I was born in the city which is famous for this:
I once had my head pushed and stuck in a city bus folding door in junior high. (actually that might explain much about my fear of power windows)
I’ve slept in tents, lived in a trailer (3 different times), have been saluted by foreign soldiers, and stayed at Disney resorts and fine hotels. There are countless memories that pop up and rattle around my brain. But my most fondness memory is my family getting the opportunity to live in Ireland for a few months during 1989. I’m reminded of it every St. Paddy’s Day.
Oh I’m not Irish but I married Irish. So I’m Irish when she lets me.
I had a very special St. Patrick's Day back in 1989. It was a Friday that year and by a strange coincidence I finalized a deal with my employer to join a new group they recently had acquired in Shannon Ireland. I was involved in taking engineering projects over to their development group.
For those familiar with Ireland (I was not then), Shannon is a river and an airport. It has an office park near the airport where I worked for a few months.
Here we are stopping to enjoy the Gap of Dunloe.
I learned many things during that stay. One that quickly and enjoyably comes to mind is the bountiful amount of great music Ireland offers up in their pubs and local shows.
We have some good modern Irish bands around Chicago too. I discovered an Irish punk band going by the name “The Tossers”. The Tossers are Southside Chicago Irish (for chi town people - it's just "southside Irish"). If you don't know, being called a tosser is not a good thing.
A friend from my 1989 Ireland experience, lives in Ennis and we stay in touch through email. He confirmed my thinking on “tosser”. Tosser is indeed another word for wanker, but not as strong. (many Americans don't know what a wanker is but if you do look that up DON'T use an image search)
So you might be a tosser but not quite a wanker. The top of the list is being a Charlie Sheen.
Here’s a youtube clip of a song from The Tossers.
Note: Chicago like Boston is very Irish. This year will be Chicago’s Mayor Daley’s (very Irish) last St. Paddy’s Day as mayor. I bet he will drink to the occasion.
off the top of my head and from the bottom of my heart
I wish you a Happy St. Paddy’s Day
Sláinte
another circus
24 comments:
I definitely need to start using Tosser and Wanker in my daily vocabulary more.
Great post. :-)
Pearl
I'm Irish on my dad's side. And I try to remember to wear green on the 17th.
It's good to see giving the blogging another shot. Don't know if you read my post about Forrest Gump but you might be able to related to it.
http://afcsoac.blogspot.com/2011/02/blog-forrest-blog.html
thanks
be careful might get you in trouble.
I've never been to Ireland, but it looks beautiful. If I ever have the pleasure of visiting, I'll be sure to remember what you said about the term "tosser"!
Like everywhere it has changed some since then. Glad I could be of help with the slang. If you are interested in another one - check out Galway Hooker. Believe it or not, you can safely search that term for images. thanks
Being married to an Englishman I do know those two words and their meanings. Those Brits have some of the best phrases and expressions! I get such a kick out of hearing them.
I'm totally surprised at the summer wardrobe in Ireland in March!
After being there and working with them I started a list of slang. Maybe I should have added more detail but I do wonder how much readers care for on a blog. I went over there ahead of the family and when the kids summer break started they joined me. So the picture was taken on summer weekend. The summer was unusually "bright" (as they say) and warm that year. thanks
Ireland is near the top of my bucket list! Happy St. Patrick's Day to you, too!
Slainte to you too lisleman! I always sense a deep love for Ireland in the words you write. Thank you indeed for the love you have for my country, people and culture. May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be at your back and may the Lord hold you in the palm of his hand!
Currently Eire (previously known as Southern Ireland is in the grip of a frighteningly harsh recession/depression from the global economic meltdown. The boom times have passed and serious debt and despair is the order of the day for most folk, sadly.
Nice memory and great picture. I have never lived overseas but I think it would be a great experience as long as I don't have to deal with riots, rowdies, and your occasional 'coup de etat'. Uh and oh yeah, keep that dude who drives snakes out of places far away from me too - I guess I'll never be Irish either?! W.C.C.
Liked the video but dad should have said "wrong number" at the end.
thanks for the blessing - I also like the one about the devil not knowing you died.
common problem worldwide I think
I think my dad would have just hung up after about 10 sec.
Kristina cracked me up. Maybe I should try that, too. My students once tried to get "bloody" going as a new favorite curse. I put the keebosh to that! :)
Oh bloody hell - I'm no sociologist or anthropologist but do you ever wonder why certain words are curse words? I f-bomb especially is interesting because it's used in both positive and negative ways. thanks for stopping by
Love the Irish.
great post
visiting via Mrs. 444's blog
thanks for the visit
Yikes - that would make me afraid of power doors and windows, too!
The kid that did it thought it was really funny. It was a crowded city bus that was chartered by the school to transport students. I don't imagine such a school-city arrangement would even happen today. Lucky for me the door had big rubber bumpers so I was not hurt physically (mentally?).
thanks
Post a Comment