Joseph M

After years of hard work and persistence by successive Town Councillors and Nenagh Tourism Committee, it now appears that their diligence and commitment have paid off with work well under way on the restoration of the 13th Century Nenagh Castle and visitors centre.

I understand that the work which is being carried out by The Office of Public Works (OPW) has made considerable progress. Wooden oak beams which will support the four floors have been installed and the castle now has a roof for the first time in centuries.

Nenagh Castle is recognised as the finest cylindrical keep in Ireland was built in 1200 Theobald Walter, the founder of the great Butler dynasty of Ormond. It formed the north corner of a pentagonal court with a towered gatehouse on the southern side and strong towers on the north-west and south-east angles. This has now vanished, except for fragments of the gatehouse and east tower, but the keep still stands proud to a height of 100 feet. Its topmost quarter was added about 1860 by the Bishop of Killaloe in emulation of Windsor Castle.

Work on the restoration was recently delayed due to an archaeological find claimed to be of "huge historical significance". The find is believed to include a curtain wall of the 13th century castle and the ruins of a medieval manor house.

The peace and tranquillity of our neighbourhood was shattered in the early hours of this morning when a huge fire gutted an unoccupied house almost directly across the road from where I live. I was awakened around 6.30am by loud banging noises coming from the area close by my house and, eventually, having gone to investigate, I saw the house, which was currently under repair, consumed by flames. By this time other neighbours were on the scene and I was told the fire brigade was on its way. Three units were soon on the scene and they quickly brought the fire under control. The house, which was completely gutted by the flames, is joined on one side by a pub and restaurant and on the other side by a private house. Luckily, neither of those showed any outward damage but I’m sure they will have to be inspected at a later stage to see if the heat from such an inferno affected them in any way. Luckier still, there was no loss of life and that is the principal thing.

The people of Co. Offaly will have reason to keep a close eye on next year's US elections after it was confirmed yesterday that one of the leading candidates for the presidency has roots in the Faithful County. Research has revealed that Barack Obama, an Illinois senator and Democrat hopeful for the 2008 presidential elections, is descended from a shoemaker in Moneygall, Co Offaly.

Moneygall is a small village just a few miles from Nenagh and excitement there is now running high with this latest discovery. Up until now, Hillary Clinton would have been favourite to become the next US President with most local people, but I'm afraid with this recent discovery, poor Hillary is now demoted and Obama (or O'Bama as the locals have renamed him) is the preferred favourite around these parts. One local man says that family records indicate he is distantly related to Obama.

Click here to read more.

Those last few weeks since arriving home from America, and in between the more important work of getting some posts done, I have been carrying out modifications and, what I hope are improvements to the house. Where will it end? I don’t know. Hopefully, this present spate of work will be the end, but then I have been known to make that observation before.

I have carried out a lot of work (too numerous and boring to mention) to the house since I bought it a year ago last July. I don’t know why I’m doing this – the house was in perfect condition when I bought it - apart from a few small jobs that really needed attention.

To date, I have put down new floor covering in the kitchen. It’s a pretty large kitchen and I have carpeted half of it to turn it into a nice dining area. The cooking area, I have re floored with wood-effect vinyl.

I am now on my third suite of sitting room furniture. There was a nice suite in the house when I arrived here and as a consequence of my brilliant bargaining skills, I got the vendor to include it in the price of the house. Lucky me!! Lucky him!! I soon discovered that all I had done was saved him the cost of moving it to the rubbish tip. Yes, it looked nice ok but I soon discovered that appearances can be deceiving. While it certainly looked nice and indeed, the armchairs were quite comfortable, I soon noticed that the settee was anything but. I acquired this piece of knowledge by noticing that anyone who sat on it seemed, after a short space of time, to have difficulty disguising their discomfort. I think of Judy, especially, who used to sit on it with her computer when she and Tom were here last year. I’m sorry Judy for your discomfort and, I know, I should have adhered to what you always say- “sit on it first before you buy it”. Really good advice, but then I’m sure you have heard the saying “never look a gift horse in the mouth”.

Anyway, I’m not going to go through the processes that have brought me to acquire the suite I have now. It’s beautiful brown leather and fits the room perfectly. It’s expensive but it hasn’t cost me any more than if I bought it the first day because I have acquired it by a method of “trading up” with the same furniture supplier that I have known for some time. In fact, when I did the math before I bought it, I discovered that after all the trading I am well ahead. And I sat on all the chairs too to ensure their comfort before I had it installed. Thank you Judy for that sound bit of advice (she made me write that).

