Hello on Monday Morning

Dear Friends,



“To travel hopefully is better than to arrive!” This quote from Robert Louis Stevenson is exactly how I feel today.



We had our farewell covered dish party last evening at the home of the Kelly’s on Peck’s Road. The Kelly’s opened their doors to over twenty of us.

The selection of food was wonderful. There were crock pots galore of epicurean delights. Even though the Curley’s cook meals in a crock pot several times per week, our dish was not prepared in one. What also was amazing was that there were no duplicates of food, and no one told our hosts what they were bringing. If you missed the party, you missed a great time. As I often say, there was much food, fun, and merriment.

The party for the Curley’s ended around 10 PM. I wanted to party longer, but I knew that the Linda wasn’t feeling that great.

All of us want to thank the Kelly’s for hosting a great party!



Some of the partygoers at the Kelly’s missed the Irish American Club Function on Saturday night. They assumed that I would bring some of my Irish Soda Bread. Not! I was tempted to go home and get a loaf, but I decided that we should have another party, at the Curley’s, so that they can get a taste of the Curley Lad’s soda bread.



When we have these gatherings, it seems as though one party leads to another.



When we went on a tour of the original Guinness brewery in Dublin several years ago, the tour guide claimed that the yeast used in the very first batch of Guinness produced hundreds of years ago is still the same one used in making the current barrels and bottle of Guinness. I compare it to when a person gets involved in an ancestral researching. Our ancestors created generation after generation, and the yeast has been doing the same thing for Guinness beer over these many years. Like I said, one party fosters another one.



One set of the partygoers at last night’s party were the ones who marched in the Albany, New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday afternoon. They told me some great stories of the fun and merriment which they had before, during, and after the parade, but I would get myself in trouble if I tell the stories in this e-mail. Well, maybe I could tell just one story. A bunch of people from the Pittsfield area were trying to get into AOH (Ancient Order of Hibernians) hall in Albany. They were confronted by some one at the door who asked them why they weren’t wearing any articles of clothing which were green in color. The male told the doorman that he was wearing green underwear. The female said that she wasn’t wearing any underwear at all. The door attendant said “Come right in!”



On Sunday, Linda and I just relaxed until the farewell party. Our Irish guests did go off to the Beacon Cinema to see a movie in 3 D. They watched “Alice in Wonderland.” They also wove in a little recreation shopping too. They definitely will be checking two bags when they head back to Ireland today.



Pat Gormalley and Ann Murphy will not be driving Mary Kelly and Carmel Murphy back to the airport. Pat had a commitment. Ann Murphy had a 93 year old relative pass away over the weekend. I volunteered, but remembered I have a UNICO membership meeting which I can’t miss. Rosanne Frieri, the veteran’s agent in Pittsfield, stepped forward, and said that she could drive them to Boston. The plan as of last night was to let our guests sleep as long as they want to this morning, and let them tell Rosanne when they want to depart from Pittsfield. They have an 8 PM fight.

Since the Outlets in Lee are right next to the Massachusetts Turnpike, I could visualize a little detour before they head east to Boston.



Social Calendar – Linda has no social engagements, but I will help her with a little housing cleaning today since she is hosting her Tuesday Mah Jongg Session.

I have that 6 PM UNICO dinner meeting at the Italian American Club. A few members will be cooking the meal. Veal Parmesan will be the main meal along with pasta and a salad. When I talked to the general in the kitchen a few days ago, he said that he was thinking of doing stuffed shells instead of the usual past dish. Whatever the final decision turns out to be, we are in for a great meal! No, the public can’t be invited!



Well, this is my final report as clerk of the Pittsfield Irish Sister City Committee with respect to our visitors from Ballina, Ireland.

Mary Kelly said that she was thinking of returning to Pittsfield in September. I believe the visit will not be related to Sister City stuff. Pittsfield is Mary’s second home!



The Pittsfield Irish Sister City Committee would like to thank everyone who participated in some or all the events. Our guests will be returning to Ireland happy, but tired which is always the situation.



Have a great week at work or play.

Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad