mmmm...

poop vs prostitutes... there's always something on the sidewalks!!!

[Jett Loe]

Yeah...it's a recurring theme of the show ;-).

[Brabazon]

Are you living by the Peace Wall so we don't have to...? I know you guys have a commitment to reality, but most of us here spend our lives attempting to avoid that kind of reality - not go and set up home right there amongst it!!

I have to admit I broke out in a clammy handed sweat listening to you fellas hoofing around those streets. I'm just glad that I can listen to it from the relative safety of my anonymous shoebox. Be careful out there...

[Jett Loe]

Thank you Brabazon; have received a number of emails from concerned listeners who live or have lived in Belfast telling me to be careful. I appreciate the concern and will do my best not to get into too much trouble.

Unless there's some 'show' value in it of course.

[Penelope]

f*ck the show value

my partner is a Belfast native and cannot comprehend why anyone would choose to live next to a peace wall, no matter how nice the house!!

reminds me of a lovely turn of the century craftsman bungalow apartment I once lived in that was dirt cheap but deep in blood/crips territory.

Yea... by the time my 6 month lease was up I couldn't wait to move what with the random drive-bys. The f*ck-it-I'm outta-here moment came when I heard semi automatic gunfire battling it out, much like your Devil's Own sequence, with swarms of helicopters overhead... good times!

[Phil]

Likewise, Penelope...a shootout at my community pool told me it was time to pull up stakes and relocate.

[Judas Trainwreck]

I forgot to ask last comment, did you ever find a coffee place anywhere close? The commenter Dave asked if you found a coffee supplier, but I was also wondering.

Yeah, gang violence isn't something people should want to be around. Bloods and Crips, Catholics and Protestants, 'Normal' people and Goths, as something seems to have sparked up on another page here.

[Jett Loe]

Hey Judas Trainwreck - There isn't a coffee place where I can actually sit down and have a cup - I'm going to venture 'into town' today and buy a few bags of Clements to brew at home - which will be more economical though I'll suffer from the lack of coffee-house ambiance.

[SteveT]

I literally can't fathom why you'd leave a decent city centre apartment to move into some warzone....Jett this scares me. Why have you done this? I wouldn't walk around that kind of area much less live there. I mean was that really your only option or this is an attempt to explore our dark and seamy underbelly? Be safe out there!

[Jett Loe]

Thanks Steve, I'll do my best.

[Healy]

Oh come on, Belfast can look scary (needs some good landscaping to say the least) but it's just not the warzone it used to be...I work in a supposedly rough area and it's generally perfectly fine. I bought a house in an area I like to think is "up and coming" and so far that's been fine too. Of course I used to live in southeast DC. I moved out after the shoot-out down the block and the third and most violent mugging. I feel much safer in Belfast!

[Jett Loe]

Yeah, it's not that bad.

[Whisky Nose]

You just need that crazy Reverand Ian and his crazy performance artist mates to pop down and start body popping in the streets!