One event I had intended to record was a week long visit to Dublin by my parents. Mr. & Mrs. McD don't often travel that much, primarily due to budgetary reasons, so it was a real treat to have them come across the pond for a visit. Fortunately, with my ridiculous corporate housing, they were able to stay with me. Even more fortunate, I don't mind sleeping on floors that much. I brought a sleeping pad and bag with me, so I camped in the living room while the folks took my room. I figure for the decent up-bringing, straight teeth and college education they provided, the least I could do was offer them a bed.
I worked during the week, so Mom and Pops were left to their own devices during the days. They walked near and far, traipsing around the Liffey, up the Grand Canal, around Grafton Street, touring Kilmainham Gael, the National Gallery, Powers Court, and generally making the most of their time. In the evenings we'd meet up for dinner.
One night we took a trip to Johnny Fox's, "Irelands Highest Pub" to take in the "Hooley Show," which from the name sounds to me like it might involve ping-pong balls and livestock, but in reality was nothing more than a family friendly burlesque with Irish step dancers and a traditional band cracking the odd joke. Some of the jokes that the broken nosed and mustachioed band leader told included but were not limited to:
Q:"What's the difference between an Irish wedding and an Irish wake?"
A: "There's one less drunk at the wake."
"All the 500 thousand men in Ireland who were wiped out by the famine are standing in line at the Pearly Gates, and in an effort to manage the crowd, St. Pete calls out 'Alright, all ye men who were hen pecked in life by wives and the women in your lives, stand over to the left.' At which point, all 500 thousand Irishmen step over the left, except for one: Paddy the Irishman.
'Paddy,' St. Peter calls out, 'Why are you standing over there?' To which Paddy replies 'Me wife told me to.' "
And my Mom's personal favorite:
"Whiskey was my mother's favorite drink....it killed my father."
The band was good and amusing, and the food solid as well. We had muscles, salmon, steak, ate soda bread and drank Guinness. After the band performed, the dancers came on stage - one of whom looked a bit like Lurch from the Adam's Family, but could nonetheless cut quite a rug. The men of the troupe were dressed in black, and the women did about four wardrobe changes in the space of an hour, each outfit a little more tacky, florescent and sequined than the last. But the dancers certainly earned their money, and by the end of the show had worked themselves into a real lather, clacking their heels like machine guns, all the while maintaining a straight-armed paralysis in their upper bodies. Good times.
And my Mom's personal favorite:
"Whiskey was my mother's favorite drink....it killed my father."
The band was good and amusing, and the food solid as well. We had muscles, salmon, steak, ate soda bread and drank Guinness. After the band performed, the dancers came on stage - one of whom looked a bit like Lurch from the Adam's Family, but could nonetheless cut quite a rug. The men of the troupe were dressed in black, and the women did about four wardrobe changes in the space of an hour, each outfit a little more tacky, florescent and sequined than the last. But the dancers certainly earned their money, and by the end of the show had worked themselves into a real lather, clacking their heels like machine guns, all the while maintaining a straight-armed paralysis in their upper bodies. Good times.
More to follow soon...honest.
