To my family on St. Patrick’s Day - Slainte mhor agus a h-uile beannachd duibh. This is Gaelic for “Good health and every good blessing to you!” To my friends who are Irish in spirit, Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Enjoy the wearin’ o’ the green.
I watch certain movies on particular holidays. Each movie seems to embody the spirit of that holiday in some way. It could be the sound track, or a turn of a phrase said just so by a character. Or it could be the way it makes me remember how I felt as a kid celebrating the day.
Christmas has by far, the most movies associated with it. Every year I have to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. Vince Guaraldi’s soundtrack (along with Nat King Cole singing O Holy Night) just says “Christmas” to me. I also enjoy How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I love it when Boris Karloff says at the end, “And he. He himself, the Grinch carved the roast beast.” It sums up how the Grinch grew a heart and realized what Christmas was all about. Then there is everyone’s favorite, A Christmas Story. Remember what Christmas felt like as a kid? Who can’t relate to Ralphie’s twitching anticipation of a coveted gift? My favorite line from that movie is NOT what you would expect. It’s where narrator Jean Shepherd is describing Ralphie’s arch nemesis and bully Scut Farkis “He had yellow eyes. So help me, yellow eyes!” I don’t know why, but it cracks me up every time.
On Easter I watch The Ten Commandments. (My favorite book of the Bible is Exodus. I could teach it six months of Sundays and not get tired of it). DeMille’s movie was way ahead of its time. Even today, though I’ve grown accustomed to technological wonder before my eyes, the special effects from 1956 still impress me. And let’s face it, Yule Brenner was the best. My favorite line of his is “So shall it be written. So shall it be done.”
Today as I celebrate my Celtic heritage (and with special remembrance of my dad) I recall my favorite Irish movie The Quiet Man with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. This classic is about American boxer Sean Thornton (played by Wayne) who accidentally kills a man in the ring. In his shame he flees America to his childhood home of Ireland to start a new life. There he meets and falls in love with Mary Kate Danaher, played by Maureen O’Hara. My favorite character is Michaeleen Oge Flynn, the local matchmaker and book-maker. He helps Sean Thornton woo and eventually win Mary Kate. The setting is pre-World War II Ireland and the local customs haven’t changed much with time. So for their first date, Michaeleen puts Sean and Mary Kate on opposite sides of his horse-drawn carriage and takes them for a ride. My favorite line from the movies is when Michaeleen turns around and says “No patty fingers if you please.” We actually quote this to our sons when they talk about their girlfriends.
Enjoy your day today. Have some corned beef. And if you can, rent The Quiet Man. It’s rather long, but it will leave you with a smile and just maybe a bit of a brogue.
