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 |  I've maxed out. Closed this blog. |
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This is a way of making myself write something coherent and grammatically correct almost every day. I'm opinionated and need an outlet. I'm also prone to flights of fancy. Thanks for stopping by. |
| The one in a marriage who takes care of things is not always appreciated. It's not necessarily being taken for granted. The one who doesn't pay the bills may never have done it and doesn't realize what is involved. If a couple gets married when young, and one has never balanced a check book, he or she will never appreciate that the other spouse does it. So one carries the burden and in time may resent it, but the other will never understand what is involved or the time or mental exercise it takes. It won't be credited as a duty within a marriage. It doesn't hurt to review the duty list occasionally. Taking out the trash once a week hardly equals washing dishes and sweeping floors and making beds everyday. And unless one actually cleans a toilet, he (it's usually a he) will never understand what a dirty time-consuming job his spouse undertakes for him and the kids doing this on a regular basis. So swapping duties for a day or week isn't a bad idea either. This inequity usually comes to the surface when one partner is feeling overwhelmed, taken for granted, and unappreciated. The other may be claiming his duties are bigger and more important. If she makes the bigger paycheck, and he balances the checkbook, she may feel like he is wasting her money. Talking about it is one step, and in some cases is not enough. Cross-training is a good step, particularly if the one who does the job gets sick. |
| You know if you listen to people talk, or surf the Internet, or watch comedy shows, you'd think the lowest life form is made up of people who shop at Wal-Mart. Yet Wal-Mart continues to be one of the biggest merchants in America. I guess while people are there taking pictures to put on Yahoo News or Facebook, or write jokes, they spend money, too. Once in a while I shop at Wal-Mart for cheap household goods, like soap dishes, or measuring cups, but I wait until I really have to go. I don't like waiting in long lines. And you get your exercise wandering around pushing a cart looking for things that have been moved again. I've noticed they don't have the good selection like you used to find years ago. They get better price points by shopping in depth with fewer brands. And they don't carry all the items they use to carry, like sewing aids or crafts. I see lots of people there from all walks of life. I've encountered lots of rude people, misbehaving children, and women assaulting each other, but I've never seen ones like those in the pictures. Some are dressed pretty sloppy; at least they are covered. I'm surprised there aren't more fights in the parking lots over carts running into autos because people are too lazy to put them in the cart holders. You'd think by now with so many Wal-Mart shopper jokes and pictures that anyone planning to go to Wal-Mart would be more cautious. If you are going to Wal-Mart, cover your butt. Don't let your belly hang out, or let your cellulite show. Don't wear a halter top, especially if you wear more than an extra-large. Be sure your pants are clean in the seat. No visible cleavage. This is not a bowling alley, or a bar. It's a family oriented store. Have a little self-respect and look yourself over in a mirror before you leave home. You could be embarrassed when your family's laughing at your viral photo. |
| Families are being restructured today, by the economy, by moral values, by political correctness, by prolonged immaturity. Some of the changes are for the good; some are bad. The absence of strong males in the home is one of the negatives. However, the traditional family is still a strong presence and may be making a comeback. Granted, serial marriages have forced families to mix more than ever over the last half-century. It's nothing new, just more common. Other factors include test tube babies, the lack of adoptable children, and gay couples having legal rights. Some neighborhoods and ethnic groups discourage birth control and see extra children as a means to gain more income. They don't have any stigma to being single mothers with 5 kids with 5 different fathers. That's not limited to one or two racial groups. These women feel like someone else is supposed to support them, and have learned not to expect help from the fathers. At the same time, the economy is forcing several generations of grown-ups to opt to live together for more security, financial support, and shared responsibilities. It allows the grandparents the ability to stay in their own homes safely longer, the middle generation to look for new jobs or save money, and the children in high school or college or first jobs longer to get on their feet. They manage without any murders or other crimes, and claim to even enjoy it. Yes, there may be some new type families out there, grandparents raising grandkids, for instance. But the old ones are still there, too. Don't be anxious to throw the baby out with the bathwater. |
