Saturday, March 31, 2007

Ireland







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.
My dad, 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 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.

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10 Comments:

Blogger Stine said...

Ireland is one of the countries I'd really like to visit some day! Great pics, great story...

March 31, 2007 3:53 AM  
Blogger Jeanette said...

Dear Raggedy
Love your Irish blessings and lovely story and Pics. Have a great weekend

March 31, 2007 7:39 AM  
Blogger Jude said...

Beautiful pictures and I love the Irish blessings!

March 31, 2007 9:33 AM  
Blogger Tammy said...

On the first bit...may he at least cut the power to their computers so they can ever leave us alone!

March 31, 2007 1:02 PM  
Blogger Leann said...

awesome post as always.cool one.the Irish are so cool.I think I have alittle Irish in me some place every time I hear a bagpipe or Irish music I want to put I high socks and a kilt and rush off into a Irish jeg!!!!
I look for shamrocks and when I see a rainbow think of Iron pots filled with gold or cooking.
I have the desire to kiss the blarny stone,but I have the gift of gab already so desided not to.

Dad my use to say my mouth ran like a whiperwills butt in a wind storm when I was a kid.

LOVE YOUR POSTS!!!they are so cool.God bless you cool one,take care (((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))

have a great weekend.
Ill be a goen now.have yer shelf a
bit of a fine day.and dont let the little people steal your gold.they can be a nasty lot if yee tick them off.I tip me hat to you my dear fine girl.

March 31, 2007 1:19 PM  
Blogger Skunkfeathers said...

Not sure if the devil tied a can to my toe or not; but come the time, we'll have a wee tug of war ;)

March 31, 2007 3:30 PM  
Blogger Marie said...

wow!!! very interesting post!!! the irish blessings are really great and amazing. thanks for this nice thought. i had fun reading!!

March 31, 2007 8:05 PM  
Blogger Jamie Dawn said...

No limping here!! I swear to you! I don't have a limp. :)

I like that left or right story. I too would prefer the scenic route. I would also like to take the route that passes by a bakery or candy shop. :)

Bless you, daughter of Ireland.

March 31, 2007 9:54 PM  
Blogger Gattina said...

That's right you can arrive at your destination using several ways. That's especially the case with me. I have no sense of orientation at all (!!) and when somebody explains a way to me, I just would take the opposite, without even noticing it. That had caused me some troubles sometimes but I always arrived at my destination ! Even if I went over the Northpole to go to Paris !

April 01, 2007 1:27 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

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November 09, 2010 3:37 AM  

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