SOCIAL
We paused before continuing to talk, “No one goes out anymore, there’s no one in the pubs, they’re watching TV, computers, phones” he said in his thick Mayo lilt, shaking his head in disdain for electronica and lamenting the demise of social interaction beyond a screen. As stand up paddlers, we love to explore wild spaces and empty scenic shores, of which Mayo has plenty. Uncrowded, world class surf breaks are that way in some parts of Mayo because a generation that could have learned to surf them have either left or never existed. Michael’s words reminded us of the social problems that can exist in isolated communities that we seek to explore. Lightening the mood, I asked him about the wall he had been building, “It’s for a friend, helping them out so”. I’d watched the trailer groan under the weight of the ‘rocks’ he had just unloaded and set down by hand without break. It was work that mocked the fittest of ‘crossfitters’, Michael’s desire to help a friend gave him strength beyond the narcissism of gym bunnies, I doubt he ever measured his ‘cardio’ but there was nothing wrong with his heart, he was all heart, one look at the way he played with Sailor told you that. We bade our goodbyes and Michael headed home with Sailor parked cheerfully on the tractor seat beside him. We’d had the ‘craic’. Isolation can be a troublesome topic for older men in the West of Ireland; one county council in Kerry had even proposed relaxing drink driving limits for elderly famers in a bid to ease rates of depression and mental illness. In the blank canvas of open countryside some see beauty and others bleakness. As a sport, SUP has the ability to invigorate an outlook, change a view and positively employ your mind with your surroundings. It’s a mind and body medicine. Perhaps in the future, instead of seeking ways for older men to drink more, that county council can encourage isolated communities to engage in group activities open to everyone, like SUP! Sport can bond more than ‘drink’ and Michael’s rock busting strength would make him a formidable paddler!
