Saturday, April 29, 2006

Ireland


Always remember to forget the things that made you sad. But never forget to remember the things that made you glad.



Old Irish Blessing
May God bless those who love us.
And for those who don't love us, may God turn their hearts.
And for those whose hearts cannot be turned,
May God turn their ankles
So that we may know them by their limping.


They arrived by automobile from a location unknown. The group entered a pub and had a drink. The town was small, surely the hotel was not far from their present location. John, not wanting to interrupt the wonderful time his companions were having by taking an offered lift,decided to leave the company of his friends and walk back to his hotel.

Upon exiting the pub John looked around. He realized he was not exactly sure where he was or in what direction the hotel might be. He stood perplexed for a moment. A man strolled up to him and asked if he could be of assistance. "Yes,I would like directions to reach the hotel where I am staying."replied John. The man quickly replied "Which way are you heading then?" John is stunned into silence and unable to speak. His thoughts were, well, if I knew which way to head I would not be in need of directions. Being a man who could think quickly, and considering the possibility that this gentleman may be mentally impaired or inebriated, he decided the best way to rid himself of this helpful individual is just to say right or left or perhaps north or south and seek instruction elsewhere. John replied "Right." The man proceeded to give him exact directions to where he needed to go. John headed off for the hotel and discovered the directions were dead on. The Irish are a strange lot he thought. I wonder what he would have said if I had told him left? The next day John picked up a map and realized he could have gone left or right to reach his hotel. One route may have been a tad more circuitous but he could arrive at his destination either way. The man would have given precise directions if he had decided to go left instead of right.

My Dad told me that story when he returned from his trip to Dingle. This was one of his many wonderful experiences when he was across the pond visiting Ireland.


You can reach your destination from many different directions. When I have time I prefer the scenic route.



May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven a half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.



1 Comments:

Blogger Karen said...

This was wonderful, thank you for telling me about it. I hadn't heard the complete blessing at the end, only the first part. Beautiful photos and memories.

May 16, 2006 1:40 AM  

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