If you’ve been a faithful follower of my blog, you will have seen most of these scenes. If not, these will give a richer experience when you read Trapped.
Kathrin, heroine from Trapped, looks out her picture window at this beauty. It’s fifty miles away from where Kathrin lives – Auburn, Washington. I imagine it’s because the mountain is over fourteen thousand feet high. Another beautiful facet is its snow cap is visible year around. Mt. Rainier takes fifth place as the tallest mountain in continental US.
Most of Trapped takes place in the countries pictured above. The Republic of Ireland makes up the southern part of the island and is an independent nation. Northern Ireland is located to the north east and is part of the United Kingdom. Kathrin meets Shay in Belfast. Belfast, its capitol, is off the northeast coast, bordering the North Channel. A tip of Scotland is pictured on the top right-hand corner. The North Channel runs between the two. The whole island is about the size of Indiana.
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Pictured is an example of eighteen miles of -sometimes twenty-five-foot high – peace walls in Belfast. They lock the peace wall’s gates at night. Gates that separate Catholics and Protestants. Their disagreement is political in nature and not about religion.
You can see why Ireland is called the emerald isle. The eastern half of the country has 35 inches of rainfall in the year. The west averages about 45 inches. The mountains usually get more than 118 inches per year of rainfall.
Do you know what this is? It’s an old time fog horn that still works.
Trapped‘s hero, Shay’s home looks like the one on the left. The cottage on the right was built in the 1700’s. This one room contains kitchen, bedroom and living room. Notice how they dry their socks and dish towels by the fire. Dishes sit on an open shelf. The bed is on the left, and table and chairs—off screen—are on the right. Notice how thick the stone walls are by the window in Shay’s home. Dishes still sit on an open shelf, but Shay’s home has modern conveniences.
July 12th every year Protestant Unionist hold their flags high as they march. When Kathrin asked Shay what the Orange parade was about, he answered, “It’s a celebration of Protestant King William of Orange’s victory over Catholic King James in 1690. That’s when Protestants began their domination over Catholics in Northern Ireland.”
Shay enjoys classic cars. The one he presently drives is this 1934 Packard Twelve with the steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car. The engine is a V12 which was rated for 160 horsepower. That’s a lot of horses. Today’s v6 engines have more horseys. It has a 3-speed stick shift, not an automatic transmission. Wool fabric upholstery and a woodgrain-effect dash helps to make it a sweet ride. I imagine its gas mileage is not that good. But if you can afford this car, you probably can afford the gas. One recently sold for $125,000.
Theresa Wise Author 