Shamrock Club Picnic

 

Tonight Travalon and I went to the Shamrock Club Picnic. It was way down in Fitchburg, so even though I got off of work at five and he got off of work forty-five minutes later, we got there at virtually the same time. We sat with a couple and another guy, who said he was going to Germany in mid-September. He asked when the next club event would be, and the other guy said probably September 17, which makes sense - it's halfway to St. Patrick's Day - but it also means the guy going to Germany will miss it. The food was typical picnic food: little turkey and cheese sandwiches, pasta salad, a fruit and vegetable platter, Rice Krispy treats, and these really cute frosted sugar cookies that looked like shamrocks. The one guy talked sports a lot with Travalon, and it turns out the other couple is going to Alaska, so that's something I can relate to. Then this very friendly woman came over and started talking to us, and it turns out we have three friends in common on MyFace, so I asked who they were, and they are all Irish class peeps. Why none of these people belong to the Shamrock Club is beyond me, since they seem to be very into everything Irish. So the friendly woman and I became friends on MyFace, and then I mentioned that the tartan blossom on my hat is for Clan Hat, so I have a Scottish maiden name. She said she did one of the genetic tests I have done and was surprised to find out that she is more Scottish than Irish. I am a bit skeptical that a test can really tell that, since they are genetically identical, but maybe it meant she was related to more people in Scotland than in Ireland. I had thought the Second Sight was a Celtic thing, but some of the things I read said it is specific to the people of the Scottish Highlands, so is that where I got it? Everything I've read about it fits with my experience: it's always something bad that you foresee, and it's never useful. It's just a sense some people have, the way some of us seem to have keener senses of smell. And at least that's useful, if you want to be a sommelier or something. The Second Sight doesn't exactly open up any job opportunities, or really any opportunities to make money, because not once have I ever been able to predict lottery numbers.

Famous Hat