Wearing the Green

We had corned beef and cabbage tonight since Bern's group meets tomorrow evening and she likes to have an earlier Thursday dinner. She put kale and two kinds of cabbage in--a great idea. She also made horseradish sauce to stop your breathing--which it is supposed to do!

I'm not as Irish as I pretend to be, but I'm some so I love St. Patrick's day. I also love Celtic music, which much means my Irish DNA, though small, is strong--who, besides a Celt could possibly like that music?

Plus, I'm going to Ireland again next month to help lead a workshop. Eight or so years in a row now. This one has 6 (I think) Israeli rabbinical students enrolled. I have enough time with the Irish accepts--there are lots of them! Good luck to my Jewish brothers....

Also, good luck staying kosher. There is nothing even vaguely kosher about Irish food. They could live on the potatoes, I suppose.

The Irish all think I'm Irish though my DNA is 65 percent Scandinavian. Come to think of it, most of the Irish folks DNA is probably Scandinavian as well! Those pillaging hoards from the north left their mark in may ways on the British Isles.

But, even if you aren't Irish, it's fun to pretend to be for the day. Obama's Irish, so you can be too!

Tomorrow it's ok to hold grudges!

My maternal great-grandfather came from Ireland during some famine or another with his two brothers. They got into such a fight on the ship that when they arrived at Ellis Island they all gave false names so they'd never be able to find each other in this new land.

The family name, according to the lore, was O'Connor. My great-grandfather told them his name was Jones--a Welsh name to add insult to injury.

The Irish are good at many things--'grudges' are one of them....