| I heard someone tell the story of a pilot who heard a loud gnawing sound. It didn't make sense. He was flying solo. There was no one else to hear the noise. He finally decided there must be a rat or some other rodent on board chewing on something. He panicked and was annoyed by the noise. He remembered suddenly that the rat was basically an underground animal, so he climbed 10,000 feet. The sound relented and resumed, so he went up another 10,000 feet. The noise finally stopped. When he landed, he went over it with the mechanic. They found a dead rat under his seating area. The lifeline had been seriously gnawed. The change to a higher altitude had saved his life and his plane. The speaker went on to say that there are annoying little things that are gnawing away at us every day. Personalities, worries, financial burdens, relationships, illnesses, legal issues, political policies, and so forth, eat away at our happiness, our peace of mind, our sense of direction. But we can deal with them and stay in control when we develop our spiritual lives. For the religious person, it means prayer and meditation. For some, it means yoga or exercise and meditation. A quiet time of reflection on principles, on a higher plane of living, or the Creator is a good way to calm down and focus on things that really matter. Most psychologists tell us that to be healthy we have to develop our spiritual lives. They don't want to be evangelists or theologians, but they do report that people with a heightened spiritual awareness do seem to be more fully developed, and well-rounded people with well-adjusted lives. We could all use a little more inner peace and the empowerment that brings. |
| Now that it's nearly over, I hope it was a good day for one and all, whether celebrating or not observing it. It is a good day to contemplate life's joys and sorrows. Meditation is good for our physical health we're told. And writers always need some time for quiet reflection. Erin Go Braugh! |
| I've been fond of "The Stuttering Lovers", mostly because it sounds funny, but it's easy to learn and sing along. It was created and passed along before political correctness. A wee bit over the Lee, me lads A wee bit over the green The birds went into the poor man's corn I fear they'll never be suh, suh, suh, suh, seen me lads I fear they'll never be seen Then out came a bonny wee lass And she was one so fair And she went into the poor man's corn To see if the birds were the, the, the, the, there, me lads To see if the birds were there Then out came a bonny wee lad And he was a fisherman's son And he went into the poor man's corn To see where the birds had ruh, ruh, ruh, ruh, run me lads To see where the birds had run Well, he kissed her on the cheek, me lads And kissed her on the chin "Ah, don't be kissing me, my wee lad I fear it is a si, si, si, si, sin my lad I fear it is a sin" Well, he kissed her once and he kissed her twice He kissed her ten times o'er "It's nice to be kissing a bonny wee lass Who's never been kissed befuh, fuh, fuh, fuh, fore me lads Who's never been kissed before" Then out came a poor old man And he was tattered and tore "Ah that the way to be minding my birds I'll do it myself in the muh, muh, muh, muh, muh, muh, muh, muh, morn me lads I'll do it myself in the morn" I also like Whiskey You're Me Darling, because the concept of singing to the whiskey struck me as funny and still does. I never learned the verses; they're harder, but I sing the chorus all year long. No, I hardly ever drink, so it's not my drinking song. (Devil is pronounced deevil, my is me.) "Whiskey, you're the devil, you're leadin' me astray Over hills and mountains and to Americae You're sweeter, stronger, decenter, you're spunkier than tae O whiskey, you're my darlin' drunk or sober" You have to pronounce the words with your best Irish accent. |
| The Giant's Causeway is in Northern Ireland. Modern scientists claim it was caused by an under-ocean earthquake, sending columns of basalt up past the surface. This is a massive scene that would appear to be man-made, except that it is so large. The giant columns, all adjacent to each other, rise up in staggered heights in neat rows, as though engineered that way. Legend has it that the giants of old used them to walk out to the North Atlantic without wetting their feet. Today it is a big national park and tourist attraction. The Blarney Stone is another tall rock of legend. It is said that if you kiss the stone you will have the gift of Blarney, or the gift of gab or eloquent speaking. It is not an easy thing to do. To reach it, they have built a cast iron railing for the brave to hold. You grab the railing and lean backwards underneath it. You drape yourself out over a deep drop, while hanging on for dear life, to brush your lips against the cold rock. Many succeed, but many give up for fear of dropping into the crevice. I know someone who did it, but haven't noticed any speaking gifts. The Irish have a gift for humor. If you meet up with someone Irish, ask for some jokes. You'll get lots of stories about Paddy. They love to laugh. And there's all kinds of old Irish sayings and blessings and prayers. I had an Irish cookbook, still do maybe--packed away somewhere--with this quote: An egg without salt is like a kiss without a beard. I never understood it, but there it was. |
| It's really okay not to observe the day. If you're not Catholic or have no Irish ancestry, you're not required to take notice of it. But most of us look for an excuse to have another festive day. And this one can be a lot of fun. Sunday is still a day of Lent. Many are observing the dark days of Lent leading up to Easter. No doubt Patrick did as well. As for old Patrick, no one knows where the legend of driving the snakes out of Ireland came from. You won't find them there. Patrick did teach peace to hostile villages and sought to end slavery. He was a proponent of literacy. He did a lot to bring civilization to Ireland and to end the old fears and superstitions. There have been many great men and women from Ireland. Nobel Prizes for literature were given to George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, William B. Yeats, and Seamus Heaney. Many great preachers, priests and intellectuals have come from Ireland. Depicting the Irish as drunkards, fighters, and liars is prejudice, pure and simple. Even Irish Americans show a love of literature. Andrew Greeley is American, but he's Chicago Irish-American, and it shows up in all his novels, a vast collection. In fact there are still strong Irish populations in the U.S., including Boston, New York, and Chicago. I've noticed in old TV westerns, they frequently included Irish people in their story lines. So it would appear that the Irish are interwoven into most areas of our culture. That would explain why some other country's holiday is so popular here. The Irish migrated here in large numbers and blended in. They adapted to American life and now are a part of it. |
