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“…SMILING BASTARDS…”
Curiously, the oil spill by British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico brings to mind the fate of the Mary Ellen Carter. That boat was Irish and presumably it served in the fishing trade. According to the song, as it approached its harbor the captain was drunk and the ship hit a rock and sank. …
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DROPPING BABIES
Lindsey Graham is the senior senator from South Carolina who is single and in his mid-fifties. So it is a surprise to see him lend his efforts to a campaign about dropping babies. But the fact is that ol’ Lindsey has recently joined the Republican fight which contends that illegal immigrants come to the United…
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UPON BEING SELF-HOODWINKED
This essay pivots on the origin of a popular folk song written in 1835 called “Kathleen Mavourneen.” Like many Irish people and the world at large, I had long assumed that “Kathleen Mavourneen” was the epitome of Irish folk music. The word “mavourneen” is an ancient Gaelic word for “my darling.” The name Kathleen is…
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POLK SALAD (SALET)
This essay has to do with a vegetable or a weed that appears in the springtime and is uncultivated. It grows along hedge rows and along the highways and when it reaches maturity, it is quite poisonous. Also this essay is an exercise in nostalgia. It has to do with my mother, who departed this…
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A PAIL OF HOME BREW
During the period of the 1920s, there was a resurgence of thought pioneered basically by Southerners. It resulted in the banning of the sale and use of beer. The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol and came to be known as the Prohibition Act. Prohibition was widely flouted. It…
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KATHLEEN MAVOURNEEN: AN ADVENTURE STORY
During the 1930s and 40s, and perhaps a bit longer, there was a magnificent tenor who appeared in several productions of The Metropolitan Opera as well as in concerts. He also appeared on radio and later on television programs like The Bell Telephone Hour and The Firestone Hour. I was glad to tell people that…
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WHY DID SAVITA HAVE TO DIE LIKE THIS?
This essay has to do with the very recent death of an Indian woman who had moved to Galway, Ireland. Her death has bothered me greatly. The fact of the matter is that she did not have to die. As it turns out Savita is dead and the authorities are doing nothing about it. During…
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ARGUENDO
The title for this essay is Arguendo. It is a Latin phrase. It means for the sake of argument. This is not an essay about Latin phrases but rather it is an essay about music. Arguendo, I would contend that the best poetry is written by the lyricists who write the words to the music…
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DID THE WELSH THROW IN THE TOWEL WITH THE BRITS?
The title of this essay may arouse some question. This essay is about the Welsh people who are my fellow Celts. It is also about a boxing term having to do with throwing in the towel. When there are two fighters involved in a boxing match, there are occasions when one fighter may have beaten…
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HOW DUMB, DUMB, DUMB CAN A MAN BE?
Sunday mornings around this household are a leisurely affair. They consist primarily of my having my weekly cup of decaffeinated coffee but mostly of listening to the talk shows which dominate Sunday morning television. Obviously I cannot see the images on the screen but I follow the dialogue with considerable interest. Last Sunday, which was…