Remember the scene in The Godfather when Vito bit the dust in the tomato patch? The tall plants stood staked in nice neat rows, full of fruit, and bees were buzzing about all over. Well, I too have a tomato plot, but this is my first attempt at vegetable gardening and I simply didn't allow for how huge everything would get. Ergo, unlike the orderly plants tended by the head … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Dancing at Lughnasadh
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Saying Goodbye
It's easier to accept loss if you get to say goodbye. It doesn't make it any less painful or tragic, but it's the finality that's missing for so many who were impacted by the events of September 11th. ℘℘℘ We caught 130 pounds of lobster this morning. The tide was high and the ocean was as smooth as glass. Seals poked up out of the water and cormorants dried their wings standing … [Read more...] about Saying Goodbye
Irish on Parade
June 1, 1907: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. ℘℘℘ My grandfather Phillip L. McQuillan, one of the early plumbing and heating engineers, celebrated his Irish-American patriotism by participating in the 1907 Memorial Day Parade in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The sign on the side of the wagon reads "P.L. McQuillan, Good Plumbing." Two of his twelve children, Ruth and Frances, are tiding … [Read more...] about Irish on Parade
Gregory Peck: A Class Act
In June 1997, Peck, who rarely gave interviews in his last years, sat down with Irish America Editor Patricia Harty. An edited version of that interview follows. "Will you pour?" The gentleman sitting across from me cracked a smile as I nodded and lifted the teapot, wondering if I would be able to complete the task without making a fool of myself. I felt as if I was in a … [Read more...] about Gregory Peck: A Class Act
First Word: Heroes for Our Time
"You cannot put a rope around the neck of an idea. ... You cannot confine it in the strongest prison cell that your slaves could ever build." – Sean O'Casey on the death of Thomas Ashe. ℘℘℘ Just as I was getting annoyed that no one on the Larry King tribute to Gregory Peck mentioned the actor's Irishness, he mentioned it himself. "It must be that Irish stubborn streak in me," … [Read more...] about First Word: Heroes for Our Time