So, now the furniture is installed and all seems well. One problem!! Now the carpet doesn’t look right, nor do the window curtains. I never particularly liked either of those but I had decided I could live with them but, the installation of the furniture has changed all that. There is only one thing for it now. A complete re design is the order of the day. This is where I recruit some help and who better than my good friend Judy. So with the aid of modern technology, to communicate between Minnesota and Nenagh, we embarked on the plan to give my room a complete makeover.

Out goes the carpet and curtains. My own carefully thought-out ideas for the refurbishment of the room are dismissed politely but firmly. I am now in the hands of a power greater than myself. Pictures of different carpet colours and textures are transmitted across the lines and eventually we choose a nice beige carpet with brown interwoven flecks. This I was reliably told would pick up the colour of the seats. Who am I to argue?

Another family friend, who is of a similar mindset to Judy when it comes to decorating, helped me choose and hang the curtains. They look great!!

Well, the job is now finished and I’m quite pleased with the result. My sincere thanks to Judy and Monica for all your help and expertise.

Oh, I nearly forgot. My Christmas decorations!! Yes, in the midst of all the decorating, I managed to get my Christmas decorating done. My “giant” Christmas tree is now shining brightly in the window and is a beacon to all who pass the way.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I arrived home at 8.30am on Thursday 1 November from another great trip to Minneapolis.  I was met, as usual, at Dublin Airport by my loyal friend Pat Whelan.

Before I go further with this post, I think it is fitting to pay tribute to the staff and flight crew of Delta Airlines, from the young lady in her pyjamas at check in at Minneapolis to the final good bye as we deplaned at Dublin.The young lady in her pyjamas at Minneapolis check in was amazing.  After she helped us transfer some items of clothing from one case to another to avoid an overcharge of $50, she gave Judy a pass to accompany me to the departure gate.  Security, of course, doesn’t always allow this but when they do, it is always so nice and makes the saying good byes so much easier.

Well now, I’m home now and settling in after the trip – not an easy adjustment to make.  I haven’t invented a word yet to describe the transition.  It’s always nice to return to your family, but what about the family you are leaving behind?   I can think of no other word to describe Tom and Judy and their marvellous family.  I find it hard to take in the fact that people I didn’t even know a couple of years ago have now taken me into their hearts and homes and made me part of their family.Time went so fast. 

You might say six weeks is a long time for a holiday, but I can tell it was quite a scramble to achieve in the last few days all the things that still remained to be done.  It was unthinkable that I could come home without seeing Judy’s dad and sharing his favourite meal of pancakes with him at his favourite restaurant, and mine, Perkins.  Also, I so much wanted to see Kara and if possible Sam and the rest of her family.  In the event, I was delighted to see Kara twice – once for lunch at Abblebys restaurant at Ridgedale Mall, and, on the last Sunday of my visit, attending Church with her and two of her children, Christopher and Amelia.

I love to meet Judy’s dad, Al. He is such an inspiration for all of us.  This time, Judy and I had breakfast with him at his favourite restaurant, Perkins in Chaska.  Pancakes, of course were on the menu.

For those of you that don’t know.  Judy’s dad is a sprightly 95 year-old- going on 50.  He told me he had to forego a trip to Colorado a few weeks before because his younger brother, Ernie, who is 90, was unable to make the trip.  Apparently the young guy wasn’t up to it.  I’m glad to say Ernie is now recovered and should be well able for the next trip.  He also told me how he acquired a taste for pancakes.  When he was a young boy, growing up in Nebraska and Colorado, after the morning chores as he came towards the house he would know, from the cooking smells wafting across the yard, if his mom was cooking pancakes for breakfast.  He loved those mornings when pancakes were on the menu and ever since pancakes has always been a special treat for him whenever he goes for a meal.

I love to spend time with Judy’s dad and listen to him tell stories from his past but on this occasion time was the enemy as Judy had to get back to work.  Still it was nice to see him even for a brief period and I’m certainly looking forward to spending more time with him on my next visit.

The previous week, Judy also took me to see the Pompeii exhibition which is currently on display at the Science Museum of Minnesota.  Minneapolis is one of four American cities where the exhibition is visiting during its tour of America.  Everyone knows, of course, the history of Pompeii and how it and its sister city Herculaneum were discovered in 1748 after being buried for centuries under mountains of ash from the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius which destroyed the two cities in 79AD.  It was awe inspiring though to visit the exhibition and actually see statues and artefacts along with household utensils and other tools and equipment which shaped the lives of the people of the period.

Seeing the exhibits must have been especially poignant for Judy who had actually visited Pompeii a short period before during her trip to Italy and Greece.  If you visit her travel blog you can read much more about Pompeii and how it looks at the present day.