| We have to discuss leprechauns if we're talking about Irish traditions. Actually, you don't hear so much about leprechauns these days. It's because of teachers! The teachers have hurt the wee folk feelings by telling the children they're only superstitions. So the leprechauns have run off to the mountain tops and remote regions to live, where they don't suffer the disdain of modern educators. A common misconception, especially by American advertisers, is that leprechauns wear green, and their hats are Derbies. Not so. The clothing varies from county to county. In some areas, they've been seen wearing red. The hats vary, from pilgrim style hats to tall pointy ones, or even beanies. Pants are short or long. There really isn't a dress code, but one band or clan tend to dress similarly to each other. Personalities also differ greatly; they are not all of one temperament. Some are quite lively and funny, some are practical jokers, some are kindly, while some are downright mean. And they're not all stingy. They have to work for their money like everyone else, and they don't want it stolen. How can you tell if they have been around? Well, they are a wee bit clumsy. If a spark flies out of the fireplace and burns a spot on the rug, it was probably a leprechaun trying to warm up that knocked it out into the room. Or if the milk gets spilled, or a plant is knocked over, it might have been the cat or it may have been a leprechaun. If your homework isn't in your notebook when you get to the schoolhouse, maybe the leprechaun played a trick on you and took it out. If uncle trips when he comes into the house after a night of drinking at the pub, it was probably a leprechaun that tripped him and woke the whole house. Some families try to appease the practical joker leprechauns by placing out cookies or biscuits for them at night. Other families are cheap and leave out table scraps, like for a pet, and this irritates them even more. Leprechauns have their dignity, you know. The late night tippler does seem to have more tales of leprechauns and banshees than one who retires early. Now that's a mystery. |
| St. Patty's is first a religious holiday. He has been taken down from sainthood, not because he did anything wrong, but American Irish and the Irish in heart have done such un-saintly things in his name.If you're a purist, you'll say a few prayers that day, maybe mail a few greeting cards to your elderly friends in advance. Beyond that, don't plan on drinking green beer, unless you're prepared to go green in the bathroom. It's strictly an American custom and frowned upon by the Irish. The same goes for green food coloring in cookies or cakes or what-have-you. It will come out green. if it goes in green. Wear some green, eat corned beef, and drink normally, if you will. Speaking of wearing green, try not to look too daffy. A green sweater or some green socks will do. Forget the green underwear jokes. You can wear a green shamrock or green beads from Wal-Mart. It doesn't take much to show your spirit. And remember if someone else is not wearing green, it's the leprechauns who do the pinching. You don't have to help! As for food, corned beef and cabbage are good. Seafood, particularly large shrimp, will do nicely. After all, Ireland is an island with a large fishing industry. Traditional Irish soda bread is a little dry and doesn't suit American palates. There are many updated versions, however. Lamb is also commonly eaten in Ireland. Desserts are not as important in the average household. Flan, a type of custard, is very common. The larger estates and the inns that appeal to tourists, who do have a taste for sweets, do serve fancy multi-layer cakes and dishes using creams. Many American grocers now sell Irish butter, cheese, and other dairy products, as well as Guinness and other Irish beverages, if you're feeling adventurous. Not only do they not serve green beer, they serve the tan and the dark, two types in one glass. They mix as you drink them. For music, there's the well-known Celtic Women and the Irish Tenors, but don't forget the Clancy Brothers or the Makem's. In the rowdy days of my youth, I had friends who loved all Irish things. They'd have big parties, and we'd play Clancy Brothers and stomp our feet, and eat Lorna's homemade food. Michael would regale us with stories about Bloody Sunday and the Potato Famine. We'd all shout "Erin Go Braugh". One guy actually grew up in Ireland, and would do the Irish Jig for us. The next day our host and hostess would be too hungover to remember who had been there the night before. We were all Irish under their spell. I don't know where any of them are any more, but I play the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem every year this time. In my heart, I am young and foolish again. But I salute the Irish and their brave history. |
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