I'll Throw It Out Myself

When Brendan was about seven he liked playing with those little hot wheel cars, however, he was not good about putting them away. I usually walked around the house barefoot and believe me it's not a pleasant experience to step on one of those cars. One day after stepping on several of them I picked them up and told Brendan if I ever stepped on one of them again I was throwing it away. That kept them away from my feet for about an hour.  Later while cooking dinner I see Christopher whispering something to Brendan. Then Brendan picks something up off the floor and goes goes over to the trash can. I asked him 'what are you doing?' He shows me a little car and reminds me I said if I found any on the floor I would throw it out. I proceeded to walk over to him took the car out of his hand and as I thrust the car into the trash I said "then at least give me the damn satisfaction of throwing it out myself."

911 Traces Call

Brendan was about 4 years old. We were in the tv room watching cartoons. Christopher was at school. Brendan was usually good at getting into things so he wasn't left alone much without Christopher or myself close by.

After a while Brendan fell asleep. I took advantage of this nap time to get some dishes washed and maybe some other house chores done.

Not too long after starting the dishes the phone rang. It was the Fire Department responding to a call they received from this number. I told him I was the only adult in the house. They advised me the calls to 911 were traced and they were positive the call came from my number. I again assured them it was only my 4 year old son and I and my son fell asleep not to long ago. After convincing them that nothing was wrong at the residence they said thank you and we hung up.

Before going back to the dishes I decided to peak in on Brendan. Sure enough there he was wide awake sitting on the floor in the corner with the telephone on his lap. How he didn't pick it up while the Fire Department was on the line I'll never know. In a way I wish he had rather than them think I was lying. I immediately removed the phone from the tv room.

A few days later I got a call from a close friend who was like a grandmother to the boys. She informed me she received three phone calls. She said the caller didn't say anything but stayed on the line a while. She could tell it was a small child. When she received the third call she said "Brendan is that you?" and he quickly hung up. After laughing for a bit I told her since she found out it was him he called the Fire Department. That was the last time, that I know of, that Brendan made any phone calls

St Patrick's Day Dinner

When we were in CA we stayed in a trailer park for a while. The people we met were very friendly it seemed like a big family. I wanted to do something special for my friends and with St Patrick's Day being my favorite holiday I decided to cook the American Irish favorite Corned Beef and Colcannon. Of course I included a green vegetable and Pistachio Cake for dessert.

With limited space I cooked the corned beef in a roaster outside on a picnic table. People all day were complimenting the aroma. Of course having the trailer all decorated in green and traditional Irish music blasting from speakers had nothing to do with it.

Well, dinner was a smash. We even fed a few that had stopped by while we were eating. People for days were talking about my Irish dinner. If they were there they were talking about the food and if they weren't they talked about how fun it looked. That's when I decided to do it again next year. There were people that were invited and people that asked to come. All were welcome. The only requirement was they had to wear green.

I would have three St Patrick's Day dinners before we left CA for AR. The last year cooking 50-60 pounds of corned beef, 10 Pistachio Cakes, and who knows how many pounds of potatoes. Felt like I was mashing potatoes all day lol. People were talking about my dinners for years. I even had one friend ask if there was any chance I would come back to have another St Patrick's Day dinner. I loved doing my St Patrick's Day dinner but unfortunately not enough to travel back to CA.

Slainte! (Cheers in Irish)

Grandpa's Magical Trip To Ireland

I never told anyone, but I had the most incredible experience happen to me on my trip to Ireland. It was the last day of an eleven day tour. The tour bus was almost empty because the previous ten days were filled with long hours of walking and climbing castle stairs. Most of the group opted to spend the day in the hotel and enjoy the beautiful scenery on one of Killarney's many lakes.

The few of us who took the last trip were given the option of visiting Muckross House, a fabulously furnished mansion donated by a wealthy American to the Irish people, or explore from the ground up, a lovely waterfall that cascaded through a heavily wooded mountain. I was the only one who chose the waterfall. (I see enough houses when I'm working)

There is something about the power of the falling waters and the peaceful sensation one experiences while watching that has always fascinated me. What I didn't know was for every fifty feet of the waterfall one ascended at least five hundred feet of heavily wooded mountain trails had to be climbed. Doggedly I struggled, if for no other reason, I felt charged because the trees deprived me of a clear view of the falls. When I finally reached the top it was still impossible to get a good view due to the narrowness of the river and the thick stand of trees growing right up to the bank.

At least I was on level ground. I decided to struggle a little further and hope that the view might improve. I came upon a partial clearing where the river widened for a short distance and the waters swirled as if in a basin, gaining momentum to the narrow river as it sped to the top of the falls. Close by there was a shade tree. Since my legs were constantly reminding me they were more conditioned to the easy lifestyle of Southern California then mountain climbing I decided to take their advice and sat down at the foot of the shade tree and enjoy the beautiful setting.

I have no idea when I fell asleep, but I was awakened by the high pitched sounds of what I believed to be children playing. When I looked on the other side of the tree I was amazed to see three "Little People", not children mind you, but fully formed humans that stood no more than two feet tall. Unlike the cartoon like leprechauns we see on St. Patrick's Day, they were handsome enough to be characterized as fairies. They were, however, dressed in completely green, loose fitting clothes. They were talking excitedly in a strange tongue making it difficult to tell if they were arguing or singing.

Just then, one of them spied me and shouted an alarm. In their haste they bumped into one another. Instinctively I threw myself into their direction. I was able to grab one by the leg as the others fled. I clutched the squirming creature firmly. My first thought was the legend of the pot of gold. My communication skills were really put to the test, but ultimately I was convinced that these Little People never had any gold, because there was no currency in their culture.

