Ireland

Hate to be a buzz kill on this Irish-American holiday, but let me recommend a reading of an opinion piece by Timothy Egan last week in the New York Times. Egan certainly has the credentials to back up what he believes, and if it helps, my credential for recommending it is my dual-citizenship with the land where three of my four grandparents were born. I've never been one to slap on a green shirt or pass out green snacks on March 17Th, seeing it as a fake Halloween-like marketing effort by Retailers anxious to make up for poor Valentines Day sales. So Egan's commentary stuck a familiar chord. Now I just have to make plans and actually visit Ireland, a trip that so far has eluded me. Let me end with one of those Irish toasts people are always mangling...."Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you fight with your neighbour. It makes you shoot at your landlord-- and it makes you miss him." Here's to you!