Now my trip was coming to a close, but how could I even envisage returning home without spending one last day with my all-time favourite person, Sarah, and her two boys, Davey and Derek.   Judy and I, or GrammaJoe as we are affectionately known by the boys, arrived at Sarah’s a little later than she had hoped but still we managed to get in  a beautiful day playing with the boys and watching some of their favourite  DVD’s with them.  We also got a chance to accompany Davey to pre school and collect him later in the evening and meet all his school pals and teachers.  It is always so nice to spend time at Sarah’s and this time was no exception. 

We were also lucky to meet Sarah's husband, Dave, before it was time for us to return home.

Finally, thank you Tom and Judy and all your family for such a marvellous time.

If you would like to see some pictures from my visit to America, please click here

Typoglycemia: Don't delete this because it looks weird. Believe it or not you can read it

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch taem at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Such a cdonition is arppoiately cllaed Typoglycemia -Amzanig Jduy huh? Yaeh and yuo awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt........lol...ya.

Hvae yuo got a wniny the pooh lihgt Joe?...Hvae yuo got a pgielt lihgt Joe?

"Good luck, Mr. Gorsky" is a good story but, in the interests of being true to my readers, I have to state that my research into it indicates that it’s completely false.
There are many variations to the story. Sometimes the story is told with Armstrong uttering, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for Manny Klein," with the unfortunate Mr. Klein having received the same response from his wife as Mr. Gorsky had from his.

This legend, seemingly an obvious joke, began circulating on the Internet in mid-1995 and was picked up by the media a few months later. The inclusion of specific details (e.g., the name of Armstrong's neighbour, the date of the press conference on which he revealed the meaning of his remark) apparently led some to believe the farcical story might have some truth to it.
At its most basic level, this tale is a humorous anecdote that plays on the stereotypical portrayal of Jewish wives as reluctant to engage in recreational sex (and especially oral sex). In variant forms of this legend the last name of Neil Armstrong's neighbour is different, but the name used is always a "Jewish-sounding" one, such as Gorsky, Seligman, Schultz, or Klein; the unusual word order employed by the wife in her refusal ("Oral sex you want?") is also a stereotypical speech pattern attributed to Jews. On another level, this legend can be seen as an attempt to humanize a cultural hero by associating him with a story that is both humorous and racy: Neil Armstrong, the world-famous astronaut, is made to seem like a "regular" guy.
Any doubts about the veracity of this legend are laid to rest by the NASA transcripts of the Apollo 11 mission, which record no such statement having been made by Armstrong. Armstrong himself said in late 1995 that he first heard the anecdote delivered as a joke by comedian Buddy Hackett in California.
When the space shuttle Columbia crew completed a repair mission on the Hubble Space Telescope in March 2002, chief repairman John Grunsfeld called out (in homage to this legend) "Good luck, Mr. Hubble" as the telescope drifted off.

Sorry to spoil a good story but I hope you enjoyed it anyway!!
And Yes, I know the picture is Buzz Aldrin.
jw.

Good Luck Mr. Gorsky

On July 20, 1969, as commander of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. His first words after stepping on the moon, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," were televised to Earth and heard by millions. But just before he re-entered the lander, he made the enigmatic remark: "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky." Many people at NASA thought it was a casual remark concerning some rival Soviet Cosmonaut. However, upon checking, there was no Gorsky in either the Russian or American space programs. Over the years many people questioned Armstrong as to what the "Good luck, Mr.Gorsky" statement meant, but Armstrong always just smiled.
On July 5, 1995, in Tampa Bay, Florida, while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26 year old question to Armstrong. This time he finally responded. Mr. Gorsky had died and so Neil Armstrong felt he could answer the question.
In 1938, when he was a kid in a small mid-west town, he was playing baseball with a friend in the backyard. His friend hit a fly ball, which landed in his neighbor's yard by the bedroom windows.
His neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Gorsky. As he leaned down to pick up the ball, young Armstrong heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky. "Sex! You want sex?! You'll get sex when the kid next door walks on the moon!"

A True story.

The Stranger In Town!

A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind,he had a special niche. My parents were complimentary instructors: Mom taught me the word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to her room and read her books (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home...not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.

My Dad was as a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in the home, not even for cooking. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis.

He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... and NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you were to walk into my parent's den today, you would find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?.... We just call him, "TV."

**Note: This should be required reading for every household!

** He has a younger sister now. We call her, "computer

Thank you Alfie

The Cost of Kids These Days

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be "rich." It is just the opposite.

What do your get for your $160,140?

Naming rights --- First, middle, and last!

Glimpses of God everyday.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than your heart can hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up.

You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney Land, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always get treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first date, and first time behind the wheel. You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.

You have all the power to heal a booboo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS!!