Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Ahh, St. Patrick's Day. A day that celebrates fun, laughter, and a playful spirit. A day for blarney, for embellishments, for a few tall tales here and there. The Irish are no strangers to hardship and misery, but they are good at reminding us to lighten up a little and to take life's troubles with a grain of salt, or perhaps more accurately, with a glass of warm beer.

So it is with an Irish spirit that I salute you, with a raised glass I toast you, and with a wink I remind you that if you’re lucky enough to be Irish...You’re lucky enough!

Enjoy a bit o' Irish culture, if you may....

Irish Diplomacy...

is the ability to tell a man to go to hell so that he looks forward to making the trip.


An Irishman's Philosophy...

In life, there are only two things to worry about—Either you are well or you are sick. If you are well, there is nothing to worry about,

But if you are sick, there are only two things to worry about—Either you will get well or you will die. If you get well, there is nothing to worry about,

But if you die, there are only two things to worry about—Either you will go to heaven or hell. If you go to heaven, there is nothing to worry about.

And if you go to hell, you’ll be so busy shaking hands with all your friends you won’t have time to worry!

Irish Bravado...

The Mouse on the Barroom Floor: Some Guinness was spilled on the barroom floorwhen the pub was shut for the night. Out of his hole crept a wee brown mouseand stood in the pale moonlight. He lapped up the frothy brew from the floor,then back on his haunches he sat. And all night long you could hear him roar, 'Bring on the goddam cat!'

Irish Family Values...

A family of Irish birth will argue and fight,
but let a shout come from without, and see them all unite.

An Irishman's Character...

An Irishman has an abiding sense of tragedy which sustains him through temporary periods of joy.

Irish Ego....

The Irish, be they kings, or poets, or farmers,
They're a people of great worth,
They keep company with the angels,
And bring a bit of heaven here to earth

An Irish joke...

An Irishman, an Englishman and a beautiful girl are riding together in a train, with the beautiful girl in the middle.

The train goes through a tunnel and it gets completely dark. Suddenly there is a kissing sound and then a slap! The train comes out of the tunnel. The woman and the Irishman are sitting there looking perplexed. The Englishman is bent over holding his face which is red from an apparent slap.

The Englishman is thinking "Damn it, that Mick must have tried to kiss the girl, she thought it was me and slapped me."

The girl is thinking, "That Englishman must have moved to kiss me, and kissed the Irishman instead and got slapped."

The Irishman is thinking, "If this train goes through another tunnel, I could make another kissing sound and slap that Englishman again!!

and an Irish blessing......

May the lilt of Irish laughter
Lighten every load,
May the mist of Irish magic
Shorten every road,
May you taste the sweetest pleasures
That fortune ere bestowed,
And may all your friends remember

All the favors you are owed.

And happy birthday to my lovely and, yes, blarney-filled sister Laura. An Irish toast for you, Laura....

May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door.

2 comments:

piscesgrrl said...

Aw, thanks! Great post! Those Irish-isms are great!

ggang said...

I love the idea of a rural language, and how it is endangered. I mean, that idea makes me sad, but, happy that someone is noticing that we are losing this. . . . oh heck, what DO I mean? I miss the names of places, farms, creeks, hollows, that convey a sense of the true history of the land and of the joy that people have taken in working on it. My kids used to love it when we would name a little part of a road, like in Anne of Green Gables. And the sayings that remind us of what is good and true in life. You are so lucky to be able to build and nurture your connection to the land through your family's farm. I hope (and actually believe) that more and more people are doing this at many levels. Is it a movement yet? All the blogs that I find celebrating this ideal create at least an illusion that it could be so. Hey, if I'm starting to get a clue, being the tough nut that I am (was) maybe there's hope for the world after all. And the idea of a heritage too! There's a big pot of gold (or is it compost?) at the end of this leprechaun's rainbow!