I was about to take the creature with me, when through his shrieks and pleading I came to understand he was offering me something more precious than gold in return for his release. Pointing the way through the woods, he led me to an area not far away with a small pond. Hidden among the surrounding ferns was a chest filled with small round crystal like balls.

The creatures explained that when his people put one of the crystals in the pond, and immersed themselves in it, any illness or pain vanished and the user remained happy for long periods of time. By way of proof the creature suggested I place a crystal in the pond, remove my shoes and socks, roll up my trousers, and see what effect the experience will have on my aching legs and feet. I still don't know how he knew that!

I agreed, if for no other reason, I welcomed the opportunity to soak my feet. In a short while the midday air was filled with the fragrance of spring flowers even though it was it was late in the fall and there wasn't so much as a blossom in sight. Little by little my legs and feet were completely rejuvenated, and I was suddenly filled with an elation that prompted me to spring into the air with my legs and arms extended.

With that, the little creature squirmed from my grasp and disappeared into the woods. Instead of a sense of loss, I laughed out loud and kept laughing for some time. Finally I packed up the chest of crystals and made the long journey back singing fragments of every Irish song I ever knew along the way.

As I sat at the pick up point waiting for the bus, I was bursting to tell everyone of my experience. As I waited, I couldn't help but consider what would happen to the beautiful Little People if I told the world about them. Undoubtedly the mountains would be filled with tens of thousands of curiosity seekers. If I told about the magic crystals, surely every pharmaceutical company in the world would hunt them down and destroy them.

I vowed then and there that I would never betray the Little People.

My Baby Gets A License

As with every teenager Brendan had been bugging me to get his drivers license. I was able to put it off for a while because someone had hit my car and broke the mirror. Brendan had put some fishing line on it until I could get it fixed. I also wanted to clean the inside of the car before bringing it to the repair shop.

Brendan asked if he went to the driver ed place and they said the mirror would be okay could he try? Well we did and the officer said it was ok as long as it was usable. Now, after me asking for weeks, he wants to go home and clean the car. That's twenty miles round trip. ~ but we did it.

Now we go to the DMV to renew my tags as they are due this month. We get to the driver ed place and Brendan doesn't have his permit on him. So home we go and get it. I asked "Are you sure you have everything" He replied "Yes Mom"

Now he passes his test and we come back at 1:00 for his driving test. The officer takes three others out before coming to Brendan. "Are you ready?" "Yes Mam" Brendan says proudly. She asks for his permit and insurance card for the car. I go to the papers from the DMV and it's not there!! Of course I pulled out everything from the glove box telling her I just had it when I renewed my tags. As I kept looking she asks Brendan "Are you a good driver?" "Do you obey the laws of the road ?" Of course he answers yes. Now she asks me "Mom is he a good driver" I told her I felt he has more to learn but I feel safe in the car with him.

She looks at Brendan and says this is you're lucky day and writes passed on his permit. That's right ~ no driving test! She tells him congratulations and to take his permit and birth certificate to the DMV and get his license. Guess what? While in the car Brendan tells me he doesn't have his birth certificate. So back home we go.

Here's the fun part. As we're walking into the DMV Brendan turns around. He left his permit and birth certificate in the car. I continue in and the lady asks if he passed. I told her yes but said I wish there was a way to delay his license telling her the events of the day. She said "We could do that". Brendan takes care of all the paper work and now it's time for the eye test. She looks at me and winks. She turned the machine off three times. (This is a small town the DMV if often empty, maybe one or two people). Well we couldn't hold it any longer. We both start laughing.

Brendan didn't think it was very funny but to me ~ it was well worth the trips back and forth.

Worms On My Ears

One morning I woke the boys up and was making breakfast when I heard Christopher yell from the bathroom "Mommy I have worms on my ears!!"

Of course I ran to him and looked. No they were not worms but he did indeed have a long blister on the top of each ear. How did this happen?

It all started with a week long trip to the Cub Scout Jamboree. I thought I had everything ... snacks, extra drinks, cards, sunscreen, and first aid kit among other things.

Being sensitive to the sun I made sure Christopher and I always had our sunscreen on during the heat of the days. However, I had his hair cut before the trip and never thought of putting sunscreen on his ears.

The top of Christopher's ears were sunburned to the point where they blistered. At the time it was not very funny because he was so uncomfortable but it does bring some laughs today looking back at it.
Believe me ~ that never happened again.

Beleek Irish Porcelain

When my parents got back from Ireland in '86 my dad was going through things he got for some friends. He told me of a lady that wanted three items. She said if she had any leftover money just buy her something nice. He bought her a Beleek Irish Porcelain vase and asked me what I thought. Of course it was beautiful. That's all I heard.

Shortly after losing my dad in '93 I took the boys to the mall for pizza. We walked around the mall and I noticed a little nic nac shop. I went in to look. (Yes, my boys were good enough to take to a shop like that lol)

After walking around for a bit I noticed a locked lighted curio cabinet in a corner. As I was looking the owner came to me and asked if I was interested in anything. I told her my mom had three Beleek vases that were destroyed during the earthquake and would love to buy her another one. I couldn't believe it was Beleek.

She told me of a friend that went to Ireland ... yep you know the story. My eyes started tearing as she repeated the story to me. She pointed to the vase in the middle cabinet on a stand with a sign that said 'not for sale' and before she could finish I said 'that's the vase my dad brought back to you from Ireland'

She gave me a hug and said she loved it so much she contacted Beleek in Ireland and arranged to be a distributor here in the states. After my dad died she brought the vase to display in the store to share the story of how she started selling Beleek.