Céad Míle Fáilte!

Chapel atop Croagh Patrick

St. Augustine's National School, Murrisk, County Mayo

Today is a special day for me and my family. Although we're not Catholic, our spirits are uplifted at the thought of this special saint's day. Many of you know that the Fabulous Forrest Family took a year-long sabbatical in Ireland. We lived in a magical place in the northwest corner of the Republic, in County Mayo, called Murrisk. The village was little more than a collection of homes strung out along Clew Bay, anchored by a small community center, an abbey and cemetery, and a couple of taverns.

And a school. There were two classrooms - one for pre K-2nd grade, the other for 3rd-6th grades. Our children were instantly welcomed there by the wonderful teachers and students, and Professor X and I made friends with their schoolmates' parents and the teachers.

We lived in a beautiful home at the foot of Croagh Patrick, a high mountain with a tiny chapel atop it. Legend had it that St. Patrick had climbed up, built a church there, and after fasting for 40 days, he threw a silver bell down the side of the mountain, knocking the she-demon Corra from the sky and banishing all the snakes from Ireland.

Our fireplace was often ablaze, filled with the loveliest smelling peat, as a wild wind raged outside. I miss the smells and sights of Ireland as much as the sounds. Such music they have! 'Tis fine, indeed.



Here's a clip of one of my favorite movies, Hear My Song. Here's some fun background information about it. It's got a brilliant soundtrack. Ned Beatty plays real Irish tenor Joseph Locke in a VERY loosely based version of Locke's last concert. Very cute Irish guy Adrian Dunbar plays a concert promoter who persuades Locke to come out of forced retirement (he was wanted by the Brits for tax evasion) and perform at a benefit for a London concert hall. This clip shows Locke (Beatty's voice is dubbed by Vernon Midgely) singing on the way over to England.



Another marvelous film related to Ireland is Waking Ned Devine. Some youtuber combined the last song in the film, a classic tune entitled The Parting Glass, with some photos of Ireland with a special emphasis on County Mayo. It's sung by Shaun Davey.



Oh, geez. I'm starting to get teary-eyed.

If you're wondering about my post title, it's Gaelic for A Hundred Thousand Welcomes. Which is what we received when we went to Eire. I remember so well one of my son's friends opening the door to his home when we came for supper one night. Young Matthew proclaimed to the four of us "Come in! You're very welcome!"

Now I'm REALLY getting all teary. We absolutely must go back and spend more time in that place. A piece of my heart is there.

Bring on the Sexy Stews!

Good evening, dear readers! I have been agonizing all day, trying to find a topic that will justify the massive increase in followership for my blog. Oh, the pressure has been intense! Especially since I am now followed internationally!
Welcome, Barry.

I decided to reveal a big juicy secret about myself, something very few people know. A long time ago, I tried to become an airline pilot! Now, there's little suspense to the ending of this tale since you know that instead, I am a totally famous blog writer. But I'm sure you're intrigued about what happened when I had my momentous interview with a MAJOR airline's personnel office in Chicago. We will refer to this organization as "Airline X" to avoid any legal issues about my revealing the details of this incident.

We must go back in time to the mid-1970's. To put you in the mood, I will remind you of the music of that particular year. "The Way We Were" (how appropriate) was the # 1 Hit, Mac Davis' "One Hell of a Woman" (even more appropriate) was in 10th place, Billy was urged not to be a Hero, and Rikki was exhorted Not to Lose that Number. Okay, enough with getting you mentally prepared for this trip down memory lane. So, it's about 1974, I've been assigned to Explore a Career by Interviewing Someone in the Profession. I loved to travel by airplane and thought it would be very cool to be a stewardess. Alas, I was not shaped like a stewardess. Not remotely.

Bear in mind that stewardesses of that time were touted for their incredible sex appeal.

Kathleen Barry's book, Femininity in Flight: A History of Flight Attendants gives a great accounting of what it was like. Joshua Zeitz reviewed the book for American Heritage:
The same year Braniff, another major carrier, introduced an “air strip,” in which stewardesses shed layers of high-end garments, from hats and scarves down to more basic attire. In 1971 National, not to be outdone, ran a now-famous campaign featuring Cheryl Fioravente, a real-life flight attendant, with the slogan “Hi, I’m Cheryl—Fly Me.” To which Continental responded, “We Really Move Our Tails for You,” prompting National to change its slogan to “We’ll Fly You Like You’ve Never Been Flown Before.” And on and on. (Air France: “Have You Ever Done It the French Way?” Air Jamaica: “We Make You Feel Good All Over.”)

So, I figured I'd just become a pilot instead. Pilots didn't have to be beautiful, right? They just had to fly the plane. No problem. When I sat down with the nice personnel director to learn about what I needed to do to prepare to work for Airline X, I was shocked to learn that there was a physical requirement for pilothood. Height. More than I had or was likely to ever attain even with shoes like these:


(Note how clever these babies were - clear shoes so as to make one appear naturally super tall!)




So my dream was shattered before I ever began. In retrospect, I can only say "thank you very much" to Personnel Director X for not pointing out the obvious and destroying my fragile teen girl self image - that prospects weren't very promising for me on the weight requirements either.

Now, of course, flight attendants are respected as highly trained professionals. Sexual harassment is a thing of the past. (Well, they ARE highly trained professionals, even if they still have to deal with jerks trying to pinch their tuchases.) But there remains an expectation that applicants will have strength, agility and stamina. My friend Rachel, who flies the friendly skies, has all those attributes big time. Plus, she's a total babe. Just ask the guy in Row 9.