We wish you all a happy Saint Patrick's Day as we are in final prep mode for our departure from Miami. Maybe we could get some help from St. Patty, as he is best known for driving the snakes out of Ireland, perhaps he can help drive the boat out of Miami! Except he's been dead for like 1700 years or so. And he really didn't drive any snakes out of Ireland, because there aren't any there to start with. It seems that Ireland was in a super deep freeze from the last ice-age, and was still really too cold even after it thawed for the slithery bastards. Oh well, I guess it made a good story. As it turns out, St Patrick was actually a Brit, and was the son of a well off family.
One day, a band of Irish houligans nabbed him and brought him to Ireland, where he was put to work in the countryside. He slaved away for six years, and then one night was visited in his sleep by the Lord Almighty. He told St. Patrick to get out of Ireland and head home. So off he went, and got a ride on a Roman ship back to England. He was so moved by the whole experience, that he devoted his life to Catholicism, and studied the faith for 15 years. Then one night, he again was visited by God in his dreams, and was asked to return to Ireland, and spread the faith. He did as asked, and is credited with introducing Christianity to Ireland during his 40 year time there. He died on March 17, 461 A.D., and that is why we celebrate St Patrick's day on that day. Strangely enough, in Ireland, the celebration of St. Patrick's day was a religious holiday, and the bars were, by law, closed on that day. I guess they finally got tired of watching all the parades and festivities in the US and around the world, and finally relented in 1995 and started celebrating with shamrocks and Guiness beer like the rest of us. Nowadays, St Patricks day is a three day long party in Dublin Ireland, with an estimated 500,000 at this years parade. That's better, took you long enough.
To look like you know what you are doing, let's review two common Irish sayings for use on St Patrick's day. The first one is the Slainte, which is pronounced Slon-chuh. This is translated literally as Good Health, and is analagous to our Cheers when toasting a cold one. So lift your glass (go ahead, lift it now) and say Slainte, and clank it on your mate's glass, where they should return the toast, saying Slainte in return!
The other Irish saying that you will probably hear on St Patrick's day, is Erin Go Bragh. This is pronounced Erin-Go-Bra, and it sounds like a line of womens sports clothing to me, but it's not. This means Ireland Forever and seems to be more of a fancy saying, like God save the Queen, or America the Beautiful, than a toast, but you see it around St Patty's day as we celebrate all things Irish, as well as the day a Saint died.
We called it a day early from boat projects and headed back to Flanigans pub. The manager was very nice, and promised me- NO Katy Perry! We had some Guiness and a green beer too. It was very busy, and we had a great time!
Oh, why am I a little off? Well, that is a topic of discussion, for sure. Maybe I hit my head or something years ago, who knows. What I meant was that I finished my temp job here in Miami, and we are free to fly as soon as we wrap up a few last details. So in that way, I am more than just a little off, I am a lot off!
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