Happy St. Patrick's day, Kossacks. Due to the day, I was reminiscing about an elderly Irish couple that I used to live with in Albany, NY. I posted a diary about a particularly memorable evening on October 22, 2008, and I thought it was appropriate to re-post it and share it again. I really love it, and I'll never forget it.
Original diary content below the fold...
October 22, 2008
I recently took a second apartment in Albany, NY as I was working on some local races and needed to, well, be local.
After looking at a couple of places, I found this little basement apartment in a home of this married couple in their 70s, who are from Ireland. D, the husband, is a pretty amazing dude. He LOVES politics and the only thing I think he loves more is soccer. He will sit and chain smoke and watch match after match - I literally can't go up and down the stairs without being handed a bowl of split pea soup, or corned beef and cabbage, or chicken cacciatore, or you name it. Even if I have bags of groceries in my hands, even if I say I am not hungry, it doesn't matter. Bottom line, very loving people, very loving couple. They both refer to me as "son" and "love" and "lad" and it is just a nice environment to be in - especially being in a new town and not really knowing many people. Needless to say, it's a much better environment to be in than in a lonely little apartment.
D loves Barack. He sits and tells me story after story of his own life, and believe me, even though in his older age I have heard a couple of them multiple times, each time is still great. He immigrated to the USA at 17 and always tells me stories of "what the USA was like" - the beacon to the rest of the world. He tells me stories of going back to Ireland and visiting pubs when he was my age (29 on Sunday) and having people ask, "Is it really everything they say it is? Is America really so great?" and he says he always replied, "It's a beautiful utopia - anyone can take any dream and make it happen. It's a land of possibilities."
He always speaks super highly of John Kennedy and how America was viewed in the past and how upset he is at what has happened to our country. He'll go on an on about the surplus Clinton created and how royally Bush screwed things up. He can't believe that people would even consider voting "McBain" as he calls him since he only has two front teeth and I don't think he can actually pronounce "McCain." At first I thought he was senile or something but that was far from the case.
If he isn't watching Everton or Man U or the Irish national team, he ALWAYS has CNN or MSNBC on. He can't stand Palin which of course I get mad amusement from, and he is most definitely not afraid to speak his mind. My own grandparents left this earth years ago, and so as a young guy, I must say, it is kinda nice to have an older pair of adults in my life again. (My girl's grandmother, Honey Rose, is a real-life Rosie the Riveter and her deceased husband was a Carlson's Raider and a Marine and has amazing stories - but that's for a different diary. I am hoping to get some videos of them because I know Kossacks would fall in love. She's also voting Obama, btw..)
Nothing will get D going like Iraq. He gets so animated and emotional and in his words, "cannot understand why Bush is sending young people to their deaths without even knowing what they are fighting for." His biggest fear that I have heard about a dozen times is that his 6-year old grandson will be 18 in 12 years, and will go "die for bullshit."
He has tons of little anecdotes and quips - he always tells me things like:
"Remember, you're only here for a visit. Try your best to be happy and to not hurt anyone."
"Never drop your eyes to any man."
and many more...
Anyhow. So tonight, he was having some friends over and invited me up or dinner. His wife, A, is super, super sweet but gets a little nervous when politics come up - maybe it's just an old school thing that you don't talk about politics, or maybe it's that she knows D has no problem speaking his mind regardless of the consequences. (Speaking of, what a concept...lol.)
I knew about one of the guests from D griping about her. She is a very wealthy woman, a strong Democrat, and yet, she is totally not voting Barack. I don't see her voting "McBain" but rather not voting at all. But D, D just cannot understand this.
When I came upstairs, D introduced me to his 8 or so guests as a "young person working to change the country" and just started going OFF on politics. I tried to suppress it a little bit but I was admittedly amused. He then said:
"See, this is the great thing about Obama. He is getting all these young people involved in politics. And you mark my words, these kids will bring America back to the utopia of my youth."
It just made me feel really good, I have to say.
