Last week I had a joke grenade dud. It was not from lack of trying but rather my recipient's lack of focus. And believe me, I'll admit when one of my "pearls" is well, a grain of sand instead.
I forget her name .. something ending in "etti" or "icci" etc... but I made the joke we Italians enjoy making (some, I should say) and I said "that's a great Irish name!". Of course I knew it was not Irish... I knew it was Italian, but she replied to me, deadpan.. "it's not Irish, it's Italian". Fehgehdaboudit!
It seemed moot to me at that juncture to even try to salvage the joke, but I was fraught that a fellow Pisano, didn't get it. Now, my mom always said that in our family village in Genoa, Italy some of our distant cousins had red hair, freckles and green eyes. There was talk of Irish blood and possibly bloodlines back to the Vikings! Though no one can really prove it. My mom herself had auburn hair ('til it greyed), green eyes and freckles! Hmmm.. curious!
I do have a fondness for Irish music come to think.. jigs, reels and airs. If only I could make a celtic fiddle sing! If that's your cuppa, let me introduce you to Maeve Donnelly. Chris took me to see her at the Freight and Salvage on Valentine's Day. Fantastic! It was heady! Maeve really worked over those strings like well .. you know that scene in Waking Ned Devine where the whole village is at the pub, millions of pounds as good as theirs and the band is playing... fiddler going nuts .. everyone in the pub held captive in silence until during his crescendo he finallly breaks a string..(mark 3:02 - 4:08 -and don't worry the old bitty got what she deserved) ....then an uproarious cheer. Good times. Also.. what a name! Maeve Donnelly.. now that's an Italian name!
When my mom married my dad in her heady quest to "Save the Vowels!" she was rewarded with a truncated last name to which I was ever grateful during those years of No. 2-pencil-bubble-your-name-standardized-tests. 11 letters to 3, pre-tty... pre-tty good! Interestingly enough I have a scads of freckles on my nose and cheeks!
I also consider the two halves of me... good food, I must say - Italian and Chinese. Chris' dad ponders why I do not cook Chinese food to which I always reply... smart Chinese people know it is easier and cheaper to get good takeout! Of course, Chris having that Basque/Mexican/French Canadian lineage.. we've got some pretty good food there.. cheeeeeeese... Mmmmm...
Still it is interesting to think about.... Irish blood could explain alot... I mean, I've never met a potato I didn't like.
Sláinte!!!
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