“Numbers were my specialty, I could count to 23 from the age of 7, but my reading and writing, well, they needed improvement. I enjoyed maths in school a great deal, so I decided that I wanted to work with numbers in some capacity. When leaving school, I noticed an ad in the local newspaper in Longford, advertizing a course to learn bookkeeping. I was so excited, I signed up right away. I was disturbed however, when, on the first day, the teacher lectured us about allergies, and how to treat rashes, stings and so on. I thought it highly unusual. On our second day, he brought some guest speakers in, who discussed honey, its uses, and how to manufacture it. I was a little angry, as what had this got to do with bookkeeping and finances? It was only three weeks later, when me and the other students were fitted for beekeeping uniforms, that I realized my poor spelling had struck again, and it wasn’t a bookkeeping course I’d signed up for. I moved to South Dakota some time later, more out of embarrassment than anything. I’m still interested in numbers, but when I see a jar of honey, a Winnie the Pooh toy or hear a bee, I burst into tears”. – Dorothy (49), formerly Longford, now South Dakota.
Archive for October, 2015
Dorothy’s Story (formerly Longford, now South Dakota).
Friday, October 16th, 2015Caroline’s Story, formerly Roscommon, now Miami.
Thursday, October 15th, 2015
“One time my Da tied a rope around the branches of an oul’ tree behind our house, to make a swing. It was fairly dangerous and kids kept slipping off the rope and crashing through our greenhouse. I think 14 kids ended up in the Emergency Room because of that. So one day, my Da had a great idea, he tied a car tyre to it, so we could sit in it, and swing. That was brilliant, until our neighbor, Timmy Gillespie, noticed one of the tyres from his Toyota Carina was missing, and so was the rope that he had in the trunk of his car. So that was the end of that. Da also robbed Timmy’s ladder and his lawnmower, but they were unconnected to our swing adventures. We emigrated to the States shortly after that, settling in Miami. Now Da just robs beach umbrellas and swimming pool items from the neighbors. Loves robbin’ stuff, so he does”. – Caroline (33), formerly Roscommon, now Miami.
Bernie’s Story – Formerly Sligo, now Arizona.
Wednesday, October 7th, 2015
“It was petty crime that forced me to grow up and emigrate. I remember one time, back in Sligo, I got convicted for stealing the same slab of butter twice in three days from our local shop. I was only caught, because it turned out I was allergic to dairy and they found me in a distressed state, vomiting and crying for mammy, in a ditch by the side of the Galway road. Since I landed in the US I’ve barely been in trouble. Once I got cautioned for throwing underpants onstage at a Tom Jones concert, but I’d forgotten to take them out of the hard plastic wrapping, and it hit poor Tom’s drummer in the eye”. Bernie 51, Arizona, formerly Sligo.