So, I sit down, and dinner starts. I was a little late, and the wine had already been flowing. If you've never shared a dinner with 70-something Irishmen and women drinking, I highly recommend it. Quite the animated discussion.
Although, I promised myself if anything came up, since I was a guest, I just, well, wouldn't go there, except maybe gently.
It's not that I am afraid to speak up, hell, far from it. It was more out of respect for A, and not wanting to start any shit you know.
*
The minute I sit down, D just starts going OFF on Obama (in a good way) and simultaneously, almost attacking this other woman. He is talking to another friend, C, and E, this woman, is sitting right there and D is talking about her like she isn't even there.
"See, C, the thing I don't understand about E is that she just will not vote for Obama. I don't get it."
E came back with, "Well, it's my right, I just don't like him, it's a democracy and it's my right." (Agreed.)
But then, oh shit, the cat came out of the bag.
D: "But, E, you told me JUST last week that you wouldn't vote for him because he is black, and that's the STUPIDEST reason I can possibly think of."
E: "It's just that he is a Muslim."
Look out.
D: "He's NOT a Muslim, he is a Christian! And what the hell would it matter anyway, this is AMERICA!"
D has this funny little way and he turns to C who is sitting next to E and says, as if she wasn't sitting there - "C, tell her he isn't a Muslim and that it wouldn't and shouldn't matter anyway."
C: "Barack isn't a Muslim, he is a Christian. And, it shouldn't matter anyway if he was."
Then he turns to me. "Nick, is Barack Obama a Muslim, and do you think it would matter anyway if he was?"
"No, D, Barack is a Christian. And like Powell said, what if he was?"
E: "Well, he ASSOCIATES with MUSSSLIMS!"
Oy, vey.
Fast forward. It keeps going. I'm getting a tad uncomfortable, until E says....I shit you not - I guess getting pushed brings out the true colors..
"I CANNOT BE-LIEVE YOU ARE VOTING FOR A NIGGER MUSLIM. There are going to be "niglets" in the WHITE HOUSE and they will probably play rap music when dignitaries visit, and not to mention the curly hairs in the sheets."
I couldn't make this shit up.
Let me tell you, Kossacks, I have never yet seen D react the way he did. Without skipping a beat, he slammed one fist on the glass dining room table (and keep in mind, I am in a room of a bunch of 70-80 year olds - yes, I am quite the party animal) and I swear to God I was shocked it didn't break. Simultaneously, he lifted his other hand, pointed to the door, and literally screamed, "OUUUUUUTTTTT! OUT! OUT! NOW! OUT!"
She started to stumble a little and try to explain herself, but D was not having it what.so.ever...
"Out, out, out! Out of my house!"
She quietly picked her napkin off her lap, set it on the table, said "Good evening" and left.
It was silent for a minute. More like 20 seconds, but it felt like 10 minutes. D turns to C who was sitting next to her, and says "Who are you voting for?"
"Obama."
"And you?" (moving around the table)
"Obama."
"Obama."
"Obama."
"Obama."
"Obama."
"Obama."
"Obama."
D: "Ok, then that's that. Check out this new camera phone I just got, I am trying to figure out how to use it.."
And that was that. Just as if nothing had even happened. The rest of the night was uneventful, but it stuck.
It isn't just young people getting Barack's back...
Irish wisdom...way to go, D.
UPDATE, March 17, 2011: While I was posting this, I decided to give A and D a call. I hadn't spoken to them in three years, and I am very happy to report that not only are they doing fantastic, but, they just welcomed a new grandchild into the world...yesterday. What a fantastic St. Patrick's Day present. They were both thrilled to hear that I would be studying at University College Dublin next semester--although D told me that he was only slightly disappointed that I wouldn't be studying in Cork, where they are from. D also was very excited to tell me that the two of them had recently marched in the Albany St. Patrick's Day parade last Saturday, which made me even happier to hear that they are both doing so well. Great, great people. Wow, that really made my day.