An American in Ireland
by The YankRSS 
Recent Posts
- Ireland as Britain's wind farm - weighing up the pros and cons of ugly and heavily subsized Irish windfarms
- Justin Bieber's perfectly judged comment on Anne Frank - "Hopefully she would have been a belieber"
- The Irish property tax problem - everyone wants to own some and no one wants to be taxed on it
- American fans right to ignore the World Baseball Classic
- Will Ireland's emigrants catch a break on property tax?
Archives
"Do you have your phone? Do you have your money? Do you have your passport?" My nervous and sad wife peppered our daughter with questions too rapidly to allow an audible response, but our 16-year-old was nodding the whole time. She was ready, but scared too. She had her money in her pockets her passport and boarding pass in one hand and her brand new Nokia phone in the other.
It was 5:45 in the morning and she was heading to Germany for a three week German immersion program, one that will allow her to practice her German as well as getting a taste of Germany and its culture in 2011. My wife and I were both excited for her, but also tense at the prospects of her traveling without us, with people we didn't really know, to stay with a family we had never met.
It was very stressful for both of us as parents and for our daughter.
If you're not in Ireland you may not be aware of the fact that we're having a drought here. If you are in Ireland you are absolutely, 100% certain we are NOT having a drought. Yet, despite what now seems like weeks of daily, heavy rain showers, we have water shortages.
There are times when Irish people use the expression "only in Ireland" when it's definitely not "only in Ireland." News about corruption in politics? "Only in Ireland" you'll generally hear, but that's certainly not true. All democracies experience corruption and Ireland is actually
As I was listening to last night's Met game, as the Mets self-destructed to blow one they should have won, I realized how unwilling I was to blame the main culprit (in my mind) - Francisco "Frankie" Rodriguez (a.k.a K-Rod). Three months ago K-Rod would not have gotten such a pass from me.
At the beginning of the season I didn't want K-Rod {photo} on the team. I was done with him and I wanted the Mets to off-load him at almost any price. In fact, I was done with him last August.
Now that the days of squeezing pennies out of the peasants has passed the descendants of the local landed gentry have to find new ways to pay for the upkeep on their large homes and estates.
Two weeks ago, after taking a big sip from his pint of Guinness President Obama declared that we were "keeping all the best stuff here." It was a point on which everyone apparently agreed.
Imagine how much more interesting Obama's visit would have been if he had done a double-take on being told what his pint cost. I don't know what they charge in Ollie Hayes's pub in Moneygall, but probably around €4 ($5.75) a pint. The last pint I had in Dublin I paid €4.35 ($6.25) for it.
Last week I found myself in a bar on Broadway in the Bronx with a few friends. I ordered three pints and did a quick calculation in my head. I figured the pints would be around $8 each and had $25 in my hand.
