Over Thanksgiving of 2006, I traveled to Ireland with my girlfriend of a year. We met shortly before leaving on a group trip to Ireland the previous year and had been together ever since. During this 2006 trip, my third to Ireland, I decided to leave a book behind in our favorite hostel.

The introduction is as follows:

Dear Traveler,

It was a year ago this week that I fell in love while traveling through Ireland. I was blessed by being able to return home with the woman I fell in love with and I have The Sugan to thank for a lot. As you may have noticed, the hostel is wonderful, warm, cozy, and extremely friendly. This atmosphere seems to breed artistic feelings, so I leave this book behind for the world to fill up. Please don't be afraid to contribute anything you would like. I will be back to pick this book up in a few years time, so please leave it at The Sugan.

If the book does fill up before then, I would be eternally grateful to anyone who would be willing to send it back to me. Please contact me via phone or email for current address information.

To all those who contribute and all those who appreciate what lies inside, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

- Jeremy Felt

And so it was. I left the book alone in The Sugan and traveled home.

Over the next two years, I waited.

In 2007, we got engaged.

In 2008, we got married.

In February of 2009, we went back to Ireland with a new group. We spent the first several days driving up and down the West coast, most of the time nowhere near Killarney, where my book waited. I remember thinking every day how I couldn't wait to arrive in Killarney, sit down by the amazing fireplace of The Sugan, and open up a treasure chest of time.

Patience persisted, and after a wonderful week of traveling, we arrived!

Dave met us at the door and started to usher us into the new part of the hostel. I spoke up and asked him if I could wander in to look for my book. He already knew what I was talking about and it wasn't long before he grabbed "Jeremy's Book" from the place they had been keeping it ever since it had been filled.

I can't explain in words the emotions that I felt as he handed me the book. I know it's silly. It's a book of writings and drawings after all. But still.

I shared a story with the world and left an open forum for the world to fill.

And the world shared back. That makes me happy inside.

Best wishes and drawings from the US, Australia, England, France, Finland, Holland, Switzerland, etc, etc... The fact that this little book I left was written in by many and held to read by so many more.... fills me with joy.

Go world! :)

- Jeremy