Irish Eyes
When Irish Eyes are Smiling sure it's like a morn in spring
In the lilt of Irish laughter you can hear the angels sing
when Irish hearts are happy all the world seems bright and gay
but when Irish eyes are smiling sure they'll steal your heart away
This is the chorus of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling", lyrics by Chauncey Olcott and Geo. Graff, Jr. I think it describes my son, Ian, quite well. Most times he was a carefree, happy lad, with a smile on his face (I remember he was born with that smile on May 6, 1999), and a song in his heart. He loved his Scotch/Irish heritage.
My son had Irish Eyes, and he did steal my heart away. I never got it back, but I remember him fondly, always.
This geocache is part of a geo-art piece that I intended to place on May 6, 2019...the 20th anniversary of his birth. The caches in this piece are finally ready to be published as part of Hike -n- Seek 2020 in Tama County, and there are 44 in all.
They should not be difficult to find as they are scattered around the Tama-Toledo area where Ian grew up. Most are small magnetic containers with a log only, placed with permission from the mayors of Tama and Toledo. Many are along the South Tama Rec Trail or in other locations where Ian practiced cross country, or locations that I pass frequently when I'm out walking, and placed where they should not raise alarm. However, some may require considerable stealth at times, and others may require a bike ride or significant hike, some a bit of bushwhacking, and a few might require a ToTT to retrieve the container or the log.
Some caches will take you near, but never inside, one of the local cemeteries so please don't hunt at night or while mourners are present in those locations. In all cases please practice CITO whenever possible.
I made the decision to create this geoart on September 24, 2017, at the annual Hike -n- Seek event, on the occasion of my 5000th find. That morning I needed to log a few geocaches in order to make that day's event coincide with my 5000th, but one of the caches I had targeted turned up missing and I was going to be one short. So I looked on the map for a nearby cache and spotted one named Shamrocks by Team Schnauzer. When I found it I felt it was more than a coincidence.
Since it's creation in 2017 I have tried to publish this series a handful of times, but something always got in the way. I thought about publishing it on October 2nd, the anniversary of Ian's death, but that's a difficult date for me and I just could never bring myself to do it. In May 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic got in the way, so here we are in September 2020 and the time finally feels right.
I hope you enjoy the luck of the Irish as you hunt for these, and I beg you to slow down, be safe, smile a little, and be thankful that you are able to get outdoors to enjoy life, hopefully with family and friends.
A leprechaun told me to look here:
N 41° 59.244' W 92° 35.349'
Final is not at its original location. An easy park and grab but be stealthy, please.